Assoc Prof Dr. Yu Jia | Effective Visualization Techniques | Best Researcher Award

Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute | China

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✅ Suitability Summary

With a research focus centered on early detection of latent cracking in concrete hydraulic structures, Dr. Jia Yu is uniquely equipped for roles involving structural health monitoring, risk assessment, and infrastructure diagnostics. His contributions have addressed critical challenges in non-visible damage detection, making infrastructure safer and more resilient under extreme service conditions such as impact, floods, and load degradation. His ability to lead high-impact national projects, combined with his deep technical knowledge and innovation, underlines his suitability for leadership, advisory, or technical expert roles in critical infrastructure and research.

📘 Education & Experience

Dr. Jia Yu, a Ph.D. graduate in Hydraulic and Hydropower Engineering from Hohai University, has built a solid foundation in civil and structural engineering since earning his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Shandong Jianzhu University in 2013. He currently holds the position of Senior Engineer at the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, a prominent national research institute under the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Transport, and the National Energy Administration. With over a decade of academic and professional dedication, his work spans across infrastructure safety, diagnostic technologies, and hydraulic structures.

📈 Professional Development

Dr. Jia has served as principal investigator or core member on over 10 national and provincial research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation Youth Program, the Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation, and key topics in the 14th Five-Year National Key R&D Plan. He contributed as the third drafting member for a national technical specification in water conservancy. His scholarly output includes 27 peer-reviewed publications (13 SCI-indexed), and he holds 32 granted invention patents, reflecting a sustained and multi-dimensional contribution to the field. His work has led to field-ready innovations, published in high-impact journals, and has influenced industry standards and safety practices.

🔬 Research Focus

Driven by the national priority of “safety first and prevention-oriented” in hydraulic infrastructure, Dr. Jia’s research targets early identification of micro-level damage—specifically cracks smaller than 0.05 mm, which traditional methods struggle to detect. His pioneering work explores selective excitation detection mechanisms, including ultrasonic thermography, numerical simulation, and the development of specialized test equipment. By integrating wide-band ultrasonic generators, infrared imaging, and modular excitation arrays, he advanced detection capability down to 0.01 mm-level microcracks, effectively redefining what’s possible in non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete. These technologies significantly improve the predictive maintenance and disaster resilience of hydraulic infrastructure.

🏆 Honors & Awards

Dr. Jia Yu has been recognized for his technical innovation and practical impact with multiple top-tier national and provincial awards. These include:

• 🥇 First Prize in the Technical Invention Award (2021) from the China Waterborne Transport Construction Industry Association for a method detecting 0.01mm microcracks (2nd place contributor).

• 🥇 First Prize in the Technical Invention Award (2025) by the China Institute of Navigation, recognizing his work on pier capacity degradation diagnostics (4th contributor).

• 🥇 Scientific and Technological Award from Jiangsu Mechanics Society (2022) for deep rock stress detection (11th contributor).

• 🥇 Consulting Innovation Award (2024) from the Jiangsu Science and Technology Consulting Association for a pier monitoring system (5th contributor).

• 🥇 Institute Science & Technology Progress Award (2023) from the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute for pier structural diagnostics (4th contributor).

📚 Key Publications & Patents

Dr. Jia has authored numerous influential papers, including:

• “Application of vibrothermography to visualize hidden cracking” (Journal of Building Engineering, IF: 6.7, 2024)

• “Ultrasound-excited thermography for detecting microcracks” (NDT&E International, IF: 4.1, 2019)

• Multiple papers in SCI journals focused on concrete crack detection using ultrasound and thermal imaging techniques.

He is also the first inventor on patents such as:

• Real-time visualization system for crack initiation in concrete (2024)

• Full-process fracture tracking system for concrete under load (2022)

• Fluorescent excitation detection for hidden cracks under real-world conditions (2024)

• Radar-traced crack depth indicator for concrete (2024)

These works reflect a career that combines theory with practical application, pushing the boundaries of diagnostic technology in structural engineering.

📚 Selected Publication