Digital Transformation in the Construction Industry

Dr. Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi holds distinguished positions within the academic community as a Senior Researcher at the Urban Transformation Research Centre (UTRC), Western Sydney University in Australia and as a Principal Visiting Scientist at UBC Smart Structures in Canada. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Southeast University in China, reflecting his global reach and expertise. As the Director of the Resilient Structures Research Group, he has made significant contributions to the field of structural engineering with a team of esteemed international researchers. Additionally, he is an Associate Editor for several distinguished journals at ASCE, Wiley, Springer, Sage, and IET. His prolific and influential academic career is underscored by the publication of over 160 high-impact journal papers, 7 books in collaboration with esteemed publishers, and various patents. He is also a Co-founding Editor of the Data-Centric Engineering Book series published by De Gruyter. His research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including smart materials and structures, resilience-based design, artificial intelligence, modular construction, and digital twins in construction. Dr. Mohammad Noori, a Fellow and Life Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, is an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Henan University of Technology, China; and a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. His original work in modeling complex hysteresis behavior, namely Bouc–Wen–Baber–Noori model, is widely cited and implemented for nonlinear random vibration and seismic analysis and incorporated in several programs such as ABAQUS and OpenSees. He has also made pioneering contributions in seismic isolation and utilizing artificial neural networks in structural health monitoring that are broadly cited. Noori has published more than 300 refereed papers, 16 scientific books, and 31 book chapters. He cofounded the National Institute of Aerospace, established through a $379 million 15-year NASA contract; and in addition, he has received more than $17 million in research grants and contracts. Noori has supervised 24 postdoctoral, 26 PhD, and 54 MS projects, given more than 100 keynotes and invited talks, and directed the Sensors Program at the National Science Foundation. He also developed an online course, How to Write an Effective Research Paper, taken up by more than 13,000 students worldwide. He is a member of several honorary research societies and the Founding Editor of the CRC/Taylor and Francis Book Series, Resilience and Sustainability in Civil, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering Systems series published by T&F. Dr. T.Y. Yang received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2006. His research focuses on improving structural performance through advanced analytical simulation and experimental testing. He has developed the next-generation performance-based design AQ1 guidelines (adopted by the Applied Technology Council, the ATC-58 research team) in the United States; advanced experimental testing technologies, such as hybrid simulation and nonlinear control of shake table, to evaluate structural response under extreme loading conditions; and risk-based simulation models for countries in the North and South America and the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) for the counties in South East Asia. He has been actively involved in using novel technologies, such as base isolation systems and dampers to improve structural performance. He has worked with leading structural engineering firms to peer-reviewed landmark buildings, including the tallest steel plate shear wall structure in the world. He is an active member of the Tall Buildings Initiative Project, funded by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, to develop seismic design guidelines for tall buildings. He co-developed “OpenSees Navigator,” a software program widely used by design engineers and researchers to design and analyze complex structural systems. He has also developed “PBEE,” a software program to quantify facility loss under extreme events. Dr. Vasilis Sarhosis is a Professor and holds the Chair in Resilient Structures and Infrastructure at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds. He is also a Visiting Professor at Southeast University, Nanjing, China, and a CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure) Fellow. He has received both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Leeds and worked as a consultant civil engineer in the United Kingdom. Prof. Sarhosis is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineering (FICE), the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (FIMEchE), and the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in the United Kingdom. He is currently chairing the National Scientific Committee on the Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH-UK), which is part of the ICOMOS. Dr. Seyedali Mirjalili is a Professor and globally renowned leader in artificial intelligence and optimization, recognized as the No. 1 AI researcher on Stanford University’s prestigious World’s Top Scientists list since 2023. He founded the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Optimization in 2019 and serves as a Professor of AI at Torrens University Australia, with distinguished professorships in Hungary and the Czech Republic. With more than 600 research publications, 130,000 citations, and an H-index of 125, Prof. Mirjalili is among the top 1% of highly cited researchers worldwide. His contributions include developing AI algorithms widely applied in science and industry and delivering influential talks, including a TED Talk on AI's transformative potential. Prof. Mirjalili is a strong advocate for responsible and inclusive AI, and he has collaborated with industry and government on ethical AI tools. As a senior member of IEEE and an editor for leading AI journals, he significantly contributed to the advancements of fundamental and applied research in the field. Recognized as a top research leader by The Australian for five years, his insights have earned significant media attention, which showcases his influence as a global thought leader. Dr. Mirosław J. Skibniewski is working as a Professor of construction engineering and project management at the University of Maryland, College Park, United States. He previously worked as a Professor and Associate Provost at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. He holds a MEng degree from Warsaw University of Technology and MS and PhD degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, all in civil engineering. Prof. Skibniewski's research focuses on the new Construction 5.0 paradigm, including sustainable and resilient infrastructure through the use of modern IT-based solutions, sensor-based systems, 3D printing, smart materials, automation, and robotics. He holds distinguished professorships and honorary appointments at universities and industrial research institutions in the United States and worldwide. Skibniewski is the Honorary Editor of Automation in Construction (Elsevier) and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers of Engineering Management (Springer).