What's New?
In the fall of 2022, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) club launched with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among AEC-related fields. The club offers students an opportunity to explore emerging collaborative delivery methods in design and construction, such as Design-Build and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Each year, the AEC club assembles a team of students to participate in the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) National Design-Build Student Competition. The competition is open to students from all academic backgrounds, including architecture, engineering, and construction management. In October 2022, the club was chosen to represent the Northeast region and competed against the top seven teams in the nation in Las Vegas. The team performed admirably and made a strong impression at the competition .Later in December, the club organized a mixer event that showcased Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality technologies in the context of the AEC industry. The event was a resounding success, attracting students from diverse academic backgrounds, such as construction management, engineering, architecture, and computer science.
Roger Williams Construction Management Students traveled to Las Vegas Nevada to compete in the National Association of Home Builders Custom/Small Build Competition. This Competition was part of the the International Builders Show and conference occurring at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The RWU Construction Management Program team of Bob Raine, Nico Prospero, John Tine, and Connor Maguire, and coached by Prof. Jon Gomes, worked through the fall semester to complete a proposal for a custom home design and estimate which they then had to present at the conference. The students performed well under pressure and delivered a presentation that the judges complimented for its attention to construction means and methods and safety. For our first time competing at the event, the CM students were able to represent the university with a reflection of our dedication to ethics and leadership informing a new organization of our great program and paving the way for future teams from RWU to compete. Out of 22 competing teams RWU placed 12th overall landing just outside the top ten in its first time attending. Returning members of the team are already looking forward to next year’s competition and continuing are involvement with a new organization.
Roger Williams University Senior Alec Kalogeropoulos Wins AGC’s National Essay Competition
The AGC Education and Research Foundation gives two prestigious national awards annually – one to an educator who exemplifies excellence in the field of construction education, and the other to a senior-level student who submits the winning essay in the 2023 James L. Allhands Essay Competition. Alec Kalogeropoulos, a senior in Roger Williams University’s Construction Management program, won this year’s Essay Competition.
The overall topic for the 2023 Allhands Essay Competition was “Climate Change Impacts on and Actions from the Construction Industry: Past, Present and Future.” In his essay Alec stated that in the movement towards reduced emissions and sustainability, climate change policies have and will continue to influence actions taken in the construction industry. These policies can be seen on the local, national, and international level. This includes the banning of fossil fuel systems and sustainable building requirements to limit carbon emissions. In response, the construction industry has begun transitioning to electric equipment and vehicles, selecting renewable materials, and practicing value engineering for sustainable alternatives. AGC’s role in this will be lobbying, educating the industry on new trends, and proposing new means and methods that promote green construction.
Alec will be recognized during AGC’s National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, in early March. His faculty sponsor, Dr. Amine Ghanem, Professor of Construction Management will also receive special recognition.
RWU’s Construction Management students win 3rd place in a national competition!
Members of RWU’s Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) Club competed in the VDC category at the 2023 Associated Schools of Construction Regions 6, 7, and Open Competition held in Sparks, Nevada February 8-11, 2023. Over 3,000 people from all over the U.S. were in attendance including 1,613 students from 57 universities, 125 faculty coaches, and 1,250 construction industry members. The VDC problem sponsor, Webcor Builders, challenges teams to develop solutions to real-world construction problems using software-based solutions. With only 12 hours to work through the problems, team members must communicate and collaborate quickly and effectively. The team is coached by Dr. Anne Anderson and participating students this year were Guinevere Rhuda, Bailee Amaral, Alyssa Foerster, Andrew Piccolo, Matt Schwartz, Bryce Riccitelli, Danny Wilson (Alt), and Sal Cicale (Alt).
Congratulations to the Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) Team for winning 3rd place!
Associated Schools of Construction Regions 6, 7, and Open Competition, February 8-11, 2023
Back Row: Bryce Riccitelli, Andrew Piccolo, Dr. Anne Anderson (coach), Matt Schwartz
Front Row: Alyssa Foerster, Guinevere Rhuda, Bailee Amaral
Roger Williams University’s Construction Management Program is excited to announce that Jon Gomes ’19, ’21 has joined our faculty team starting in fall 2022 as a Lecturer. Jon is a graduate of our CM undergraduate and graduate programs and previously has worked in industry on some complex civil construction type projects and has taught as an adjunct in our program. Please welcome Jon to our CM team.
The RWU Construction Management Program welcomes Dr. Jung Hyun Lee as an assistant professor in Construction Management. Dr. Lee comes to us from Georgia Tech where she just finished her PH.D. research in “Enhancing Organizational Transformation for Design-Build Infrastructure Projects: Design Liability and Construction Quality Assurance". Please give her a warm welcome to the RWU CM family.