Prof. ZHAO Jidong Received Prestigious Geomaterials Award “ALERT Research Medal 2026”
Prof. ZHAO Jidong, Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was awarded the ALERT Research Medal 2026, a prestigious award of the Alliance of Laboratories in Europe for Education, Research and Technology (ALERT Geomaterials), for his contribution to scientific research in geomechanics. He was presented the award by the ALERT President, Prof. Claudio DI PRISCO, at the 37th ALERT Geomaterials Workshop held in Aussois, France, from September 28 to 30, 2026.
As part of this award, Prof. Zhao was invited to give a one-hour ALERT Special Lecture at the workshop, entitled “Multiscale and Multiphysics Modeling of Coupled Processes in Granular Media”, which was well received by an audience of around 200 participants. Prof. Zhao also served on this year’s ALERT jury for the selection of the winner of the 2026 Ioannis Vardoulakis PhD Prize.
“I am honored and humbled to have received the 2026 ALERT Research Medal and to have delivered the ALERT Special Lecture. It was truly joyful and deeply enlightening to interact with leading scholars and students in geomechanics. I deeply value how ALERT has placed a central focus on cultivating young students and scholars and has provided such a wonderful stage for next-generation research over the past 37 years. The ALERT Geomaterials Workshop is a remarkable platform to mingle, forge connections, and elevate the generational heritage that advances geomechanics research, while helping multiple generations feel a deep sense of belonging to our community,” said Prof. Zhao.
Prof. Zhao is the Director of Computational Granular Mechanics Lab at HKUST. He holds a Chang Jiang Scholar Chair Professorship conferred by the Ministry of Education, China. He earned both his bachelor’s degree and PhD from Tsinghua University. His research focuses on developing scalable computational methods for comprehensive simulation, analysis, and comprehension of the intricate multiscale mechanics and physics of granular media systems.
ALERT Geomaterials was established in 1989 by a group of distinguished geomaterials scholars in a pioneering effort to develop a European School of Thinking in the field of the mechanics of geomaterials. At each of its annual workshops, one ALERT Special Lecturer is invited to receive the ALERT Research Medal and deliver an ALERT Special Lecture. Recent award winners and special lecturers include: 2025, Prof. Charbel FARHAT (Stanford University, NAE, FREng); 2024, Prof. Antonio GENS (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, FREng); and 2023, Prof. Catherine O’SULLIVAN (Imperial College London).
