Prof. YANG Hai, Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, clinched the 2021 Francis C. Turner Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The award, established in 1988 by ASCE Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI), is conferred to individuals making profound contributions to the advancement of the knowledge and practice of transportation engineering. Prof. Yang was recognized for his outstanding leadership in the fields of transportation network modeling and transportation economics, as well as extraordinary record in both research and mentoring.

Having established himself as a top authority on the analysis of transportation networks and transportation economics, Prof. Yang has published highly influential papers in prestigious journals such as Transportation Research Part B, Transportation Research Part C, Transportation Science, and Networks and Spatial Economics. His papers have accumulated over 24,000 citations in Google Scholar, which places him among the very top civil engineering researchers in the world. Prof. Yang served as the editor-in-chief of Transportation Research Part B: Methodological from 2013 to 2018, during which the journal was made even more influential with its quantity of papers published annually doubled and the impact factor increased. Currently, he is a distinguished editorial board member of this leading journal. The significance of Prof. Yang’s work is reflected not only in enhancing the understanding of complex transportation problems and advancing transportation thinking, but also in achieving practical impact. His work on on-demand transportation (including ridesharing services such as Uber and traditional taxi services) has been highly influential and has been adapted to both public and private sectors to improve the operations and efficiencies of such services.

Apart from his accomplishments in research, Prof. Yang was described as a deeply committed educator, with measurable and recognized impact, resulting in many of his graduated PhD students winning numerous awards and establishing their own highly successful academic careers. 

Prof. Yang joined HKUST in 1993. Prior to this accolade, he received the 2020 Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award, also by ASCE, and a number of awards and honors over the past years. These include the State Natural Science Award by the State Council (2011), Chang Jiang Chair Professorship by the Ministry of Education (2012), and Research Excellence Award of the HKUST School of Engineering (2012).

Related link:

• ASCE news (Nov 3, 2021): T&DI announces Hai Yang as the winner of Francis C. Turner Award