James Jirsa
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1963
M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1962
B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska, 1960
Academy of Distinguished Alumni, inducted 2025
James Jirsa is the Janet S. Cockrell Centennial Chair Emeritus in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He served as chair of the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering for five years. He earned his B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska and his M.S. and Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
A professional engineer and member of the National Academy of Engineering, Jirsa is a leading expert in reinforced concrete design, earthquake engineering and structural repair. Throughout his distinguished career, Jirsa has received numerous honors, including a Fulbright Scholarship and multiple awards from the American Concrete Institute (ACI), where he has also served as president and honorary member.
