2019 40 Under 40: Qian (Samuel) Jiang, PE, LEED AP, CEng, REng; 39

Mechanical Engineering Associate, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago BS and MS Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai

By Jack Smith and Amara Rozgus May 16, 2019

Jiang is an urban environment and tall building expert at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP where he has led mechanical, electrical and plumbing services on eight supertall buildings exceeding 1,000 feet in height. His portfolio includes two of the 10 tallest buildings in the world, Guiyang Cultural Plaza Tower (1,772 feet) in Guiyang, China, and Greenland Silk Road (1,644 feet). He has been involved in the design and construction of many large-scale buildings in North America, China, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. His projects include China’s first commercial U.S Green Building Council LEED Certified building, Nokia BDA; the world’s first net-zero city, Masdar City; mixed-use projects such as Shanghai Hongqiao Xintiandi; and Greenland Hangzhou Gate, a 1,017-foot twin tower mixed-use project. Jiang continually seeks to optimize workflow by integrating calculation, coordination and production using building information modeling. As an MEP team leader, he works with peer architects and external clients. He strives to inspire his team to continue SOM’s legacy of design innovation by cultivating their ideas, helping them win new projects and providing prompt responses to keep designs fully coordinated. He seeks to provide mentorship and management training to his staff, students and interns, guiding them through calculations, problem-solving, technical coordination and drawing. Jiang has been actively involved with sustainability-focused research institutes in the U.S. and China. His work includes developing new energy saving guidelines for the government of Shanghai to use district cooling and heating, co-authoring a book on energy planning and co-creating senior living standards with building simulations in sustainable communities. Outside of work, Jiang enjoys reading, travel and ping pong. 


Author Bio: Jack Smith is a Content Manager at CFE Media. Amara Rozgus is Editor-in-Chief of Consulting-Specifying Engineer.