Associate Professor Shiling Pei recognized as top newsmaker by ENR
Pei, a civil and environmental engineering associate professor, was honored by Engineering News-Record for his research on wood structures and their resiliency in earthquakes
Shiling Pei, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at Colorado School of Mines, was recognized as a 2023 Top 25 Newsmaker by Engineering News-Record (ENR), a leading construction industry publication.
Pei was chosen as one of the 25 honorees by ENR’s editors in recognition of his dedication to work that finds solutions in a world full of complex problems. He will be honored in person at ENR’s Award of Excellence gala on April 11 in New York.
In 2023, Pei led the National Science Foundation’s Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) TallWood Project, a multi-institutional effort that tested a 10-story wood building on an outdoor earthquake simulator at the University of California San Diego. The building was the tallest full-scale structure ever tested on a shake table, according to NHERI.
In May 2023, the building, with its unique rocking wall system, was subjected to forces that simulated the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a magnitude 6.7 quake, followed by Taiwan’s 1999 Chichi earthquake, a magnitude 7.7. quake – with no structural damage.
“We found a cost-effective and practical way to build a tall wood building that is almost earthquake proof,” Pei told ENR.
For much of his career, Pei has focused on timber building systems and more recently, resilient performance-based seismic design. Pei currently serves as the chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Wood Technical Administrative Committee, overseeing four wood engineering-related committees. He also serves as associate editor for ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering and ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering.
Pei holds a PhD in civil engineering from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University in China.
ENR provides engineering and construction news, analysis, commentary and data that construction industry professionals need to do their jobs more effectively. It has been in publication since April 5, 1917.
About Mines
Colorado School of Mines is a public R1 research university focused on applied science and engineering, producing the talent, knowledge and innovations to serve industry and benefit society – all to create a more prosperous future.
