Recently, at the 31st International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences (ICCES 2025) held in Changsha, Academician Zhang Weihong from NPU was awarded the prestigious J. N. Reddy Medal in the field of mechanics. This honor recognizes his pioneering contributions to topology optimization methods for aerospace structural systems and high-performance cutting technologies.

The medal is named after Professor J. N. Reddy, a pioneer in modern engineering analysis and mathematical modeling of mechanics, a key founder of the finite element method, and a member of seven national academies including the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It aims to honor scholars who have made outstanding contributions to the field of advanced materials and structural mechanics. During the conference, Professor J. N. Reddy himself presented the medal to Academician Zhang Weihong.

About Professor Zhang Weihong:

Professor Zhang Weihong is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Deputy to the National People's Congress, and a former Vice President of Northwestern Polytechnical University. He currently serves as the Chairman of the University's Association for Science and Technology. He also holds positions including Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics, President of the Shaanxi Association of Non-Party Intellectuals, President of the Shaanxi Western Returned Scholars Association (Overseas-educated Scholars Association), and Chairman of the Shaanxi Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

He has long been engaged in research on aerospace structural optimization and advanced manufacturing technologies. His accolades include the Second Prize of the State Natural Science Award, the Second Prize of the State Technological Invention Award, the National Innovation Competition Award, the First Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award for Higher Education (Graduate level), the Feng Ru Aviation Science and Technology Elite Award, the Outstanding Figure in the Overseas Chinese Community, and the First Prize of the Overseas Chinese Contribution Award. The team he leads has also been honored with the 27th China Youth May Fourth Medal Collective and the National Huang Danian-style Teacher Team.