Michael J. Garvin named David H. Burrows Professor of Construction Engineering
Michael J. Garvin, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been named the David H. Burrows Professor of Construction Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The David H. Burrows Professorship was established in 1986 through a gift to the Virginia Tech Foundation from Burrows, a 1942 graduate of Virginia Tech. The professorship is awarded to an outstanding professor in construction engineering within the College of Engineering. Recipients of the professorship hold the title for a period of five years.
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2005, Garvin is also a principal faculty member in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. He is internationally recognized as an expert in alternative project delivery methods, particularly public-private partnerships. He currently serves as the director of the eastern region of the Build America Center, which works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation to mobilize the use of innovative financing, funding, and project delivery approaches for transportation infrastructure development.
He was recently elected to the National Academy of Construction for his proven leadership in alternative project delivery and contracting methods, public-private partnerships, project finance, and significant research of major transportation and infrastructure projects.
Garvin has more than 30 years of experience as a professor of civil engineering, consultant, practicing civil engineer in the field of construction, and Army officer who served in a combat engineer battalion in the first Gulf War. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, books, and book chapters and his work has received more than 3,100 citations. His scholarship was recognized by the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management with its best journal paper award for 2018.
He has directed or co-directed over $6.5 million of external research funding from sources such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. He has advised or co-advised 16 Ph.D. students and 25 master’s students with thesis or project and report to completion.
Garvin is also a dedicated teacher of subjects in construction engineering and infrastructure delivery and management. In 2015, he received the College of Engineering’s Certificate of Teaching Excellence.
At Virginia Tech, Garvin has served as the program coordinator for the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Vecellio Construction Engineering Management Program since 2014 with oversight of the prestigious Vecellio Lecture and scholarship program from 2019-22. Garvin also served as the associate director for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction from 2009-12, where he helped guide ABET accreditation of the bachelor's degree in construction engineering and management.
Garvin received his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Related stories
.jpg.transform/m-medium/image.jpg)
