Zhanmin Zhang, Ph.D.

Dr. Zhanmin Zhang is an Associate Professor in transportation engineering at The University of Texas at Austin who has been actively conducting cutting-edge research in the engineering and management of infrastructure systems and the applications of advanced database and information systems to infrastructure management for more than 25 years in the United States and abroad. His current research interests include: analysis and simulation of large-scale infrastructure systems with focus on interdependencies; robust maintenance policies, optimal resource allocations, and innovative financing mechanisms for infrastructure systems; application of advanced information technologies for infrastructure systems; and resilient infrastructure systems for smart cities.

Dr. Zhang earned a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Chang’an University in 1983 and then joined the faculty of The University. After being a faculty member for 7 years at Chang’an University, he returned to graduate school to earn a Master’s degree and Ph.D. degree in civil engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1993 and 1996 respectively. He joined the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin as a Research Associate upon receiving his doctoral degree. Following four years of research work at CTR, he joined the faculty of the Department of Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin in September 2000.

As a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Zhang has conducted research projects totaling more than $24.6 million sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the City of Austin, and the industry. The research projects cover a wide range of issues in the engineering and management of transportation infrastructure, such as the modeling of infrastructure behavior and performance, the funding needs analysis for infrastructure preservation, and the application of advanced information systems for transportation infrastructure management.

Dr. Zhang serves as Chair of Emerging Technologies Council of the Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI), American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE). Dr. Zhang is a member of the Committee on General and Emerging Pavement Design (ADF30) of the U.S. National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board (TRB). Dr. Zhang was also an executive member of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Southwest University Transportation Center (SWUTC). In addition, Dr. Zhang was also named to the National Research Council’s Committee on “Renewal of DOE Infrastructure” which serves the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in developing and implementing a corporate strategy for intelligent renewal of its infrastructure. 

Dr. Zhang is an author or co-author of more than 230 technical papers, reports, and articles and has delivered more than 170 oral presentations nationally and internationally. Dr. Zhang was selected to receive the Best Paper Award at the 9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets 2015 (ICMPA 2015). In addition, Dr. Zhang was selected to receive a prestigious national award, the 2012 ASCE James Laurie Prize. He was selected as the only international recipient for the “Award for Contribution to Development” by the China Highway and Transportation Society (CHTS) in August 2018. 

Last updated: July 2020

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