Congratulations are in order! Frank Cheng, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pipeline Science and Engineering, elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

The recent announcement by the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) on its official website revealed the induction of 53 CAE Fellows for this year. Among them was Professor Frank Cheng, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pipeline Science and Engineering (hereinafter referred to as “J. Pipeline Sci. Eng.”).

Established in 1987, the CAE is a national academy comprising distinguished engineers across all engineering disciplines, representing a team of the most accomplished scientists in Canadian engineering circle. The title of CAE Fellow, conferred by the Federal Government of Canada, recognizes experts and professors exemplifying national excellence in their field. These individuals, including professors and experts like Frank Cheng, play a vital role as national thought leaders, providing authoritative insights on project initiation, review and research at the national level.

Prof. Cheng is a distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, the European Academy of Sciences, and the International Corrosion Council. Renowned as Canada’s leading expert in pipeline engineering, he holds a tenured professorship at the University of Calgary, where he garners international acclaim for his pioneering work in oil and gas pipeline corrosion science and safety engineering.

With accolades including the Canadian Distinguished Materials Scientist Award and the Metal Chemistry Award from the Metallurgy and Materials Society of CIM, he has authored four research monographs and over 300 academic journal articles. His contributions have earned him a place among the top 0.06% of the world’s most influential scientists in materials science. Prof. Cheng has been serving as the Editor-in-Chief of J. Pipeline Sci. Eng. since its inception in April 2021.

Notably, Prof. Cheng pioneered the concept of “metallurgical microelectrochemistry” and led global advancements in utilizing diverse micro-nano electrochemical methods to investigate pipeline corrosion, significantly enriching the knowledge system of pipeline steel corrosion and stress corrosion cracking.

As the first scientist in the world to study and determine the local electrochemical activity of nanoscale metallurgical and mechanical defects in pipeline steel in service environments, Prof Cheng has paved the way for enhanced safety standards. He also introduced the “Theory of Mechanical-Electrochemical Effect of Pipeline Corrosion”, fundamentally reshaping the field.

Moreover, Prof. Cheng’s development of the “multi-physics coupling effect model” is currently considered to be the most reliable pipeline safety assessment and failure prediction technology. Widely adopted by international pipeline companies for integrity management, his research findings have been integrated into COMSOL, a leading physics and engineering computing software platform, serving as essential teaching material.