Dan M. Frangopol, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture at Lehigh University, has been elected to the National Academy of Construction (NAC).
NAC members are selected through a rigorous peer nomination and election process and come from all sectors of the built environment—owners, contractors, designers, government agencies, professional service firms, and academia.
The mission of NAC “is to select, honor, and recognize those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to our industry,” as stated by Tom Sorley, the president of the academy. NAC currently has 326 distinguished leaders from every segment of the engineering and construction industry. Members apply their corporate experience and talent toward enhancing the strength of the industry and well-being of the nation.
“It is an extremely high honor for me to join the 2020 class of 36 new members elected to NAC and represent Lehigh University,” says Frangopol.
This is Frangopol’s fifth academy membership: three foreign national academies (Royal Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Romanian Academy, and Academy of Technical Sciences of Romania) and one European (Academy of Europe).
Frangopol is regarded as a worldwide authority on life-cycle engineering, structural reliability, and optimization. His main research interests are in the development and application of probabilistic concepts and methods to civil and marine engineering including life-cycle cost analysis; structural reliability; probability-based assessment, design, and multi-criteria life-cycle optimization of structures and infrastructure systems; structural health monitoring; life-cycle performance maintenance and management of structures and distributed infrastructure under extreme events (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and floods); risk-based assessment and decision making; multi-hazard risk mitigation; infrastructure sustainability and resilience to disasters; and climate change adaptation.
Throughout his distinguished career of research, education, and service, Frangopol has received many honors, including four honorary doctorates and 14 honorary professorships, as well as medals, prizes, and awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), including Distinguished Membership; International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability (IASSAR); International Association for Bridge Engineering (IABSE); International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International); International Association for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE); International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS); and other professional organizations.
Frangopol is the founder and editor-in-chief of Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, an international peer-reviewed journal launched in 2005, and the founding editor of the book series Structures and Infrastructures. He is the author or co-author of three books, 50 book chapters, and more than 400 articles in archival journals (including 11 award-winning papers from ASCE, IABSE, and Elsevier).
Frangopol will be formally inducted as a member at NAC’s next annual meeting to be held October 29-31, 2020, in Boston.
