On June 7, 2025, Professor Jian Kang, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), and Member of the Academia Europaea (MAE), was officially appointed as Honorary Professor at Tongji University. The ceremony, held in Conference Room B218 at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), was presided over by Dean Professor Lan Wang and attended by key university and college leaders, including Executive Vice President Professor Peiming Lv, Chairman of College council Professor Zhendong Wang, and faculty members.

During the ceremony, Professor Lv Peiming, on behalf of Tongji University, extended a warm welcome to Professor Kang and highlighted the strategic importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in architecture and related fields amid evolving industry trends. He emphasized the university’s aspiration to leverage Professor Kang’s expertise to foster academic exchanges and drive holistic development.

Professor Zhendong Wang provided a detailed overview of Professor Kang’s academic background and achievements. As a global leader in architectural and environmental acoustics, Professor Kang has pioneered breakthroughs in long-space acoustics theory and addressed critical challenges, such as subway evacuation sound guidance and urban quiet zone engineering. His roles include President of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV), Chair of the European Acoustics Association’s Noise Committee, and Chair of the European Soundscape Alliance.

Professor Kang expressed gratitude for Tongji’s invitation and acknowledged the university’s remarkable progress and internationalization. Reflecting on the evolution of civil engineering and architecture—from prosperity to crisis and stabilization—he stressed the need to redefine the competencies of future architects through rigorous research, advocating for curriculum reforms and interdisciplinary integration. He pledged to collaborate with Tongji’s faculty and students to advance cross-disciplinary synergies in architecture.

Background:

Professor Jian Kang holds academic positions at University College London (UCL) Bartlett School of Architecture and is Honorary Dean at Tianjin University’s School of Architecture. A graduate of Tsinghua University (BArch, MArch) and the University of Cambridge (PhD), he was a Humboldt Fellow at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics. His accolades include the European Senior Scientist Award and the Rayleigh Medal.