Keynote Lectures
Inaugural Sami Rizkalla IIFC Lecture
Professor Jin Guang Teng
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
FRP Composites in Construction: A Personal Journey of Three Decades and the Potential of FRP as a Mainstream Structural Material
Short bio
Professor Teng is a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an International Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering. Professor Teng assumed office as President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 1 July 2019.
A distinguished scholar in the field of structural engineering, Professor Teng has published one book and over 230 SCI journal papers. His publications have been widely cited by researchers globally: on the Stanford University list of top 2% most-cited scientists, Prof. Teng has ranked 7th or 8th globally and first or second among all Chinese scholars in the field of civil engineering from 2019 to 2025 based on career-long citation impact.
Furthermore, many of his research findings have been adopted in relevant design codes or guidelines in China, the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia, thereby helping engineers around the world produce safe and cost-effective structural designs.
Among the many awards he has received are the State Natural Science Award of China (Second Class), the Distinguished Young Scholar Award from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the inaugural IIFC Medal from the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC).
Professor Lijuan (Dawn) Cheng
University of California, Davis
Enhancing Fatigue Service Life of Aging Concrete Bridges Using FRP
Short bio
Dr. Cheng is a Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California – Davis. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Cheng is a member of the American Concrete Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, and International Institute for FRP in Construction. She has been serving as the associate editor for the ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction and the founding editor for the IIFC Practice Notes publications.
Her research focuses on addressing challenging transportation needs and improving longevity and safety of existing structures in addition to construction of next generation resilient civil infrastructures. She is a recipient of various awards, some of which include the Outstanding ASCE Faculty Advisor Award in the State of California and UC Davis Hellman Fellow Award.
Professor Marco di Ludovico
University of Naples “Federico II”
Advanced Solutions Using Composites for Seismic Loss Reduction
Short bio
Prof. Marco Di Ludovico is a Full Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II, where he is currently responsible for the quality control of the Full Scale Tests Laboratory of the Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture (DiSt) at CeSMA – Center of Advanced Measurement Services. He holds the courses of Structural Engineering Part II, Materials and Structures Mechanics, and innovative Building Materials. He is the author of more than 350 scientific papers published in journals or proceedings of national and international conferences. The research activities deal with theoretical and experimental aspects of the following topics: non-linear behavior of reinforced concrete and masonry structures; structural vulnerability, post-earthquake damage and repair costs; repair, strengthening, and seismic retrofit of concrete and masonry structures with composites; response of buildings under tsunami induced loads; protection of historical monumental buildings.
He currently participates in National and international Scientific Bodies: WG “Learning from Earthquakes” by EERI; EAEE WG 1 (EC8) Future Directions for Eurocode 8; fib TG 5.1 ‘FRP Reinforcement for Concrete Structures’; IIFC; ACI technical subcommittees on the use of composite materials; CNR working groups on the development of technical documents on the use of composite materials.
