2023: Swiss Physical Society award in Computational Physics sponsored by COMSOL, for ‘contributions to a modern theory of thermal transport in solids’.
2022: EPFL Doctorate Award, issued by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne to up to three PhD theses per year, chosen over >400 STEM theses, to recognize research work of ‘exceptional quality’.
2020: Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation Award, issued by the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) to recognize ‘research characterized by its high potential for practical applications’.
2017: Computational thinking award, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland).
2015: IDEX Paris-Saclay scholarship, awarded by Université Paris-Saclay (France) to “students worldwide to enroll in a prestigious French master’s degree".
Columbia University’s Associate Director, National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems, 2017 - Present
Renwick Professor of Civil Engineering, Columbia University, 2012 - Present
Director, Sensing, Monitoring, and Robotics Laboratory, Columbia University, 2012 - Present
Chancellor’s Professor, University of California, Irvine, 2011 - 2012
Endowed Chair in the Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, University of California, Irvine, 2009 - 2011
Founding Director, Center for Advanced Monitoring and Damage Inspection, University of California, Irvine, 2007 - 2011
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, University of California, Irvine, 1992 - 2011
CAREER Award by National Science Foundation (NSF) (1995)
The Alfred Noble Prize jointly by American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and Western Society of Engineers (WSE) (1995)
The Collingwood Prize by ASCE (1995)
Outstanding Achievement Award by Chinese Consulate General (1996)
Charles Pankow Finalist Award for Innovation by ASCE-CERF (1997)
Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize for innovative, interdisciplinary and practical research on sensing, monitoring and controlling dynamic response of civil engineering systems subjected to earthquake and wind loads, awarded by ASCE (1999)
Outstanding Research Award by CEE Department, University of California, Irvine (2000)
Outstanding Alumni Award by University of Electro-Communications, Japan (2001)
Top Researcher on Wearable Sensors by MIT Technology Review (2004)
Best Presentation Award by Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Japan (2006)
Bridge Doctor, a special feature in NBC Nightly News (2007)
The Fariborz Maseeh Best Faculty Research Award by HSSoE, University of California, Irvine (2007)
Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (2008)
20 Women to Watch, OC Metro Business Magazine (2008)
Best Paper Award for “Robust Joint Torque Estimation and High-Speed Calibration for EMG Sensor Suits” published in Transactions of Society of Instrument and Control Engineers in 2006 by Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Japan (2008)
Appointed Endowed Chair in Center for Diversity in Engineering Education by University of California, Irvine (2009)
Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research by University of California, Irvine (2009)
Appointed Chancellor’s Professor by University of California, Irvine (2011)
Best Paper Award for the paper “Microwave Non-Destructive Evaluation of Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Structures” that Best Advances the State-of-the-Art in Antenna Measurements by the 5th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, Rome, Italy (2011)
Top 20 Civil Engineering Professors by Online Engineering Programs (2016)
Research Areas
Materials
Modeling & Simulation
"Soft" Material Systems Incorporating Polymers, Colloids, and Amphiphiles
Polymer and Colloidal Glasses
Active Media
Transport Phenomena
Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
NSF Career Award, NSF CMMI - Structural Materials and Mechanics, “Energy in sustainable infrastructure – multi-scale/physical approach to a novel hybrid solar roofing panel”, 2010-2015.
The Second Best Scientific Paper for 2012 in the International Journal "Road Materials and Pavement Design” - H.M. Yin, B. Lai, Viscoelastic modeling and characterization of zeolite modified asphalt binder considering phase transformation and air void interaction, Road Materials and Pavement Design, 13, 279-299, 2012.