Dr. Jialai Wang has been elected as a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, one of the organization’s highest professional distinctions. Fewer than 3% of ASCE members receive this honor, which recognizes exceptional contributions to the field and sustained leadership within the civil engineering community.
For Wang, the recognition is both meaningful and motivating.
“It is a great honor to be recognized as an ASCE Fellow,” Wang said. “It reflects not only my individual efforts but also the dedication of my students and postdocs, the collaboration of my research partners, and the support of colleagues and industry allies who share the vision of making concrete more sustainable and impactful for society.”
Wang’s selection reflects his significant contributions to concrete materials research, particularly his work on decarbonizing the built environment. His team has developed affordable thermal energy storage materials capable of transforming buildings into large-scale thermal batteries. They also created a CO₂ mineralization technology that both sequesters carbon and strengthens concrete—an innovation that has since been commercialized.
“I believe our commitment to delivering economically viable solutions to society’s most pressing challenges has been key to this recognition,” Wang said.
Department leadership praised the achievement and its impact on The University of Alabama’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Robert Bertini, department head of CCEE, said, “Dr. Wang’s high-impact publications, competitive research funding, and strong collaborations with agencies and industry partners have brought great credit to our department. Through his mentorship of both graduate and undergraduate students, he consistently represents CCEE at the highest levels of our profession.”
Looking ahead, Wang plans to continue advancing sustainable engineering solutions, with a particular focus on transforming industrial waste into new cementitious materials. He noted that the Global Cement and Concrete Association recently launched a consortium to support commercialization of these innovations, connecting his team’s research with producers worldwide.
“Equally important, I hope to inspire and mentor the next generation of engineers to think creatively, collaborate effectively, and develop solutions that benefit both people and the planet,” he said.