Dr. Wing S. (Welson) Kwan, Ph.D., P.E.
Award
Outstanding Faculty Advisor for Student Groups
Description
Dr. Wing Shun (Welson) Kwan is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). He earned his Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. in GeoEngineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley. Following his doctoral studies, he served as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) in Oslo, Norway. Prior to joining academia, he worked as a geotechnical engineer with Jacobs Associates (now Delve Underground) and Treadwell & Rollo (now Langan). He is a registered Professional Engineer in California.
Dr. Kwan has served as Faculty Advisor to the Cal State LA ASCE Student Chapter since 2020 and was the Lead Faculty Organizer for the 2026 ASCE Pacific Southwest Student Symposium (PSWS) hosted at Cal State LA. Through his dedication to student success, he has strengthened student engagement, professional development, leadership opportunities, and participation in ASCE activities. His mentorship has guided undergraduate and graduate students in research, competition teams, and professional practice. Under his technical advisement, the Cal State LA GeoWall Team earned first place at the 2025 and 2026 Pacific Southwest Symposia and third place nationally in the ASCE GeoWall Competition in both years. He has also advised numerous master’s theses, undergraduate research projects, and award-winning student presentations, helping prepare the next generation of civil engineers for successful careers in the profession.
His research focuses on geotechnical earthquake engineering, soil liquefaction, geophysical characterization of geomaterials, and sustainable geotechnical infrastructure. As Principal Investigator, Dr. Kwan has secured competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) research awards, including a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant and an Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) award. He also serves as a Co-Principal Investigator for the NSF CREST Center for Advancement Toward Sustainable Urban Systems at Cal State LA. Through these and other NSF-funded initiatives, he has expanded research opportunities for students while enhancing Cal State LA’s capabilities in geotechnical engineering research.
