Durham School Distinguished Lecture Series



Dr. Bassem Andrawes

“Innovative Prestressing Technique for Infrastructure Resilience and Durability Using Shape Memory Alloys”

Dr. Bassem Andrawes

Director, Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center (TRANS-IPIC)
Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


Friday, March 29, 2024

This talk will provide the audience with a brief background on this new class of materials and their potential application in civil infrastructure. In this presentation, Prof. Andrawes will highlight two potential prestressing applications for SMAs that have been extensively studied by the Shape Memory and Structures (SMS) research group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.



Dr. Jessica Granderson

“State of the Art and Future Directions in Building Commissioning and Data Analytics”

Dr. Jessica Granderson

Interim Division Director for Building Technology & Urban Systems Division
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory


Friday, February 9, 2024

In this lecture you will learn about the state of the art in commissioning/analytics technology characteristics, costs, and benefits, and gain insight into research that is demonstrating HVAC fault self-correction capabilities.



Carrie Sturts Dossick

“Negotiating Innovation: Teams, Technologies, and How Industries Change”

Dr. Carrie Sturts Dossick

P.D. Koon Professor of Construction Management and Associate Dean for Research, College of Built Environments
University of Washington


Friday, December 8, 2023

This talk is a culmination of over 2 decades of research that centers around the construction industry’s adoption of emerging technologies such as Building Information Management (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), and more recently Digital Twins.



Thanos Tzempelikos

“Towards Human-Centered, Adaptive Indoor Environments”

Dr. Thanos Tzempelikos

Professor of Civil Engineering with Courtesy Appointment in Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University


Friday, October 14, 2023

We live in the era of smart buildings, driven by technological advances in materials, sensing and controls, and the need for decarbonization and drastic reduction in energy use.



Dr. Denise Simmons

“Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Future: Effective Practices for Collaboration Between Industry and Academia in Construction”

Dr. Denise Simmons

Associate Dean for Workforce Development in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
University of Florida


Friday, April 21, 2023

Dr. Simmons discusses how the construction industry plays a significant role in the global economy by generating employment opportunities and supporting critical infrastructure development.



Dr. Stefano Schiavon

“The Future of Cooling”

Dr. Stefano Schiavon

Professor of Architecture and Civil and Environmental Engineering
UC Berkeley


Friday, February 17, 2023

Dr. Schiavon presents strategies to reduce the impact of air conditioning and show why electric fans can be both an alternative to and augmentation of air conditioning.



Dr. Eric Hernandez

“Vibration Monitoring in Buildings and Its Application in Seismic Risk Reduction”

Dr. Eric Hernandez

Sweeny Green and Gold Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Vermont


Friday, November 11, 2022

Dr. Hernandez presents the theoretical foundations of seismic vibration monitoring, on-going research on the topic, and some real-world applications.



Dr. Andrea Wilkerson

“Lighting Control System Data from the Field: How Can Data Benefit Occupants, Increase Efficiency, and Improve the Next Design?”

Dr. Andrea Wilkerson

Senior Lighting Research Engineer
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory


Friday, September 30, 2022

Dr. Wilkerson delves into actual LCS data collected from educational and healthcare facilities to explore how this feedback can be used to optimize spaces for occupant benefit, energy and operational efficiency, and inform design and best practice.



Dr. Pingbo Tang

“Human-Cyber-Physical Security for Resilient Civil Infrastructure Operations in a Changing World”

Dr. Pingbo Tang

Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University


Friday, September 30, 2022

This presentation aims at synthesizing H-CPS research studies that capture, diagnose, and predict the impacts of human cognitive and task execution behaviors on CIS O&M safety and efficiency.



Dr. Nora El-Gohary

Dr. Nora El-Gohary

CEE Excellence Faculty Fellow, Professor
University of Illinois


Friday, December 10, 2021





Dr. Fernanda Leite

Fernanda Leite

Associate Dean for Research
University of Texas


Friday, November 19, 2021