ACPA TOM WHEELAN Endowed Professor
UT Arlington Distinguished Teaching Professor
University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teacher
Faculty-in-Charge, UTA Civil Engineering Laboratory Building
Professor of Structural Engineering and Applied Mechanics,
Department of Civil Engineering; Affiliate Faculty – Architectural Engineering (AREN), the University of Texas at Arlington
416 Yates Street, 425 Nedderman Hall, Arlington, Texas 76019-0308
Phone: (817) 272-2550
Email: shchao@uta.edu
Dr. Shih-Ho (Simon) Chao received his B.S. degree in Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering from the National Taiwan University, and his M.S. degree in Structural Engineering from the National Chung-Hsing University. After graduation he joined the Marine Corps and served as a second lieutenant for two years. He then worked for the government as a civil engineer before coming to the U.S. for his research career at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM). He received his Ph.D. degree in Structural and Materials Engineering from UM in December 2005. Dr. Chao worked as a post-doctoral research fellow and lecturer in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan until July 2007. He became a member of the University of Texas at Arlington faculty as an assistant professor in 2007, earned the title of Associate Professor in 2012, and became a full professor in 2017.
Dr. Chao was the Vice-Director at both the NSF I/UCRC (UTA CICI Site) Research Center, focusing on the Sustainable Utilization of Composites in Infrastructure Systems, and the Research Center of Excellence on Sustainable and Resilient Civil Infrastructure (SARCI) from 2013 to 2020.
Dr. Chao is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), American Concrete Institute (ACI), Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), , Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), ASTM Subcommittee on Fiber-Reinforced Concrete, and the Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT).
He has served as a voting member on various technical committees, including AISC Task Committee 9 – Seismic Systems. Additionally, he is an Associate Editor for both the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering and ACI Structural Journal.
Dr. Chao is the co-author of two books: Prestressed Concrete Analysis and Design: Fundamentals, 4th Edition (2022), and Performance-Based Plastic Design—Earthquake Resistant Steel Structures (2008).
His research interests include high-performance fiber (tensile strain-hardening) concrete, ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC), earthquake engineering, seismic behavior of structural systems, performance-based plastic design (PBPD) for earthquake resistant structures, and large-to full-scale experimental testing of reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, and steel members/frames (especially the special truss moment frame (STMF), the staggered truss framing (STF) system, and eccentrically braced frame (EBF).
Dr. Chao has been teaching various graduate courses as well as undergraduate courses such as CE5314 Advanced Steel Design II (Steel Connection Design), CE5309 Prestressed (Pre-Tensioned) Concrete Design, CE5304 Post-Tensioned Concrete Design, CE5394 Earthquake-Resistant Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures, CE5310 Plastic Analysis & Design of Steel Structures, CE5306 Structural Steel Design, CE5385 Structural Dynamics, CE5351 Advanced Theory of Structures, CE3341 Structural Analysis, CE4347 Reinforced Concrete Design, and CE2311 Statics.
Dr. Chao was the recipient of the 2021 American Concrete Institute (ACI) Mete A. Sozen Award for Excellence in Structural Research, the 2011 American Concrete Institute (ACI) Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research, the 2011 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Milek Young Researcher Fellowship Award, Outstanding Civil Engineering Instructor Award at the University of Texas at Arlington, the 2015 University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (ROTA), the 2018 UTA President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 2021 UTA College of Engineering Teaching Award, and the 2021 UTA College of Engineering Service Award. He was inducted into UT Arlington’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2019.