Jiang Zihan is a 2026 doctoral graduate from the Department of Civil and Smart Construction Engineering at the College of Engineering, Shantou University (supervised by Professor Zhu Zhiwen), and also a 2026 doctoral graduate from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Torino, Italy (supervised by Professor Lacidogna). His research focuses on the innovative application of acoustic emission in engineering structures and earthquake precursor identification, dedicated to integrating structural health monitoring technologies with earthquake prediction science to serve China's disaster prevention and mitigation needs. His doctoral dissertation defense was rated as outstanding. He has consistently aligned his personal development with the national disaster prevention and mitigation strategy, practicing the research philosophy of "writing papers on the land of the motherland" to serve the nation through scientific research.
Remarkable Research Achievements During Doctoral Studies
During his doctoral studies, he published 17 high-level papers in domestic and international academic journals, including 14 SCI-indexed papers, and was granted 1 patent. Among these, he published 10 SCI papers as first author or as second author with his supervisor as first author, including 3 Chinese Academy of Sciences Category 1 top papers, 3 Category 2 papers, 2 Category 3 papers, and 2 Category 4 papers. His representative journals include Engineering Structures, Structures, Construction and Building Materials, Developments in the Built Environment, and Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.
International Exchange
He delivered multiple presentations at international conferences and participated in the CSC-sponsored dual-degree program. During his doctoral studies, he actively engaged in international academic exchanges, presenting at the 12th International Conference on Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures (FraMCoS-12) in Vienna, Austria, and the 21st International Conference on Experimental Mechanics (ICEM-21) in Bologna, Italy, where he had in-depth discussions with scholars in the field on acoustic emission monitoring and earthquake precursor identification. He also participated in the RILEM Spring 2026 Conference in Ghent, Belgium, and the ARTISTE International Conference on Machine Learning for Civil Engineering and Architecture in Turin, Italy.
He was awarded a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to pursue a dual doctoral degree at Politecnico di Torino, where his foreign supervisor was Professor Giuseppe Lacidogna, a renowned scholar in the field of fracture mechanics and acoustic emission and a member of the Academy of Sciences. This dual-degree program represents a significant achievement in the College of Engineering's efforts to promote international talent cultivation and demonstrates its global cooperation capabilities in the field of civil and smart construction engineering.
Academic Service
He served as a peer reviewer for multiple international journals. He actively participated in academic service, serving as a reviewer for international journals including Composites Part B: Engineering, Engineering Failure Analysis, Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Materials and Structures, Applied Acoustics, Construction and Building Materials, and Journal of Building Engineering, with over 30 reviews completed. This demonstrates his strong academic engagement and peer recognition. Through his review work, he has been able to continuously track the frontiers of his field while enhancing his academic judgment and writing rigor.
Honors and Awards
China Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship
National Scholarship for Doctoral Students
Guangdong Provincial Outstanding Young Scientific Research Talent International Training Program Grant
Annual Outstanding Paper Award of the Journal of Southeast University (Natural Science Edition)
Gratitude to Supervisors and Team
Looking back on my doctoral journey, I am particularly grateful to the College of Engineering for its strong support in building the doctoral program in Civil Engineering, and to my doctoral supervisor, Professor Zhu Zhiwen, who not only gave me full trust and freedom in choosing my research direction but also provided meticulous guidance in academic standards, paper writing, and engineering thinking. The Department of Civil and Smart Construction Engineering he leads, together with the Key Laboratory of Structure and Wind Tunnel of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, possesses high-level research platforms for wind engineering and structural health monitoring, providing solid experimental conditions and a rich academic atmosphere for my research.
The College of Engineering at Shantou University has always adhered to the educational philosophy of "solid foundation, strong interdisciplinary integration, emphasis on practice, and promotion of innovation." In recent years, it has actively expanded international joint training programs, among which the dual doctoral degree program with Politecnico di Torino is a significant hallmark of the College's high-level international education. As the first student to complete the dual doctoral degree under this bilateral agreement, Jiang Zihan fully demonstrates the remarkable effectiveness of the College of Engineering in cultivating high-end engineering talent.
The Department of Civil and Smart Construction Engineering at the College of Engineering has built a strong research foundation in structural health monitoring, seismic disaster mitigation, and wind engineering. The Key Laboratory of Structure and Wind Tunnel of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes is equipped with advanced wind tunnel experimental platforms and structural monitoring systems, providing strong support for faculty and students to conduct high-level research.
Professor Zhu Zhiwen's research team, leveraging the university's national first-class program, the first-level doctoral program in Civil Engineering, the Civil Engineering postdoctoral research station, and the Key Laboratory of Structure and Wind Tunnel of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, has long been active in structural wind engineering, seismic engineering, and structural health monitoring, continuously conducting fundamental and applied research in these fields.
International Research and Collaboration
With the support of the CSC scholarship, Dr. Jiang Zihan joined the Fracture Mechanics Laboratory at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. The laboratory, directed by Professor Giuseppe Lacidogna, enjoys an international reputation in the fields of acoustic emission and fracture mechanics. Professor Lacidogna's rigor and passion for research deeply influenced him, and together they co-authored multiple high-level papers, allowing him to truly appreciate the power of international collaboration. This experience not only enhanced Jiang Zihan's research capabilities but also laid a solid foundation for his continued Sino-foreign collaborative research in the future.
