ACI Honorary Member and Past President, Professor James (Jim) K. Wight, passed away on June 8, 2026. Wight will always be remembered as a kind, noble, and brilliant person who dedicated his professional career to educating and mentoring generations of students, young professors, and structural engineers. He received his BSE and MSE in civil engineering from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA, in 1969 and 1970, respectively. He then pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, under the supervision of ACI Honorary Member Mete A. Sözen, receiving his PhD in 1973. While at the University of Illinois, Wight conducted pioneering work on shear strength decay in reinforced concrete columns subjected to reversed cyclic loading, which has had a profound impact on the design of earthquake-resistant concrete columns and beams for the past 50 years. It was while studying the results of his column tests that he identified the apparent “disappearance” of the yield plateau in longitudinal steel reinforcement of members subjected to a moment gradient.
In 1973, Wight joined the faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan (U of M), Ann Arbor, MI, (later the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), where he served as a professor for nearly 50 years. His classes were masterful, and his door was always open to assist students and colleagues. During his first 3 years as an Assistant Professor at U of M, Wight won the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) U of M Student Chapter Teacher of the Year Award, for which the recipient is selected annually by universal vote among the students in the department. He later went on to receive this award nine times. Throughout his career at U of M, he taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses on structural analysis, reinforced concrete design, and prestressed concrete. Wight advised more than 30 PhD students at U of M, many of them later becoming successful faculty members and practicing engineers in the United States and abroad. He co-authored three editions of the textbook Reinforced Concrete—Mechanics and Design with ACI Honorary Member and Past President James G. MacGregor, later becoming the sole author.
Wight and his students conducted experimental studies that resulted in significant contributions to the earthquake-resistant design of reinforced concrete beam-to-column connections. He was the first to call attention to the column-to-beam moment strength ratio as a key parameter in the design process. Minimum limits for that parameter are now part of the design codes for reinforced concrete structures. He was also the first to define acceptable ratios between the column depth and the diameter of beam reinforcing bars passing through the joint to avoid an early loss of bond and excessive slip of the bars within the joint. As Subcommittee Chair of ACI-ASCE Committee 352, Joints and Connections in Monolithic Concrete Structures, in the early 1980s, he led the effort that resulted in ACI 352-85, “Recommendations for Design of Beam-Column Joints in Monolithic Reinforced Concrete Structures,” which represented a radical change in the design of beam-column joints and served as the basis for the design provisions for beam-column joints in ACI CODE-318, particularly for earthquake motions. Under Wight’s leadership, ACI Committee 352 expanded its mission to include slab-column connections, completing the first edition of ACI 352.1R-89, “Recommendations for Design of Slab-Column Connections in Monolithic Reinforced Concrete Structures.”
In 1980-1981, Wight spent a 1-year sabbatical leave in Japan and was involved in the construction and simulated earthquake testing of a full-scale reinforced concrete building. This large-scale “proof test” verified the adequacy of several reinforcement details used in earthquake-resistant concrete structures in the United States. This project also initiated a 20+ year series of cooperative research programs between the United States and Japan. After his return from Japan, Wight designed the large-scale structural engineering laboratory at U of M and was instrumental in securing the necessary funds for its construction and equipment. This laboratory was the second in the United States to feature an L-shape reaction wall and enabled hundreds of students to conduct pioneering research in reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, and steel structures at U of M.
Wight served on post-earthquake reconnaissance teams after several major earthquakes, including earthquakes in California, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Armenia, India, and Egypt. He was also involved with the Applied Technology Council (ATC) project to develop the FEMA 273/274 documents on “Guidelines for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings.” This was the first performance-based seismic design document written in the United States. Wight and ACI Honorary Member Jack P. Moehle of the University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA, were the primary authors of the chapter on reinforced concrete structures and led the effort to define acceptance criteria for concrete frame and wall elements at various damage states. FEMA 273/274 was a widely referenced document that was made into an ASCE design standard for performance-based seismic rehabilitation of structures.
An ACI member for more than 50 years, Wight served as Chair of the ACI Technical Activities Committee; ACI Committee 318, Structural Building Code; and ACI Committee 352. He also served as ACI President from 2012-2013, enhancing the structure of ACI’s international involvement and collaboration.
Wight received numerous ACI awards for his contributions to the concrete industry and the education of structural engineers, including the Wason Medal for Most Meritorious Paper, the Structural Research Award (now the Mete A. Sözen Award for Excellence in Structural Research), the Joe W. Kelly Award (now the Clyde E. Kesler Education Award), the Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award, the Alfred E. Lindau Award, and the ACI Foundation Arthur J. Boase Award. In 2014, a series of technical sessions were held in his honor, which resulted in the ACI Special Publication SP-311, James K. Wight: A Tribute from his Students and Colleagues. In 2020, Wight received ACI’s highest honor, Honorary Member. Wight loved his work with ACI committees and attending ACI Concrete Conventions, maintaining his personal involvement in ACI for several years after his retirement.
In all of Wight’s endeavors, he was the consummate gentleman, steadfastly pursuing his educational, professional, and organizational objectives with commitment, kindness, and patience. Wight could likewise provide assertive leadership to maintain progress toward deadlines to which the group had committed. He was a family man, talking with deep pride and affection about family accomplishments and adventures. He enjoyed playing golf and cheering for U of M football, cherishing his many hours in “The Big House”. He will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of meeting him, working with him, and receiving his advice and mentorship.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to ACI Honorary Member and Past President Ken Hover and Gustavo Parra-Montesinos, FACI, for providing this in remembrance to honor Jim Wight.
James K. Wight Reinforced Concrete Design Fellowship
In honor of Wight’s legacy, the ACI Foundation has created the James K. Wight Reinforced Concrete Design Fellowship to support graduate students pursuing studies in reinforced concrete structures. This Fellowship ensures that Wight’s dedication to education and the industry continues for generations to come. Those who wish to honor his memory may do so by contributing to the Fellowship and helping to shape the next generation of concrete leaders. To learn more or to donate, visit www.acifoundation.org/jamesKWightReinforcedConcreteDesignFellowship.