Tsai was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering as an international member for his global leadership and research that advanced earthquake engineering and steel structure design. Tsai is a prolific researcher in the fields of design, testing and analysis of seismic building structures. Throughout his career, he has developed several seismic- protective technologies like metallic energy dissipating elements and buckling restrained braces.As an educator and leader, he has supervised over 150 Masters and Doctoral students from Taiwan and abroad. More recently, his work investigates the relationship between stiffness and cracking in order to keep structures stable and people safe in the event of an earthquake.

(Photo: National Academy of Engineering)