Zhenhua Tian, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the 2025 Achenbach Medal. This award recognizes a young investigator at the international level who has completed their PhD within the last 10 years and has made an outstanding contribution to the field of structural health monitoring. One awardee is chosen each year.

Tian’s team has produced a steady stream of advances in structural health monitoring (SHM), most notably developing ultrasonic tools that pass ultrasound through solid structures to return information about what lies inside the structures. In the aerospace world, this has been used to monitor aircraft composites' internal damage, evaluate mechanical properties, or determine its contents. The team also creates laser ultrasound methods to perform similar tasks in harsh environments with high temperatures. In one collaboration with Oak Ridge National Labs,  this technology has shown new possibilities for the monitoring of nuclear fuel rods and spent fuel storage canisters.

Tian joined Virginia Tech in 2022 following a three-year appointment as assistant professor in Aerospace Engineering at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi.

The Achenbach medal is named in honor of Jan Achenbach, professor emeritus and Walter P. Murphy Professor and Distinguished McCormick School Professor at Northwestern University. Tian’s medal was presented at the 15th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM) at Stanford University, September 9-11, 2025.