The design director of Weidlinger's East Coast Buildings group, who has been the structural designer of many US and Chinese landmarks, is one of fifty outstanding business leaders being honored by AABDC this year.

New York, NY – Weidlinger principal Tian-Fang Jing is a 2009 recipient of an Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award from the nation’s largest and most influential program honoring Asian American entrepreneurs and business professionals. The eighth annual presentation of the awards by the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) takes place on June 10, 2009, at the Hilton New York in New York City. AABDC was established in 1994 to help Asian-owned businesses compete in the general marketplace and to promote greater recognition of Asian American contributions to the economy.

Jing received his BSCE from Tsinghua University, Beijing (1977), and spent four years as an assistant research engineer at the China Academy of Building Research. He joined Weidlinger in 1982 and was named a principal in 1998. Jing is design director of the firm’s East Coast Buildings group, as well as a shareholder and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. He is also an adjunct associate professor at Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture and a generous mentor to young engineers in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Jing said, “I am honored by this award and grateful that my career in the United States has allowed me to retain a vital connection to my birth country, China, and to collaborate with professionals in both countries. As the world has shrunk, my horizons have expanded. In granting me this award, AABDC honors the built environment professions and the pursuit of design excellence, which can increase the prosperity and cooperation of all nations.”

Jing, who has earned a reputation for being especially responsive to architects’ aesthetic concerns, has contributed significantly to the design of many New York City landmarks, including the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial, Rockefeller University Campus Community Pedestrian Bridge, and Javits Convention Center. He has published widely in engineering journals and proceedings on advanced analysis of innovative long-span structures (such as stadiums), many of which have tensegrity (tensioned fabric) roofs and domes. His resume includes many special structures, such as the Georgia Dome Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia; World War II Museum multi-building addition, New Orleans, Louisiana (opening this year); and several projects in China, including the Shanghai Stadium and Shanghai Ferry Terminal Roof.

Throughout his 27 years with Weidlinger, Jing has maintained strong professional ties with China and returns there many times a year to observe construction. He is responsible for the structural design of many of the country’s exciting contemporary buildings, including the Bank of China headquarters building, Beijing, and Tomorrow Square Tower, Shanghai. In preparation for Shanghai World Expo 2010, he recently completed the structural design for the Gaoyang International Cruise Terminal and nearby Winter Garden, which are part of the development of the areas along the Huangpu River. The terminal’s asymmetrical observation tower is already a local landmark. Among his other Chinese projects are the Chinese Embassy, Washington, DC; Ci-Hou Mixed-Use Complex, Shanghai; Hong Kou Stadium, Shanghai; Qingdao Fortune Center, Qingdao; Taipei Planetarium, Taiwan; TEDA International Convention Center, Tianjin; and Fragrant Hill Hotel, Beijing.