Editor’s Note

Dr. Minchin joined the Rinker School of Building Construction faculty at The University of Florida as an associate professor in fall 2007, moving over from the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department at the University of Florida. Dr. Minchin graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1983, and a master’s degree in construction engineering in 1984. He worked for the Florida DOT until 1996, starting as a construction inspector and eventually rising to an appointment that was equivalent to an Assistant State Construction Engineer. He obtained his Ph.D. at Penn State University while working as a faculty member. He held a faculty appointment at Iowa State University from 1999 to 2001. Areas of expertise and research interest include automated real-time construction quality control, as well as construction contract administration and project control.

The M. E. Rinker School of Building Construction at The University of Florida combines the skills, diverse experiences, and talents of its faculty members with an innovative educational curriculum to educate future construction professionals. Housed in the College of Design, Construction and Planning, the Rinker School is dedicated to construction science and management and is committed to excellence in education and research. Established in 1935, it is the oldest school of construction in the United States and was the first program to receive accreditation from the American Council for Construction Education (1975). A total of 20 faculty members teach and guide the school’s 500 undergraduate and 120 graduate students. The school’s new building, Rinker Hall, is the 26th building to have been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Dr. Xiangyu Wang earned his bachelor’s degree from Tongji University, Shanghai, in 2000 and his master’s degree from the University of Washington at Seattle in 2002. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University in 2005. Since 2006, he has been a lecturer at the Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition under the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. His areas of research expertise include, integration of design and construction, computer-aided design and construction, visualization, augmented and virtual reality, and human-machine interfaces. He is currently actively involved in the construction, industrial/architecture/product design, human factors, and computer science communities.

The Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition is a collection of people with diverse computing backgrounds whose main interests lie in improving the quality of design through the application of the latest developments in computing and cognition. The Key Centre is internationally known for advances in artificial intelligence in design, computer support for collaborative design, design cognition, and virtual environments. Dr. Xiangyu Wang is the only faculty member in the Key Centre who has background the construction community and is actively involved in it. He leads major construction research activities in the areas of information technology applications in construction, integration of design and construction, and visualization.