The Grainger College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering

Khaled A El-Rayes

Khaled A El-Rayes
Khaled A El-Rayes
  • Professor
  • Associate Head for Administration
(217) 265-0557
3112 Newmark Civil Engineering Bldg

Primary Research Area

  • Construction Engineering and Management

Research Areas

Biography

Khaled El-Rayes holds a B.Sc. (Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 1987), M.Eng. (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1993) and a Ph.D. (Concordia University 1998), all in civil engineering. He has been on the faculty of the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 2000. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in both academia and the construction industry. Prior to joining the University of Illinois, he served on the faculty of the departments of Civil Engineering at Concordia University and the University of Newfoundland in Canada.

Dr. El-Rayes has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the area of construction engineering and management including: construction planning and control, construction optimization and decision making, project management, project planning and control, construction equipment planning and methods, construction processes, engineering economics and management principles, building engineering systems, building economics, engineering design and technical engineering drawing. In recognition of his teaching effectiveness, Dr. El-Rayes has been repeatedly named to the “List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students” at UIUC.

Dr. El-Rayes supervised the research work of 33 Ph.D. students, including 25 former Ph.D. students who are currently holding faculty positions in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Chicago, Purdue University, Columbia University, Penn State University, University of Colorado, US Air Force Institute of Technology, Florida International University, University of Santa Clara, Alexandria University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and King Saud University. The research findings of Dr. El-Rayes and his group were published in more than 200 publications including more than 115 journal papers. The research contributions of Dr. El-Rayes and his students have been recognized nationally and internationally, receiving numerous research awards including the “Best Conference Paper Award” from the ASCE Construction Research Congress in 2012, the “Best Journal Paper Award” in 2010 from the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, the “ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize” in 2007; the “NSF CAREER Award” from the National Science Foundation in 2003; and the “Doctoral Prize of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science” from Concordia University in Canada in 1999.

Dr. El-Rayes served as a Specialty Editor for the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management in the area of cost and scheduling. He also served as the Secretary, Vice-Chair and Chair of the ASCE Construction Research Council, which is widely recognized as the premier national forum for Construction Engineering and Management research and it includes in its membership more than 200 professors and scholars.

Education

  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 1998
  • M. Eng., Civil Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 1993
  • B.Sc., Civil Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, 1987

Academic Positions

  • Associate Head, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urbana, Illinois (August 2022 to present)
  • Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urbana, Illinois (August 2012 to present)
  • Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urbana, Illinois (August 2007 to August 2012)
  • Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urbana, Illinois (August 2000 to August 2007)
  • Assistant Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Civil Engineering, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (August 1999 to August 2000)
  • Assistant Professor, Concordia University, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (June 1998 to August 1999)
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, Concordia University, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1997 to 1998)
  • Part-Time Faculty, Concordia University, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1996 to 1998)
  • Teaching Assistant, Concordia University, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1991 to 1997)

Major Consulting Activities

  • Multi-objective Optimization Approach for Bank Determinations regarding Contractor Financing, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia, 2012 to 2014.
  • Nighttime Construction Impacts on Safety, Quality, and Productivity, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 2011.
  • Impact of Weather on Earthwork Productivity in Palau Compact Road Project, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald Law firm for DAEWOO Construction Company, Washington, DC, 2004.

Professional Registrations

  • Registered Civil Engineer, Egyptian Association of Professional Engineers, 1987 to Present

Journal Editorships

  • Specialty Editor, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, in the area of Construction Cost and Scheduling, 2009 to 2015, managing the entire review and editorial decisions of approximately 25 to 30 journal papers per year that are submitted to the Journal in this area.
  • Assistant Editor, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, in the area of Information Technology, 2003 to 2009, managing the review and editorial decisions of approximately 15 to 20 journal papers per year that are submitted to the Journal in this area.

Professional Societies

  • Member, Selection Committee for Best Journal Paper Award, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, 2013.
  • Member, ASCE Paper Review and Awards Committee representing the ASCE Construction Institute (CI), 2008 to 2013. Selected by the Director of the ASCE Construction Institute (CI) to represent it on this national committee that awards major ASCE paper awards, including the ASCE Norman Medal and Wellington Prize. The committee includes one representative from the eight ASCE institutes (Structural Engineering, Geo, Transportation, Environmental, etc.).
  • Member, Selection Committee for Best Journal Paper Award, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, 2011.
  • Member, Selection Committee for Best Journal Paper Award, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, 2010.
  • Elected Chair, 2007 Peurifoy Award Selection Committee, Construction Research Council, ASCE. This committee awards the most prestigious award in construction engineering and management to distinguished professors for their lifelong research contributions to the field.
  • Elected Chair, Construction Research Council, ASCE, 2005 to 2006. This is widely considered as the premier committee and forum on construction engineering and management research and it includes in its membership more than 150 professors.
  • Elected Vice-Chair, Construction Research Council, ASCE, 2004 to 2005
  • Elected Secretary, Construction Research Council, ASCE, 2003 to 2004
  • Member of the ASCE Database and Information Management Committee, 2003 to present.
  • Member of the ASCE Intelligent Computing Committee, 2002 to present

Service on Department Committees

  • CEE Department, Associate Head for Administration, 2022 to present.
  • CEE Space Committee, Chair, 2022 to present.
  • CEE Safety Committee, Chair, 2022 to present.
  • Construction Management Program, Area Chair, 2010 to present.
  • Graduate Affairs Committee, Member, 2004 to present.
  • CEE Promotion and Tenure Committee, 2018 to 2022.
  • Advisory Committee, Member, 2010 to 2017.
  • Design Council, Member, 2003 to present.

Service on College Committees

  • Computational Science and Engineering faculty, Member, 2003 to present.

Research Interests

  • Research interests focus on analyzing and optimizing the utilization of construction resources and sustainability decisions during the construction of critical civil infrastructure systems, including: optimal resource utilization, optimizing building sustainability decisions, information technologies in construction, optimal construction planning and control, multi-objective optimization, parallel computing, optimal lighting design for night time construction, optimizing recovery and reconstruction efforts after natural disasters, and construction productivity.

Research Statement

Research Motivation and Focus: The civil infrastructure systems in the United States are rapidly aging and urgently need major rehabilitation efforts to insure the nation’s social and economic prosperity. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alone estimate a needed annual investment of $115 Billion over the next twenty years to maintain and improve the national highway and airport systems. To maximize societal benefits from this major public investment, government agencies have recently started to utilize new types of construction contracts and regulations that are designed to accomplish multiple and conflicting project objectives, including improving quality and durability of the renovated systems; minimizing service disruptions during construction; minimizing public expenditures on renovation projects; accelerating the revitalization of aging transportation systems; and maximizing public safety since these systems are often kept operational and open to the public during the reconstruction efforts. These new contracts and regulations include warranty and nighttime construction contracts for highway projects and the FAA safety guidelines for airport expansion projects. The increasing utilization of these contracts and regulations present decision-makers in the construction industry with new and serious challenges, including: (1) how to optimize the utilization of limited construction resources for warranty contracts in large-scale highway construction projects in order to maximize construction quality and durability while minimizing its cost and duration; (2) how to optimize the utilization of lighting equipment in nighttime highway construction in order to maximize public safety while minimizing service disruption; and (3) how to optimize the utilization of limited site layout space during airport expansion projects in order to minimize construction-related hazards to aviation safety and security while minimizing site layout costs. To address these new and vital construction challenges, my research focuses on creating new knowledge on multi-objective optimization of resource utilization to support the construction and renewal of the nation’s critical transportation systems. The next section highlights my three main accomplishments in this critical research area and the following section outlines my current and future research plans.

Summary of Major Research Accomplishments:

(1) Parallel Multi-objective Optimization of Resource Utilization in Large-scale Highway Construction: New performance-based contracting methods such as warranty and multi-parameter contracts have been increasingly utilized in recent years in highway construction projects. These contracting methods create new and serious challenges that require construction planners to search for and identify optimal resource utilization plans that minimize project cost and duration while maximizing its quality. To address these new challenges, I developed a new multi-objective optimization model that was capable for the first time to transform the traditional 2-dimensional time-cost tradeoff analysis to an expanded 3-dimensional time-cost-quality tradeoff analysis (El-Rayes and Kandil 2005). This enables construction planners to generate, visualize and analyze a set of optimal resource utilization plans that represent unique and optimal tradeoffs among construction time, cost and quality. I also formulated scalable parallel computing methodologies to enable the optimization of resource utilization in large-scale highway construction projects (Kandil and El-Rayes 2005). I conducted more than 180 computaional experiments to evaluate the performance of these frameworks using various combinations of project sizes, numbers of parallel processors and parallel computing setups (Kandil and El-Rayes 2006a). The results of these experiments demonstrate that parallel computing frameworks can be used to efficiently and effectively optimize resource utilization in large-scale constructoin projects that were previously considered impractical to optimize due to their extensive computational time requirements. The experiments also proved that the parallel computing frameworks can be implemented using a limited and practical number of parallel processors that can be readily available in construction management offices. My research in this area was supported by a National Science Fondation Career Award in 2003 and its contribution was widely recognized by several awards and publications, including the ASCE Thomas Fitch Roland Proze in 2007, and a featured Science Success Story by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications quartely publication (Access 2005).

(2) Optimizing the Utilization of Lighting Equipment in Nighttime Highway Construction: To reduce construction-related daytime traffic disruptions, an increasing number of highway construction projects is being performed during nighttime hours. Despite the increased utilization of this type of construction, it is still confronted by serious challenges including inadequate lighting conditions in work zones that neagtively affects construction quality and public safety; and the lack of detailed lighting standards for this type of construction. To address these challenges, I developed a new multi-objective decision support system to optimize the utilization of lighting equipment in nighttime highway construction projects (El-Rayes and Hyari 2005). The developed system enables construction planners to identify optimal lighting arrangements that maximize average illuminance and lighting uniformity to insure construction quality while minimizing lighting glare to minimize its hazardous effects on the travelling public. I also formulated an innovative and scientific framework to establish lighting standards and requirements for nighttime work zones using an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates concepts from vision science and construction technology (Hyari and El-Rayes 2006). The results of this research work were adopted by the Illinois Department of Transportation in its new lighting specifications for nighttime highway construction and were cited as a research success in a series entitled “Research Pays Off” that were published by the Federal Highway Administraion in the Transportaion News publication in January 2009.

(3) Optimizing the Utilization of Limited Site Layout Space in Airport Expansion Projects: A large number of major airport expansion projects are either on-going or being planned to meet the significant increase in air traffic demand. One of the main and unique challenges in managing construction sites in this type of project is caused by the close proximity between construction activities and critical airport operations, which increases the level of hazards to both aviation safety and airport security. To address this critical challenge, I developed new multi-objective optimization models for planning airport construction site layouts that are capable of minimizing construction-related hazards while minimizing construction site layout costs (Khalafallah and El-Rayes 2006). These models provide new and uniqe capabilities to support the optimization of conflicting objectives including maximizing compliance with all relevant Federal Aviation Adiminstration safety guidelines; preventing the spread of construction debris that can damage aircraft engines and landing gears; controlling the risk of security breaches originating from the nearby construction site; and minimizing construction site layout costs. This enables construction planners to generate and visualize optimal site layout plans and identify an optimal location for each temporary facility on site and an optimal use of debris containment measure and/or security devices. My research in this area was supported by a National Science Fondation Award in 2006.

My research accomplishments in this area have been recognized nationally and internationally, receiving numerous research awards including the best journal paper award from the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management in 2009, the ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize in 2007, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2003. I also received fourten research grants to support my research at UIUC including nine as the lead PI and five as Co-PI from the National Science Foundation, Illinois Center for Transportation, Qatar National Research Fund, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and Mid-America Earthquake Center. The outcome of this research was published in fourty four papers in leading journals. My research work has also resulted in graduating five Ph.D. students, who are currently employed as Assistant Professors in the Departments of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, the University of Washington, Columbia University, the University of Central Florida and the Hashemite University of Jordan.

Current and Future Research Plans: My other ongoing research focuses also on multi-objective optimization of resource utilization to support the construction and renewal of critical civil infrastructure systems, including (1) optimizing the reconstruction of damaged bridges and roads after major disasters to maximize the overall recovery of the transportation network while minimizing the reconstruction costs; (2) optimizing housing efforts in the aftermath of natural disasters to minimize social and economic disruptions while minimizing overall public housing expenditures; (3) optimizing green design and construction sustainability decisions for new and existing buildings and other infrastructure systems; (4) evaluating and minimizing glare-related safety hazards in and around nighttime highway construction zones; and (5) optimizing work zone layouts to maximize the safety of highway construction. My long-term research plan is to remain at the forefront of multi-objective optimization and decision making in construction engineering and management. The goal of my research is to support the construction industry and government in their efforts to maximize societal benefits from the planned public investments in the nation’s critical civil infrastructure systems. These research plans integrate well with two main initiatives that have been identified in the UIUC Strategic Plan: Illinois Informatics Initiative and the Illinois Sustainable Energy and the Environment Initiative.

Primary Research Area

  • Construction Engineering and Management

Research Areas

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar-Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2020) "Convolutional Neural Network Architecture for Semantic Labeling Structural and Mechanical Elements," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Tempe, Arizona, March 9-12.
  • Halabya, M. and El-Rayes, K. (2020) "Automated Compliance Assessment for Sidewalks Using Machine Learning," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Tempe, Arizona, March 9-12.
  • Abdallah, M. and El-Rayes, K. (2019) "Optimizing Selection of Existing Building Upgrades to Maximize their Sustainability," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Montreal, Canada, June 12-15.
  • Abdallah, M. and El-Rayes, K. (2019) “Optimization Model for Repetitive Construction Projects with Multiple Crews and Multiple Options of Construction Methods,” 46th IEAS International Conference, Cairo, Egypt, December 24-26.
  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar-Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2019). "Artificial Neural Network for Semantic Segmentation of Built Environments for Automated Scan2BIM" I3CE 2019.
  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar‐Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2018). “Automatic 3D Modeling of Structural and Mechanical Components from Point Clouds.” Construction Research Congress 2018, ASCE, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2-4, 2018.
  • Ignacio, EJ., and El-Rayes, K. (2018) "Performance of Utility Relocation Best Management Practices on Public Roadway Projects," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2-4, 2018.
  • Ghosh, L., Abdelmohsen, A., El-Rayes, K., Ouyang, Y. (2018) "Temporary Traffic Control Strategy Optimization for Urban Freeways," Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting, Transportation Research Board, Washington DC, January 7-11, 2018.
  • Halabya, A., and El-Rayes, K. (2018) "Prioritizing Sidewalk Upgrade Projects to Maximize Compliance with Accessibility Requirements," Second European and Mediterranean Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Beirut, Lebanon, July 23 - July 28, 2018.
  • Schuldt, S., and El-Rayes, K. (2017) "Optimal tradeoffs between the security and cost of critical buildings and infrastructure systems," 7th International Conference on Safety and Security Engineering, Rome, Italy, September 6-8, 2017.
  • Abdelmohsen, A., and El-Rayes, K. (2017) "Optimizing Highway Work Zone Layout to Maximize Traffic Mobility and Minimize Construction Cost," Ninth International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Valencia, Spain, July 24-29, 2017.
  • Halabya, A., and El-Rayes, K. (2017) "Automated Assessment of the Degree of Non-compliance of Sidewalks," 6th CSCE/CRC International Construction Specialty Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 31-June 3, 2017.
  • Ignacio, EJ., and El-Rayes, K. (2017) "Performance of Utility Relocation Best Management Practices on Public Roadway Projects," 6th CSCE/CRC International Construction Specialty Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 31-June 3, 2017.
  • Ibrahim, A., Golparvar-Fard, Bretl, T., and El-Rayes, K. (2017) "Model-Driven Visual Data Capture on Construction Sites: Method and Metrics of Success," 2017 International Workshop on Computing for Civil Engineering (IWCCE), Seattle, WA, June 25-27, 2017.
  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar‐Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2017). “Semantic-Rich 3D CAD Models for Built Environents from Point Clouds: An End-to-End Procedure.” Computing in Civil Engineering, Seattle, Washington, 166–174.
  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar‐Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2017). “3D Solid Geometric Modeling of the Built Environment via Semantically Segmented Point Clouds.” 3rd International Conference on Civil and Building Engineering Informatics in conjunction with 2017 Conference on Computer Applications in Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan, April 19-21, 2017, 284–287.
  • ElAnwar, O., El-Rayes, K., and Elnashai, A. (2017) "Research Advances in Optimized Temporary Housing following Disasters" Proceedings of the The 9th International Conference on Construction in the 21st Century (CITC-9), Dubai, UAE, March 5-7, 2017.
  • Perez-Perez, Y., Golparvar‐Fard, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2016). “Semantic and Geometric Labeling for Enhanced 3D Point Cloud Segmentation.” Construction Research Congress ASCE, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 31-June 2, 2542–2552.
  • Ibrahim, H., El-Rayes, and Hashash Y. (2015) "Optimizing Cooperative Construction of Shared Wheat Storage Facilities," The First International Congress on Postharvest Loss Prevention, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, Rome, Italy, October 4-7.
  • Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, K., and C. Clevenger (2015) "Minimizing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Water Consumption of Existing Buildings," 5th International/11th Construction Specialty Conference, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, Vancouver, British ColumbiaJune 8 to June 10, 2015.
  • Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, K., C. Clevenger (2015) "Optimizing Building Upgrades to Minimize Energy and Water Consumption of Existing Buildings," 8th Biennial International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Sydney, Australia, November 23-28, 2015.
  • Abdallah, M., and El-Rayes, K., C. Clevenger (2015) "Minimizing Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Aging Buildings," International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction, ICSDEC 2015, Chicago, IL, May 10-13 2015.
  • Karatas, A. and El-Rayes, K. (2014) "Maximizing Occupants Comfort in Affordable Housing Units," 15th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering, ASCE, Orlando, FL, June 23-25.
  • Karatas, A. and El-Rayes, K. (2014) "Optimal Configurations of Design and Construction Decisions for Maximizing Social Quality-of-Life for Housing Residents," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Atlanta, GA, May 19-21, 8 pages.
  • Abdallah, A. and El-Rayes, K. (2014) "Optimal Selection of Sustainability Measures to Minimize Building Operational Costs," Construction Research Congress, ASCE, Atlanta, GA, May 19-21, 8 pages.
  • Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, K., and Liu, L. (2013) "Automated DSS for Optimizing the Selection of Green Building Measures," Proceedings of the 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining, ISARC 2013, Montreal, Canada, August 11-15, 2013, 8 pages.
  • Said, H., and El-Rayes, K. (2013) "Automated System for Multi-Objective Optimization of Construction Supply and Site Logistics" Proceedings of the 2013 Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2013 Annual Conference - 4th Construction Specialty Conference, CSCE, Montreal, Canada, May 29 - June 1, 2013, 8 pages
  • Karatas, A., and El-Rayes, K. (2012) "Evaluating and Quantifying Sustainable Development in Urban Neighborhoods" Proceedings of the 2012 ICSDEC, Developing the Frontier of Sustainable Design, Engineering, and Construction, ASCE, Fort Worth, Texas, November 7-9, 2012, 214-221.

Other Publications

Teaching Honors

  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2023, UIUC. (2023)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2023, UIUC. (2023)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2022, UIUC. (2022)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2021, UIUC. (2021)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2020, UIUC. (2020)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2019, UIUC. (2019)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2018, UIUC. (2018)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2016, UIUC. (2016)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2016, UIUC. (2016)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2015, UIUC. (2015)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2010, UIUC. (2010)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2008, UIUC. (2008)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2008, UIUC. (2008)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2007, UIUC. (2007)
  • Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Fall 2005, UIUC. (2005)
  • Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2005, UIUC. (2005)
  • Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students for Spring 2004, UIUC. (2004)
  • School of Graduate Studies Teaching Assistantship Award, Concordia University. ( 1996)

Research Honors

  • Journal paper selected as the Editor's Choice in the September 2021 issue of the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (2021)
  • Best Conference Paper Award from the ASCE Construction Research Congress in 2012 (2013)
  • Best Journal Paper Award from the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management in 2009 (2010)
  • O’Neil Faculty Scholar in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008 - present)
  • ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize (2008)
  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2003-2008)
  • Doctoral Prize in Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, Canada (1999)
  • American Association of Cost Engineers Scholastic Scholarship Award (1994)
  • Concordia University External Grant Holder Doctoral Scholarship, Canada (1993-96)
  • Excellence Award for Graduate Studies and Integration of Research, Nature and Technologies Research Foundation, Quebec, Canada (1993-96)
  • Project Management Institute Excellence Award (1993)