CIT News Releases
"University-Industry Interactions and Research in Construction at IIT, Madras" by Dr. Varghese
May 9, 2013
Dr. Varghese will give a lecture about "University-Industry Interactions and Research in Construction at IIT, Madras" on Thursday, 9 May 2013 at 1pm in Lecture Room 6, Department of Engineering. He will present 1) opportunities and challenges in the Indian construction industry, 2) the IIT Madras and the Graduate Constuction Program at IITM and 3) recent research in Design Management and Activity Recognition Using Accelerometers.
Dr. Varghese is a Professor with the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM). His research interest is in
the area of computer integrated project delivery. Please follow this link for further information.
PhD Studentships in Construction Engineering
April 24, 2013
Two PhD Studentships are expected to be available to start on 1 Oct 2013 for suitably qualified candidates to conduct research leading to the award of a PhD degree in the field of Construction Engineering. The research will be conducted at the Construction Information Technology laboratory that is part of the Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology. The project is funded by the US National Science Foundation, in conjunction with the EU FP7 Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme and industry. here .
"Virtualizing and Automating Construction" by Dr. Brilakis
February 26, 2013
Dr. Brilakis presented the group's research to the Laing O'Rourke Engineering Excellence Group on February 26, 2013 in Dartford, UK. The full presentation along with the slides of the presentation can be found here .
Abbas Rashidi and Jasmine Hines receive the best paper award at the 5th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management (ICCEPM 2013)
January 10, 2013
Dr Ioannis Brilakis, Laing O'Rourke Lecturer of Construction Engineering, and his students Abbas Rashidi, PhD Candidate, and Jasmine Hines, undergraduate student, were awarded the best paper award of the 5th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management (ICCEPM 2013).
The 5th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management (ICCEPM-2013) was held on 9-11, January 2013 in Anaheim, California. The conference was co-sponsored by buildingSMART Korea, ASCE Construction Institute and California State University Fullerton. This event was a merging of ICCEM held by the Korean Institute of Construction Engineering and Management (KICEM) and ICCPM by the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
The paper is entitled "Distance Measurement in the AEC/FM Industry: An Overview on Technologies". It set the foundations for an ongoing research project which aims to automatically reconstruct and remodel the indoor built infrastructure by processing captured video clips. Results of the research are of great interest for finishing subcontractors, interior designers and furniture manufacturers to assist their customers to virtually design and model their homes and offices and choose the right finishes, appliances and furniture. The award was announced during the conference banquet and closing ceremony held on January 10th.
Dr. Park Appointed as an Assistant Professor at Myongji University, Seoul, South Korea.
December 20, 2012
Dr. Park accepted an offer from Myongji University in Seoul, South Korea to assume a tenure-track position as an assistant professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Myongji University is a prestigious private Christian institution, operating various practical globalization programs. Its CEE department is equipped with the largest scale of training and experimental facilities in South Korea. Dr. Park will be the first construction faculty member in the department, building up a new research group and construction engineering curriculums. He will pursue research in the field of vision-based technologies for automation in construction including construction entity tacking, BIM modeling, and infrastructure health monitoring.
Dr. Park joined the CIT lab in January 2009 and obtained his Ph.D. degree in December 2012 with a thesis titled "Automated 3D Vision-Based Tracking of Construction Entities." In 2012, he received the Fiatech CETI (Celebration of Engineering & Technology Innovation) award in the field of Outstanding Student Research Project. Prior to joining the CIT lab, Dr. Park had been engaged in structural engineering. His M.S. degree in 2003 was in structural engineering at Seoul National University, followed by 4-year experience as a structural engineer at DONGIL Engineering Corporation
Dr. Fei Dai Appointed as Assistant Professor at West Virginia University, U.S.A.
August 28, 2012
In August 2012, Dr. Fei Dai will move to the West Virginia University to assume a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. West Virginia University is a major engineering and mining school located in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a large base for industries in coal mining, oil, and gas. At WVU, Dr. Dai will pursue the research in the fields of photo/videogrammetry-based 3D modeling, surveying, and visualization, recognition and reconstruction for as-built information building modeling, and applications of construction and mining operations simulation and optimization. Also, he will teach the graduate and undergraduate level classes.
Dr. Fei Dai obtained his PhD in Construction Engineering & Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in July 2010. He received his training as a postdoctoral research fellow under the direction of Dr. Ioannis K. Brilakis in the Construction Information Technology Group at the Georgia Institute of Technology from November 2010 to July 2012.
Fiatech Honors Significant Advancements in Engineering and Technology
April 16, 2012
Georgia Tech and the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering made an impressive showing at the 2012 Fiatech Technology Conference & Showcase, an annual event recognizing achievements in the engineering and technology fields. This year's three-day event was held at the Marriott Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Florida on April 2-4, 2012.
Fiatech is an international community of global leadership organizations focused on innovation in the capital projects industry. The organization's Celebration of Engineering & Technology Innovation (CETI) Awards recognize significant achievements in technology research, development, and implementation. Established in 2006, the CETIs recognize both organizations and individuals: organizations for successfully implementing new and emerging technologies, and individuals for making significant strides in advancing innovation in research and development.
The 2011 CETI recipients included 11 honorees in nine categories. Three of this year's honorees represented Georgia Tech. They include:
Outstanding Early Career Researcher
Dr. Ioannis Brilakis: Dr. Brilakis teaches at Georgia Tech and is known for his groundbreaking research in infrastructure object recognition and reconstruction. The National Science Foundation recently awarded Brilakis a grant for research that may revolutionize the way infrastructure is mapped. Beyond research, however, Brilakis is known for advancing academia, developing curricula, and mentoring rising stars in the engineering and construction industry. In education, Brilakis has focused on creating research-based interdisciplinary courses and providing elementary, high school, and college students with the opportunity to engage in research.
Outstanding Student Research Project
Man-Woo Park: Georgia Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. candidate Man-Woo Park has made notable strides in the promising technique of vision tracking. Two or more cameras and a processor are the only equipment required. Each camera view is continuously searched for workers, equipment, and materials. Once a resource is detected, its image is represented by a 2D vision. Detection is possible by characterizing visual patterns and then matching those visual patterns. This fully automated on-site monitoring technique can track a large number of entities, covers a vast area, and is fast and economical.
Intelligent and Automated Construction Job Site
Georgia Tech & Metalforming's Rapid, On-Site Digital Fabrication of Sheet Metal Roof Panels: Researchers from Georgia Tech and Metalforming invented a technology that automates the entire on-site sheet metal fabrication process. Recent advances in machine vision algorithms and high-res video cameras allowed researchers to develop a roof surveying technology. The captured video data, stored on a laptop, provided a 3D wire diagram of the roof. Detailed dimensions allowed a download of that data to a USB flash drive, where it was used to automatically roll, form, and cut the roof panels.
Lisa Grayson, chair of the jury and project department program advisor for ExxonMobil, was impressed with all of the entries. "It's clear that the pace of technological innovation in the capital projects industry is gaining momentum. Fiatech serves both as a catalyst for new ideas and a platform for recognizing those whose achievements are outstanding" she said.
Awards jury member Jim Purvis, group director of engineering systems for WorleyParsons, also stressed innovation. "In a global industry like capital projects, innovation helps us use fewer resources while delivering the expectations of our clients" he said.
Jim Newman of AREVA, also a jury member, echoed Purvis' assessment. "The real-time ability in the field to see changes and next steps is vital to perform on time and budget. Those honored tonight prove that innovation can be deployed on real projects, not just on prototype applications" he said.
In addition to Grayson, Purvis, and Newman, the jury for the CETI awards consisted of John Fish, Ford, Bacon & Davis; Raju Hingorani, Jacobs Engineering; Harold Monk, Autodesk; Tom Sawyer, ENR; and Dr. Jochen Teizer, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Congratulations to Dr. Brilakis, Man-Woo Park, and the entire research team!
Brilakis presented Faculty Award for Academic Outreach
April 13, 2012
Georgia Tech values its position as a leading public research university in the United States and understands full well its responsibility to advance society toward a proper, fair, and sustainable future. By seeking to develop beneficial partnerships within public and private sectors in education, research, and technology, Georgia Tech ensures relevance in all that it does and assures that the benefits of its discoveries are widely disseminated and used in society.
This award provides Georgia Tech with the opportunity to reward faculty members for productive academic outreach in which they go beyond their normal duties to enrich the larger educational community with their subject matter knowledge.
Dr. Ioannis Brilakis joined the Georgia Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor in January 2009.
Visit Dr. Brilakis's faculty profile for more information.
Dr. Zhu appointed as an Assistant Professor at Concordia University, Canada
April 11, 2011
On April 11, 2011, Mr. Zhenhua Zhu successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation on "Column Recognition and Defects/Damage Properties Retrieval for Rapid Infrastructure Assessment and Rehabilitation using Machine Vision". His committee included, Dr. Ioannis Brilakis, Dr. Reginald DesRoches, Dr. Jochen Teizer, Dr. Daniel Castro and Dr. Silvio Savarese.
Dr. Zhu holds a B.E. in Civil Engineering and a M.E. in Computer Science and Technology from Zhejiang University, China. His thesis work is related to automating post-earthquake building safety evaluation with machine vision techniques. His thesis was completed under the guidance of Dr. Ioannis Brilakis and Dr. Reginald DesRoches and conducted in collaboration with the Georgia Search & Rescue team in the Fulton County Fire Department. In 2009, he received the Best Paper Award of the ASCE Construction Research Congress.
In July 2011, Dr. Zhu will move to Concordia University, where he will serve as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Concordia University, located in the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Montreal, Quebec, is one of Canada's most innovative, diverse, and comprehensive universities. At Concordia, in addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses, he will persuade research in the field of application of Information Technologies in construction industry.
Brilakis Appointed to the Governing Board of the Atlanta Chapter of the ACE Mentor Program
December 10, 2010
Dr. Ioannis Brilakis, assistant professor in construction engineering, was appointed to the Governing Board of the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program, Atlanta chapter. This important program serves high school youth who are exploring careers in architecture, construction, or engineering. The mentors involved are professionals in leading design and construction firms who volunteer their time. Dr. Brilakis is currently the only academic serving on the Governing Board of the Atlanta chapter. In this role, he looks forward to opportunities to influence Atlanta's youth in the areas of architecture, construction, and engineering.
The ACE Mentor program uses a multidisciplinary, team-mentoring model where up to 25 students and 10 mentors from four or five firms meet biweekly after school for two hours. Through a year-long curriculum, teams work on planning, design and scheduling either a real or a "virtual" construction project. Assignments include weekly lectures, site visits, and a semester project. The program also provides scholarships for youth.
The program's mission is to engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in the integrated construction industry through mentoring; and to support their continued advancement in the industry through scholarships and grants.
ACE is a unique partnership among industry professionals, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, mechanical, structural, electrical, environmental and civil engineers, construction managers, college and university representatives, and other professionals from related corporations and professional organizations, who work together to attract young people to their professions.
For information about the ACE Mentor program, visit: http://www.acementor.org/ .
Brilakis Earns 2009 ASCE Associate Editor Award
October 19, 2010
Dr. Ioannis Brilakis, assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was recently honored at the 2010 Construction Research Congress meeting in October for receiving the 2009 American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) Associate Editor Award. This is a considerable honor as only one such award is given annually for all ASCE journal publications.
Dr. Brilakis serves on two editorial boards within ASCE and was nominated by the editors in chief of both the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management and the Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering (JCCE). Among his notable achievements, Dr. Brilakis initiated the Annual Best Paper Award in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management and has served as the chair of the journal's awards committee for the last three years. He is also very active in the JCCE awards committee. He serves as a co-specialty editor in the highly subscribed and demanding information technology area. In addition to carrying the expected manuscript load for a JCCE Editorial Board member, Brilakis co-led the production of a highly successful series of special sections on the topic of IT Support for Advanced Infrastructure Systems (Vol. 23, Nos. l-3, with a total of 12 papers in the three sections).
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Brilakis for this notable achievement.
Ioannis Brilakis Wins NSF CAREER Award
May 4, 2010
Ioannis Brilakis, assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Building Construction, has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project, "CAREER: Visual Pattern Recognition Models for Remote Sensing of Civil Infrastructure" The five-year award at $402,279.00 will continue Brilakis' work in model based infrastructure elements recognition, an area in which he's been involved since 2005. He has applied machine vision algorithms to study ways to detect patterns in infrastructure data, such as structural elements, damage, defects, construction equipment and workers, so as to allow the use of low cost cameras for construction automation and infrastructure mapping. The project that won him the CAREER Award will involve formalizing the process of creating new Visual Pattern Recognition (VPR) models to simplify the steps needed to create each mathematical description and provide a set of common tools necessary for this purpose. This will automate the transformation of infrastructures, 3D surfaces into information rich, 3D element models with the help of machine vision. Brilakis said that this way, instead of manually recognizing each element every time it is encountered, we need only recognize its characteristics once and automatically detect it each subsequent time. This is analogous to defining an alphabet (letters = characteristics) so that this project will build the words (element models) and find them in a text (3D surface), instead of having to manually find the words in every text we encounter. The benefit comes from the ability to reuse the known letters (characteristics) and words (element models) every time we have a new text (3D surface). As an educational component, he said the project's validation prototype will be created and used also for educational purposes at all education levels (K-12, undergraduate, graduate). "I have partnered with the SEIMC GIFT Program, the ACE Atlanta Mentor Program and others to bring the VPR model prototype in K-12 education, and excite the high school students' interest in science and math through cool machine vision innovations," Brilakis said. "Undergraduate students will get hands-on experience in courses through a concrete and steel inspector spin-off, and graduate students will actually help create new VPR models and validate them as part of course semester projects." "The immediate advantage that will result from this work is the ability to automate the element recognition step of the "as-built" model generation process," Brilakis said. The National Academy of Engineering recently listed "Restoring and Improving Urban Infrastructure" as one of the Grand Challenges of Engineering in the 21st century. Two of the greatest issues that cause this grand challenge are the need for more automation in construction, through advances in computer science and robotics, and the lack of viable methods to map and label existing infrastructure. Over two thirds of the effort needed to model even simple infrastructure is spent on manually converting surface data to a 3D model. The result is that as-built models are not produced for the vast majority of new construction and retrofit projects, which leads to rework and design changes that cost up to 10% of the installed costs. Any efforts towards automating the modeling process will increase the percentage of infrastructure projects being modeled and, considering that construction is a $900 billion industry, each 1% of increase can lead up to $900 million in savings."