Bill X. Zhang, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, associate professor of the GE Johnson Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science at Kansas State University, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Zhang has been teaching building structural design courses in architectural and civil engineering programs for more than 10 years. He has developed and taught more than 10 different courses for both undergraduate and graduate students.
His research interests include seismic design and multihazard mitigation, steel and composite structures, cold-formed steel structures, mass timber construction, and structural vibration control and mitigation. He has published a number of papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
Zhang has mentored a number of master’s students as major professor, and served on dozens of academic committees of master’s and Ph.D. students. He has advised several undergraduate student research projects in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering. As well, he advises undergraduate and graduate students for their academic and career issues. He is a faculty advisor for the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri (SEAKM) K-State Student Chapter.
He has won numerous awards, including the Outstanding Assistant Professor Award and the Big 12 Fellowship.
Zhang’s previous research on steel RBS to deep column moment connections made a notable impact on steel design in the United States. He has given seminars domestically and internationally and is one of the lead authors of the ASCE’s upcoming cold-formed steel connections design guide. Meanwhile, he is an active manuscript reviewer for many journals, including several published by ASCE.
Prior to his academic career, Zhang worked as a senior structural engineer and project structural engineer at world-renowned A/E firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM) and KlingStubbins (now part of Jacobs). He worked on large-scale, comprehensive building projects all over the world, a couple of those being Huawei Shanghai campus and Amgen Seattle campus.
In addition to his teaching and advising, he serves on multiple departmental, collegiate, and university committees. He is the current chair of the ASCE/SEI Cold-Formed Steel Members Committee, and is a voting member for several American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) code and standard committees. He serves on SEAKM Bi-State Board and is the current treasurer. He also serves on the Basic Education Committee of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA).
Zhang earned his doctoral degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University. He is a licensed professional engineer in several states, and a licensed structural engineer in California. He is also a LEED® AP.
