Featured Ar cle Inside This Issue CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ADVISORY COUNCIL (CIAC) Le er from the CIAC President • 4 Membership Roster • 8
CM ALUMNI CHAPTER (CMAC) Alumni Spotlight • 10
BERT S. TURNER DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT Note from the Chair • 11
Transporta on Consor um of South‐Central States The Transporta on Consor um of South Central States (Tran‐SET) is a collabora ve partnership led by Louisiana State University between nine major ins tu ons and two community colleges. Tran‐SET is one of 32 recipients to be awarded a five‐year grant from the Transporta on Department’s University Transporta on Centers (UTCs) program, and will receive $2,570,600 for the current fiscal year. The center’s director, LSU Bert S. Turner Department of Construc on Management Professor Marwa Hassan, leads the ini a ve that seeks to combine the dis nct characteris cs and strengths of each ins tu on to deliver a center with unique capabili es to tackle regional transporta on challenges. It is the first me a center director from a Construc on Management department has been a recipient of the pres gious UTC grant program.
The center aims to address economic limita ons by only considering research topics that carry out a viable plan to move the technology from research to CONSTRUCTION STUDENT implementa on including workforce training and specifica ons development. ASSOCIATION The ini a ve will focus on cu ng edge materials innova ons and construc on methodologies and their applica ons to the different components of the Le er from the CSA President • 18 transporta on infrastructure such as roads, ports, rails, and bridges. The center’s mission is therefore suppor ng all phases of research, technology transfer, workforce development, and outreach ac vi es of emerging technologies that can solve transporta on challenges in Region 6. To effec vely disseminate knowledge and educa on, Tran‐SET is set to host na onal and interna onal conferences on an annual basis. The consor um’s representa ves met for the first me in a kick‐off mee ng in Washington DC at the 96th Annual Transporta on Research Board conference in January 2017 to discuss the work and involve the Center Advisory Board to oversee the center’s ac vi es to meet the infrastructure needs and challenges faced in Region 6. The advisory board consists of experts from state organiza ons in Region 6, prac oners, academia and private sector representa ves.
Dr. Marwa Hassan a ends the Tran‐SET launch mee ng in Washington, D.C.
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GEAUX BUILD News • March 2017