Civil Engineering Professor Fabio Matta was recently named a Fellow by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Board of Direction. The distinction is held by only 3% of ASCE members.

According to ASCE, “fellows have made celebrated contributions and developed creative solutions that change lives around the world.” 

Matta was recognized for his notable contributions in structural engineering and experimental mechanics; especially in the areas of noncorrosive nonmetallic reinforcement for structural concrete, bridge engineering, structural testing and health monitoring, infrastructure strengthening and repair, and innovative solutions for sustainable and hazard-resistant dwellings. His team’s research on hurricane and tornado resistant earth masonry, which has been developed at the University of South Carolina through multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, was the subject of a recent TEDx talk.

Matta has been a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing since 2010, earning tenure in 2016. He also served as the department’s graduate director from 2015 to 2023.

Matta received his laurea (five-year) degree in civil engineering from the University of Padova in Italy, following a year as a visiting undergraduate student at the University of California, San Diego. He earned his Ph.D. from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.