Hunan Province has bestowed its International Scientific Collaboration Contribution Award on the Viterbi School expert who created a remarkable new bamboo material now proven as a structural material for bridges and houses.

Xiao, right, with Hunan University President  Zhihua Zhong.

Yan Xiao, a professor in the USC Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and director of the USC Structural Laboratory was honored January 18 in a ceremony in the provincial capital of Changsha.

The award recognizes foreign experts who contribute to the advancement in science and technology field in Hunan, an inland province with some 64 million inhabitants. It has not been awarded for some years.

Xiao has collaborated with the Hunan University for more than eight years, initiating several research initiatives, directing several high-profile projects.

He established a center for research in building safety and energy efficiency and greatly advanced the level of research in civil engineering field.

He also brought many scholars from USC and elsewhere to Hunan, and organized several high-profile international conferences.

Demonstration Glubam house in Black Bamboo Park, Beijing, built in 2009.

His work on Glubam, a strong composite material made from bamboo,  has attracted international attention and was of particular significance in Hunan Province, which has about one quarter of total bamboo forest resource in China, which in turn has about one third of bamboo forest resource in the world.

Xiao received his award from the governor of Hunan province, Qiang Zhou.

Xiao will chair a panel on "Global Materials: Asia and the Pacific Rim" January 28, as part of the 2010 Build Well Symposium in Sausalito, California.