The 11th Asia-Pacific Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (APWSHM 2026) was held in Shanghai from October 30 to November 2. The conference brought together more than 400 experts, researchers and engineering professionals from over 20 countries and regions to discuss advances in structural health monitoring (SHM) and its engineering applications.
Associate Dean for Research Yanfeng Shen of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global College (SJTUGC, abbreviated as GC hereafter) served as conference chair. Professor Fuh-Gwo Yuan of North Carolina State University and Professor Zhongqing Su of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University served as co-chairs.
The conference was organized by the APWSHM International Committee and hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin Institute of Technology and East China University of Science and Technology. Fudan University, Tongji University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and North Carolina State University served as co-organizers.
Yanfeng Shen chairs the opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on the morning of October 31. Chairman of the GC Council Yanchun Yang delivered a welcome address on behalf of the host institutions. Stanford University Professor Fu-Kuo Chang, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Structural Health Monitoring and chair of the International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, also addressed the participants. Younho Cho, former vice president of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing and chair of the 20th World Conference on Nondestructive Testing, presented a gift on behalf of the Korean nondestructive testing and structural health monitoring communities.
Yanchun Yang delivers a welcome address.
Fu-Kuo Chang gives a speech at the opening ceremony.
Younho Cho presents a gift to the conference.
In his opening remarks, Shen introduced the conference program, which received 334 abstracts and featured seven plenary presentations, 22 keynote presentations and 24 technical sessions. Topics covered civil engineering and transportation infrastructure, aerospace, energy systems, sensing technologies, and artificial intelligence and data-driven methods. Shen also encouraged early-career researchers to make full use of the conference to present their work and exchange ideas with peers from around the world.
This year’s workshop marked the 20th anniversary of APWSHM, which was first held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2006. Together with the International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM) and the European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM), APWSHM has helped foster international exchange and research in the field. Former conference chairs and invited guests joined a ceremony during the opening session to mark the anniversary, reflect on the development of the academic community and discuss future collaboration.
A ceremony marking the opening of APWSHM 2026
The conference featured plenary and keynote presentations by experts from China and abroad, including Shandong Tu, Hui Li, Wiesław Ostachowicz, Tony T. Y. Yang, Xiaoning Jiang, Ching-tai Ng and Jinkyu Yang. Their presentations covered developments in SHM theory, intelligent sensing, structural safety assessment and engineering applications.
Addressing the needs of major engineering structures throughout their service life, including operation in complex environments and long-term maintenance, the presentations highlighted the growing integration of SHM with artificial intelligence, digital twins and advanced materials.
Technical sessions, oral presentations and poster discussions covered applications in civil infrastructure, offshore engineering, aerospace, rail transportation, energy equipment and composite materials. Participants exchanged views on topics including sensing and data acquisition, ultrasonic guided waves and acoustic emission testing, damage identification, condition assessment, service-life prediction and intelligent maintenance.
Students and early-career researchers were also an important part of the conference. The event received 122 student submissions and featured 33 poster presentations. The poster sessions gave participants opportunities to discuss research methods, experimental design and findings, exchange ideas and identify potential collaborations.
The conference presented awards for Best Student Presentation, Best Poster and Best Paper to recognize outstanding research. By combining academic presentations with research showcases and opportunities for young researchers to connect, the conference provided a platform for early-career scholars to share their work and engage with the international research community.
Participants exchange research findings in the poster exhibition area.
APWSHM 2026 brought together researchers and professionals from around the world to share recent developments and discuss future directions in structural health monitoring. As conference chair, Shen and the organizing institutions helped strengthen international academic exchange and create opportunities for interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The event also provided a platform for young researchers to broaden their academic perspectives and build connections with peers in the field.
