On July 18, Prof. Jie LI received the “ICDM Lifetime Achievement Medal”, the highest international honor in damage mechanics, at the Fifth International Conference on Damage Mechanics (ICDM). ICDM Chairman Professor Woody Ju presented the award to Li, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of the College of Civil Engineering at Tongji University, in recognition of his “pioneering, systematic, and transformative work” in the field. The honor reflects global recognition of Li’s research impact in advancing the key field of solid mechanics.

Li reshaped damage mechanics research through fundamental innovations. His key achievements include: proposing a nano-micro-mesoscale stochastic fracture model, which reveals the physical laws governing damage evolution; establishing multidimensional stochastic elastoplastic damage constitutive relations for concrete; and systematically developing efficient numerical methods for stochastic nonlinear structural analysis.  

His stochastic damage mechanics theory has gained international traction, providing theoretical foundations for concrete structure design and disaster resilience analysis in skyscrapers, bridges, and offshore platforms. China’s national code for design of concrete structures incorporates his concrete damage constitutive model, demonstrating direct engineering applications of his theoretical work.

Prof. Jie LI has long been engaged in teaching and research in structural engineering and disaster reduction in civil engineering. He holds an honorary doctorate from Aalborg University in Denmark and received the Freudenthal Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers. From 2017 to 2022, he served as President of the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability (IASSAR).