Prof. Dan M. Frangopol is the inaugural holder of the Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture at Lehigh University. He is "a pioneer in the fields of life-cycle civil engineering and life-cycle cost optimization" (ASCE) and "widely recognized as a leading educator and creator in the field of life-cycle civil engineering" (ASCE). His main research interests are in the development and application of probabilistic and optimization concepts and methods to civil and marine engineering, including: structural reliability and probabilistic mechanics; life-cycle cost analysis; 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. His research, teaching and service have garnered numerous awards from ASCE, IASSAR, IABSE, ISHMII, SAE, and other professional organizations.
According to ASCE "Dan M. Frangopol is a preeminent authority in bridge safety and maintenance management, structural systems reliability, and life-cycle civil engineering. His contributions have defined much of the practice around design specifications, management methods, and optimization approaches. From the maintenance of deteriorated structures and the development of system redundancy factors to assessing the performance of long-span structures, Dr. Frangopol’s research has not only saved time and money, but very likely also saved lives.” "Frangopol's groundbreaking research into infrastructure from a holistic perspective has earned him a reputation in the civil engineering community" as the "Father of Life-Cycle Analysis." (ASCE).
Prof. Frangopol is the Founding President of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS) and of the International Association for Life Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE), and Founding Vice-President of the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII). He is the Past Vice-President of the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability (IASSAR), and Past Vice-President of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE and Past Member of its Board of Governors. He is also the Founder and Inaugural Chair of the ASCE-SEI Technical Council on life-cycle performance, safety, reliability and risk of structural systems and of the IASSAR Technical Committee on life-cycle performance, cost and optimization. He has held numerous leadership positions in national and international professional societies including Chair of the Technical Activities Division of the 20,000+ members of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the ASCE, Chair of Executive Board of IASSAR, Chair of IABSE Working Commission 1 on Structural Performance, Safety and Analysis, and Chair of IFIP WG 7.5 on Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems.
ASCE established "Dan M. Frangopol Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures." This award was officially instituted by action of the Board of Direction on October 18, 2023.
Prof. Frangopol is a Member of the National Academy of Construction of the United States, an International Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a Foreign Member of the Academia Europaea (Academy of Europe, London), a Foreign Associate of the Engineering Academy of Japan, a Corresponding Member of the Mexican Academy of Engineering, a Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, an Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy, an Honorary Member of the Academy of Technical Sciences of Romania, and a Distinguished Member of ASCE. He holds 5 honorary doctorate degrees, 14 honorary professorships, and 6 guest professorships. He is also the Honorary President of the IABMAS-USA Group, IABMAS-Brazil Group, IABMAS-Canada Group, IABMAS-Chile Group, IABMAS-Italy Group, IABMAS-Korea Group, IABMAS-Sri Lanka Group, IABMAS-Sweden Group, IABMAS-Turkey Group, and IALCCE-Dutch Group, and an Honorary Member of the IABMAS-Australia Group, IABMAS-China Group, IABMAS-Denmark Group, IABMAS-Japan Group, IABMAS-Portugal Group, IABMAS-Spain Group.
Prof. Frangopol is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Structure and Infrastructure Engineering an international peer-reviewed journal launched in 2005 and accepted in 2007 by Thomson ISI for inclusion in the Science Citation Index. He is also the Founding Editor of the Book Series Structures and Infrastructures. Prof. Frangopol is the author or co-author of 5 books, 70 book chapters (including 16 chapters in ASCE books), over 490 articles in refereed journals (including 15 award-winning papers from ASCE, IABSE, Elsevier,and European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3), and 136 articles in ASCE journals), and more than 700 papers in conference proceedings. He has edited or co-edited 59 books (including 9 ASCE books) and 30 special issues of archival journals. With an h-index of 104, an i10-index of 487, and more than 40,000 citations (Google Scholar, October 1, 2024) his work has left an indelible mark on the field of structural engineering. Prof. Frangopol delivered many plenary lectures at international congresses, conferences, symposia and workshops, and several named and distinguished lectures including the T.Y. Lin Lecture, the F.R. Khan Lecture, the K.C. Kavanagh Annual Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture, the inaugural J. R. Choudhury (JRC) Annual Memorial Lecture, the Huangdao Academician Lecture, the Kececioglu Memorial Lecture, the Warren Lecture, and the Wenyuan Lecture. He has served as technical consultant or advisor to companies, organizations and government agencies in the United States, Asia, and Europe.
Prof. Frangopol has performed research and served as a technical consultant or advisor to companies, organizations and government agencies in the United States, Asia and Europe. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation; Federal Highway Administration; Office of Naval Research; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Army Corps of Engineers; Air Force Office of Scientific Research; Department of Defense; Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center; National Cooperative Highway Research Program; Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command; Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation; Transportation Research Board; U.S. DOT Region 3 University Transportation Center; Applied Technology Council; Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance; ArcelorMittal; Progeny System Corporation; Modjeski and Masters; Henry Luce Foundation; U.K. Highways Agency; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and Japan Ministry of Education, among others. He also received research funding from ASCE; Tokyo Electric Power Company; Japan Institute of Systems Research; Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment; Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs; US-Spain Joint Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation; Parsons Transportation Group; Georgia Institute of Technology; and University of Colorado.
Prof. Frangopol has supervised the dissertations of 50 PhD students (37 as dissertation advisor and 13 as dissertation co-advisor) and the theses and reports of 56 MS students. In addition, he has supervised and sponsored 22 post-doctoral researchers and hosted over 70 visiting scholars. 29 of his former students and post-doctoral researchers are university professors in the United States and abroad, and many are prominent in professional practice and research laboratories. He is also the initiator and organizer of the Fazlur R. Khan Distinguished Lecture Series and the founder of the Computational Laboratory for Life-cycle Structural Engineering at Lehigh University.
Visit the Wikipedia EntryDownload a Short Biographical Sketch; Short Biosketch Presentation Slides
Download the Complete Biographical Sketch
ASCE Dan M. Frangopol Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures
Visit the Google Scholar Entry
Watch the Election to Grade of ASCE Distinguished Member
Watch the ASCE OPAL Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Education
Visit summaries of research projects sponsored by FHWA, NASA, NSF, ONR, ARDEC, PITA
Download the Fazlur R. Khan Distinguished Lecture Series Poster 2007-2024