The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) has recently announced its newly elected Fellows for 2026. Professor Dina D’Ayala, Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at University College London (UCL) and UNESCO Chair in Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Engineering, has been elected a Fellow in recognition of her outstanding contributions to engineering and technology.

Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering is one of the highest distinctions in the UK engineering community. It recognises leading researchers and industry leaders who have made significant contributions to advancing engineering and technology, fostering wider participation in the engineering profession, and providing expert advice to government on engineering and technology policy.

Professor Dina D’Ayala is an internationally renowned scholar in structural resilience engineering and cultural heritage conservation. She currently serves as Professor of Structural Engineering at UCL and holds the UNESCO Chair in Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Engineering. In May 2026, she was appointed Distinguished Professor at Hefei University of Technology.

Her research focuses on structural resilience, particularly the assessment, retrofitting, and disaster risk mitigation of existing buildings, transport infrastructure, and cultural heritage structures. She has made pioneering contributions to seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings and flood risk assessment of historic structures, advancing the protection and resilience of both built infrastructure and cultural heritage.

Source: Official website of the Royal Academy of Engineering