News from the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

This is an update to the June 2013 editor’s note titled “Seeking Excellence” (de la Garza 2013). The following is the newly adopted definition of a case study: A case study discusses an empirical theory; new practices, methods, or tools; innovations; or lessons learned, related to engineering, design, construction, and/or project management, discovered or defined using a qualitative but structured research methodology. Case studies are typically based on actual experience(s) and/or observations on a single or multiple real-life applications of a particular topic in the construction industry. A manuscript that discusses unique issues in construction in a specific region or a country is welcome. However, the manuscript must fit this definition of a case study. Technical papers may not be region or country specific. The workflow logic for the manuscript uploading process in Editorial Manager has been updated to reflect these changes.

I take great pleasure in announcing the appointment of Dr. Abbas Rashidi as a new Assistant Specialty Editor to the Construction Materials and Methods Specialty Area. We welcome you to the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management editorial board and look forward to your many contributions!

Dr. Abbas Rashidi is currently an assistant professor of construction engineering at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah. His research expertise is multidisciplinary and lies at the intersection of the construction engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science specialty areas. His broader research interests include applications of advanced technologies, information technology, and sensing tools for automating various construction operations and methods. Abbas received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in the summer of 2014. His doctoral research was centered on developing innovative image and video processing techniques for three-dimensional modeling of civil infrastructure systems. Within the past couple of years, his research activities have been financially supported by various federal and state agencies as well as non-profit organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Engineering Information Foundation (EIF), Institute for Nuclear Security, and Center for Construction Training and Research (CPWR). Results of his research activities have been published in various journals and conferences and qualified him for a number of awards and recognitions including the Best Paper Award of the Fifth International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management (ICCEPM), and the Sam Nunn Security Program Fellowship (Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology). He also has more than 15 years of educational and professional experience related to the construction industry and throughout multiple US and international institutions and companies.