Jerome F. Hajjar, Ph.D., P.E., NAE, F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE, the CDM Smith Professor and University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, has been honored with inclusion by ASCE in its 2026 class of distinguished members. He was chosen for his fundamental contributions to civil engineering education and to design practice through research in steel and composite structures, including structural stability and earthquake engineering, and for leadership of professional and academic committees and boards of direction that advance the practice of civil engineering.
ASCE will honor Hajjar and the 2026 distinguished members at the 2026 OPAL Gala, Thursday, Oct. 15 in Reston, Virginia.
As chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University from 2010-2025, Hajjar made remarkable contributions to the department. Under his leadership, the department has tripled in size and substantially elevated its ranking and impact.
Hajjar is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in computational modeling, experimental research, and the development of design concepts and criteria for steel and composite steel/concrete structures. As a leading researcher in structural engineering, he has had a major impact the development of innovative, sustainable, and resilient steel and composite members and systems.
His contributions include the development of strength and stability design provisions for steel and composite columns; nonlinear analysis formulations for performance-based design under earthquakes and other extreme loads; experimental testing and validation of structural components and systems; and the development of new structural steel and composite systems and materials.
In 2003, Hajjar was named one of civil engineering’s top early-career researchers with ASCE’s prestigious Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize. He has received the 2000 ASCE Normal Medal, the 2009 ASCE Shortridge Hardesty Award, the 2016 ASCE Moisseiff Award, and numerous other awards from ASCE and other organizations. Most recently in 2025, he was honored with the Society’s William H. Wisely American Civil Engineer Award.
Hajjar is the of the Laboratory for Structural Testing of Resilient and Sustainable Systems, or STReSS Laboratory at Northeastern University. He was recently named the Neil Armstrong Distinguished Visiting Professor at Purdue University for 2026-2028, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the inaugural Innovation Fellow at the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Hajjar has published over 300 papers and authored or edited five books on his research areas. Among his many professional service contributions, he is a member of the American Institute of Steel Construction Committee on Specifications, and is past president of the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute. He serves on the editorial boards of several refereed journals.
Prior to joining Northeastern University, he was a professor and Narbey Khachaturian Faculty Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and professor at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. He began his career as a structural engineer and associate at the architectural/engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in their Chicago and New York offices. In summer 2026, he will assume the role of interim dean of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University.
Nominations for the 2027 class are due Dec. 15. Email [email protected] for more information.
