The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CvEEN) is excited to announce that Dr. Fei Ding will be joining the University of Utah this August as an Assistant Professor specializing in Structural Engineering. Dr. Ding brings a unique blend of deep theoretical knowledge and cutting-edge computational research that addresses some of the most pressing challenges in wind engineering today.

Adding to the excitement of her upcoming appointment, Dr. Ding was recently honored with the Robert Scanlan Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the field of wind engineering. Presented every four years by the American Association for Wind Engineering (AAWE), the award recognizes her best doctoral thesis related to theoretical advances in the mechanics of wind or wind-structure interaction in the Americas Region of the IAWE (International Association for Wind Engineering).

Her award-winning dissertation, titled “Morphing Structural Profile Under Winds,” explores new strategies for adapting structures to wind hazards using advanced computational modeling and artificial intelligence.

“Infrastructure exposed to wind undergoes complex interactions, which precludes a functional relationship between wind and its load effects,” Ding explains.

Her work addresses a key challenge in the field: while Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) holds great promise as a tool for simulating wind-structure interaction, its widespread adoption is limited by computational intensity and inherent uncertainty. Dr. Ding’s research advances the state of CFD by improving predictive capabilities through multi-fidelity modeling and uncertainty quantification—including propagation of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties.

Her work doesn’t stop at analysis. Dr. Ding has also introduced new mitigation strategies, including aerodynamic shape sculpting of buildings and autonomous morphing of structural forms to dynamically respond to changing wind loads—innovations aimed at creating more sustainable and resilient urban environments in the face of climate variability.

As a new CvEEN faculty, Dr. Ding will continue her research in computational wind and structural engineering, focusing on integrating data-driven methods with physics-based modeling to better understand and mitigate wind hazards.

“My research is about building smarter, more resilient infrastructure,” she says, “by merging advanced computational tools with a deep understanding of physical systems.”

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Ding to the U and look forward to the transformative impact her work will have on infrastructure resilience and the future of structural engineering.