Frontier Research on High Performance Concrete and Mechanical Properties

Ping Xiang is a distinguished professor at the School of Civil Engineering, Central South University. He holds a Ph.D. and serves as a mentor for doctoral candidates while also assuming the role of Associate Director. Recognized as a key expert in Hunan Province's recruitment of overseas high-level talents, Professor Xiang earned his doctoral degree from the City University of Hong Kong in 2012. From 2012 to 2017, he held successive positions as a postdoctoral researcher and associate researcher at the City University of Hong Kong. His academic contributions encompass heading the General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and publishing over 100 SCI papers, including those highly cited in the ESI index and several top-tier SCI papers within the first quartile. He has been granted three patents and holds three software copyrights. Notably, Professor Xiang was warmly received by the Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) as a distinguished representative of excellence among Central South University's faculty members. He has been invited for academic visits to esteemed international universities such as Swansea University and the University of Strathclyde in the UK, Kunsan National University in Korea, and Dartmouth College in the United States.

His research interests encompass computational solid mechanics, meshless computational mechanics, finite element methods in computational mechanics, shell mechanics, computational micro-nano mechanics, biomechanics, coupled dynamics of high-speed railway vehicle-track-bridge systems, fiber optic sensing and monitoring, and prefabricated buildings.

Professor Xiang's accolades include being selected for Hunan Province's "Hundred Talents Program," leading innovative-driven teams at Central South University, and receiving the Outstanding Academic Performance Award from the City University of Hong Kong. Additionally, he was honored with the Technical Paper Award from AECOM Company Limited, Hong Kong, bestowed by professional institutions, as well as academic and learned societies in 2015.

Haifeng Yang, a native of Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, holds a doctoral degree in engineering and serves as a professor and doctoral supervisor at Guangxi University. He is also the head of the Department of Construction Engineering, overseeing the postdoctoral mobile station in Civil Engineering. Prof. Yang has held visiting scholar positions at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, as well as at Tongji University and Southeast University in China. He serves as a committee member of the China Civil Engineering Society's Sub-Committee on Recycled Concrete, a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Ceramic Society's Solid Waste Sub-Committee, and a peer reviewer for the National Natural Science Foundation of China. His standing in the field is further evidenced by his inclusion in the expertdatabases of Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces and his role as a council member of the Guangxi Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Prof. Yang is selected for Guangxi's program nurturing outstanding young and mid-career teachers in higher education institutions. His primary research revolves around novel concrete materials and structures, resource utilization of waste materials, and the durability of concrete structures. He has led three projects for the National Natural Science Foundation of China (one for youth, one general, and one regional), managed two provincial and ministerial-level projects, and contributed to over ten national, provincial, and ministerial-level projects. He has published over 50 papers, with more than 40 indexed in SCI and EI, secured six patented inventions, contributed to one Guangxi local standard, and received recognition such as the first prize in Guangxi's Natural Science Award, along with a special prize and a second prize for teaching achievements in Guangxi.

Jianwei Yan, Ph.D., is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, East China Jiaotong University. His extensive research focuses on the foundational study of nanoscale mechanics in low-dimensional materials. He has spearheaded eight projects, including a sub-project of the National Key Research and Development Program by the Ministry of Science and Technology and grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Prof. Yan has contributed 47 academic papers and publications in esteemed international journals like COMPUT METHOD APPL M and COMPOS PART B. Among these, 42 have been indexed in SCI, with 21 identified as top-tier papers, garnering over 500 citations.