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Engineering Discipline:
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
Biography:
Following a PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo (Canada), I worked for 2 years as researcher in the Computer Vision Laboratory at ETH Zurich, before becoming Assistant Professor in Construction Informatics at Heriot-Watt University. In 2019, I joined the University of Edinburgh where I was first Senior Lecturer and now Reader in Construction Informatics. I teach on construction management and informatics, and lead the CyberBuild Lab that delivers research and innovation in these areas.
Academic Qualifications:
- PG-Cert. Academic Practice, Heriot-Watt University (UK), 2013.
- Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo (Canada), 2008.
- M.Sc. Construction Engineering and Project Management, Univ. of Texas at Austin (USA), 2003.
- M.Eng. Engineering, Ecole Centrale de Lille (France), 2003.
Professional Qualifications and Memberships:
- Past President of the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC).
- Past Chair of the Modelling and Standards Committee of the European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3).
- Associate Editor of Automation in Construction (Elsevier).
- Editorial Board Member of Advanced Engineering Informatics (Elsevier).
- Innovation Champion for Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC).
- Member of European Group for Intelligent Computing in Engineering (EG-ICE).
Research Interests:
I lead the CyberBuild Lab that I founded. In partnership with numerous collaborators, we have delivered research and consultancy projects with the overarching goal to improve facility and infrastructure asset life cycle management as well as the health and safety of the construction workforce through novel applications of sensing, data processing, and communication technologies.
- Scan-vs-BIM: 3D BIM models and reality capture data (images, laser scans, photogrammetry) are combined to enhance dimensional control during construction and operation and maintenance (O&M).
- Scan-to-BIM: Semantically-rich 3D (BIM) models of facility and infrastructure assets are generated from reality capture data (images, laser scans, photogrammetry).
- Historic Digital Survey (HDS): In collaboration with Historic Environment Scotland, we develop novel techniques (including machine learning) to process laser scanned and photogrammetric point cloud to enhance building surveying activities of historic buildings.
- Occlusion-aware Augmented Reality (AR): A unique technology for visualisation of construction designs (i.e. BIM models) within their urban context, prior to construction (project UrbanPlanAR).
- Immersive Hybrid Reality (iHR): A new form of mixed reality technology that we have developed and deployed for actual training in Scottish and English colleges.
- Activity Tracking with Body Area Network (AT-BAN): A wearable network of untethered motion tracking sensors to track the activity of workers with a focus on assessing the risks and ultimately prevent Musculo-Skeletal Disorders (MSDs).
Further Information:
Beside their academic and industrial impact, these projects have also given my CyberBuild Lab colleagues and I the opportunity and joy to engage in numerous public engagement activities from school career fairs to events at the Glasgow Science Museum and the Edinburgh International Science Festival
