The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) has appointed Brian Uy as its 105th President for 2026.
Today, The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the representative body for the profession worldwide, is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Uy FIStructE CEng as its 105th President for 2026.
Brian, who is currently Scientia Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia brings decades of expertise and experience to the role.
His career has been as rich as it is varied, spanning roles at leading consultancies including Arcadis, Worley and Arup, working on some of the world’s largest and most complex projects. He has also been actively involved in the development of landmark industry codes and standards as well as being instrumental in ensuring they’re both fit-for-purpose and deliver positive outcomes.
In addition to his role at UNSW, Brian chairs the Australian/New Zealand Standards on Steel and Composite Structures and serves as Vice President of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE).
Involved in research in steel and composite structures for over 30 years, Brian has served on the editorial boards of fourteen international journals for structural engineering and is Chief Editor (Asia-Pacific) for Steel and Composite Structures and serves on the Editorial Board of IStructE’s flagship research journal Structures.
He is also a significant contributor to international codes of practice in steel and composite construction and has served on the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Task Committee 5 on Composite Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), Technical Committee on Composite Construction.
His singular and visionary approach combines academic leadership with practical application, and his presidential year will focus on three interconnected themes that align with IStructE’s 2026-2030 strategic pillars:
Registration and supervision – Championing greater professionalism through regulatory frameworks, exploring supervision models and safety initiatives. He aims to strengthen learning from structural failures through global programmes like CROSS, ensuring the profession continues to prioritise safety across all designs and builds.
Structural efficiency and embodied carbon – Raising further awareness of sustainable design practices by promoting structural efficiency principles how these can lead to the reduction of embodied carbon. He will actively encourage structural engineers to design optimised structures that consider the system and material behaviour across the whole structure or building’s lifecycle, from cradle to grave.
Technical competence and research – Supporting professionals by focusing on core learning and development areas, including composite systems, sustainable structures and low embodied carbon solutions. His aim is to ensure engineers have the advanced knowledge needed to design high-performance, sustainable structures with purpose, that benefit people, planet and the wider structural engineering profession.
Commenting on the achievement, Brian Uy, incoming IStructE President, says: “Structural engineering is an ever-changing profession that demands technical excellence, a commitment to sustainability and is punctuated by the collaboration of teams of professionals. Looking to the future, I want to ensure our members have the knowledge, support and regulatory frameworks they need to design structures that are not only safe and efficient, but also have a positive impact on society-at-large. By creating opportunities for closer collaboration between academia, industry and professional bodies, we can enhance our profession and empower structural engineers across the world to deliver better outcomes for the built environment.”
Yasmin Becker, IStructE CEO, said: “Brian’s distinguished 35-year academic career together with his active involvement with IStructE since 1992, underscores his significant contribution to the advancement of structural engineering worldwide. A champion of collaboration between academia and professional practice, Brian is also a strong advocate for structural efficiency. I look forward to working with him as he takes up the position of the IStructE’s 105th President in 2026.”
Brian succeeds Mohamad Al-Dah and takes up the presidency for the entirety of 2026.
To register to watch Brian’s inaugural address, which takes place at 18:00 (GMT) on Thursday 22 January 2026 click here.
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