CEE Professor Emeritus Alfredo Hua-Sing Ang (MS 57 PhD 59) passed away on October 14, 2024. He was 94 years old.
Ang grew up in Davao City on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where he excelled in his mathematics and engineering classes. He went on to earn top marks as a student at Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila, and his engineering prowess caught the attention of CEE at Illinois Professor Nathan Newmark. With Newmark’s gracious support and sponsorship, Ang and his wife Mae immigrated to Urbana in 1955, where Ang began graduate studies under Newmark’s tutelage at the University of Illinois.
In his doctoral studies, Ang took advantage of U of I’s advanced computing capabilities, using the Illiac I supercomputer to integrate probabilistic methods with computational algorithms for the safety analysis of engineering structures. His work resulted in more accurate and efficient reliability assessments, greatly improving upon existing methods standardized in the 1950s.
Because of the ground-breaking nature of his thesis, Ang was invited to remain with CEE as an Assistant Professor upon his graduation in 1959. He eventually became a full professor, overseeing over 60 doctoral recipients and publishing over 300 publications- including a 2-volume textbook used worldwide for courses in probabilistic methods.
After leaving CEE at Illinois in 1988, Ang served as a Professor at the University of California Irvine, developing a curriculum for risk and reliability analysis and helping to secure funds for advanced studies in engineering safety. Later, after moving to Bellevue, Washington, he served as a Visiting Professor at National Taiwan University for Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech). In this role, he shared his knowledge in structural and earthquake engineering through academic exchanges and helped strengthen the university’s research capacity. His partnership with Taiwan Tech would continue until 2022.
Ang’s reputation as one of the top minds of probabilistic methods and analysis in structural engineering led him to receive several honors and awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, including the Alfred M. Freudenthal (1982) and Nathan M. Newmark (1988) medals, and Ernest E. Howard Award (1996). He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (1976), received the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Senior Research Award (1983), was named an Honorary Member of ASCE (1991), and was granted six Honorary Doctorates from universities around the world.
In addition to these awards, Ang received the Grainger College of Engineering’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2003, cited for “notable and pioneering contributions to the development of rational safety criteria for the design of structures by applying probabilistic methodology and for his dedicated service to his profession.”
He is survived by his wife, Mae; children Evelyn, Irene and James; brothers Robert and Henry; and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
The family has asked that any memorials gifts be directed to the Alfredo H.S. and Myrtle Mae Ang Fund (#771035) which provides graduate fellowships in structural engineering.
https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/49306/donations/new