Alfredo Hua-Sing Ang

Born July 4, 1930, died October 14, 2024. Bellevue, WA. Al grew up from humble beginnings in Davao City on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, but excelled in school, earning top test scores in high school and college in math and engineering. He met his beloved wife, Mae (Myrtle), in high school, and they married on December 23, 1954 while he was still completing his college education.

After placing at the top of his class at Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila (he liked to joke that he graduated from MIT!), he was invited to pursue graduate studies with Dr. Nathan Newmark in the Civil Engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Al and Mae are forever grateful for Dr. Newmark’s invitation and sponsorship when they immigrated to Urbana in 1955. Al’s doctoral thesis was ground-breaking, taking advantage of the pioneering computing capabilities of the Illiac I supercomputer to integrate probabilistic methods with computational algorithms to analyze and predict the reliability and safety of engineering structures, allowing for more accurate and efficient assessments compared to the conventional methods of the 1950’s.

Al’s research was such a break-through that the Civil Engineering department made the unusual move to ask him to stay on as an Assistant Professor after he graduated in 1959. He went on to become full professor, overseeing the research of over 60 doctoral recipients, and publishing well over 300 publications including being senior co-author of a 2-volume textbook, Probability Concepts in Engineering Planning and Design, which has been translated into several languages and used for courses in probabilistic methods by major universities worldwide.

In 1988, Al and Mae moved to University of California-Irvine after Al took early retirement from Illinois. Al was lured to southern California not just for the sunshine, but to enhance UC-Irvine’s academic reputation in structural and earthquake engineering by developing the curriculum for risk and reliability analysis. He also helped secure research funding for advanced studies in engineering safety. Numerous visiting scholars from throughout the world came to study and learn from Al as his efforts helped establish UC-Irvine as a leading institution in these fields.

Later, after yet another retirement and a final move to Bellevue, Washington, Al served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at National Taiwan University for Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech), and Director of the Advisory Board for the Building Technology Center. Through sharing his expertise in structural and earthquake engineering and participating in academic exchanges, he helped to strengthen the research capabilities and international collaborations of Taiwan Tech. This collaboration with Taiwan Tech continued until 2022.

Al’s many contributions to the field of probabilistic methods and analysis in structural engineering led to multiple awards and honors from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): 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.

Al is survived by wife Mae, daughters Evelyn Ang, Irene Strohbeen (David), and son James Ang (Karlyn), brothers Robert Ang (Amelia) and Henry (Rosie), grandchildren Ben Strohbeen (Ginny), Patrick Strohbeen, Alexander Ang, and Claire Ang (fiancé Zack) and numerous nephews and nieces.

Al’s intelligence, gentle demeanor, and kindness are well remembered, along with his jovial nature and ever-present smile.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a gift to the Alfredo H S and Myrtle Mae Ang Fund (#771035) at the University of Illinois Foundation, a fellowship fund for graduate students majoring in structural engineering and structural mechanics in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Gifts may be made online at https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/49306/donations/new

or by mail to:

University of Illinois Foundation

PO Box 734500

Chicago, IL 60673-4500