Rate My Professor Hong Hao

Professor Hong Hao is the John Curtin Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Centre for Infrastructural Monitoring and Protection in the School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at Curtin University. He earned a BE in Hydraulic Engineering from Tianjin University in 1982 and both an MSc and a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989. Hao joined Curtin University as Professor in 2014, was appointed John Curtin Distinguished Professor in 2015, and served as Director of the Centre from 2015 to 2018. He is an ARC Laureate Fellow and holds positions including Adjunct Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia.

Hao's research focuses on earthquake engineering, blast and impact engineering, and structural health monitoring, developing innovative structures and materials such as Carbon FRP, Glass FRP, and polymers to enhance resistance to high-impact blast loads. As Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Protective Structures, he has authored over 900 publications with more than 39,000 citations. Key works include 'Numerical derivation of pressure-impulse diagrams for prediction of RC column damage to blast loads,' 'Modelling of compressive behaviour of concrete-like materials at high strain rate,' 'Multiple-station ground motion processing and simulation based on smart-1 array data,' 'Long term vibration monitoring of an RC slab: Temperature and humidity effect,' and 'Civil structure condition assessment by FE model updating: methodology and case studies.' His contributions have earned him election as Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2023, the Nishino Medal in 2022, Distinguished Fellow of the International Association of Protective Structures in 2020, Charles Bubb Medal in 2019, ARC Laureate Fellowship in 2018, Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2016, and recognition as field leader in Civil and Structural Engineering by The Australian Research Magazine in 2020, 2024, and 2025, among other honors including the John de Laeter Award and PVC’s Annual Researchers of the Year in 2018.