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Jesús M. de la Garza

Vecellio Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest :

Construction Engineering and Management, Highway Infrastructure Management, Information Technology in Construction, Design-Construction Integration. My Philosophy towards the A/E/C Industry is:

1) Construction is the last phase of the Design process;
2) Design is not what is on CAD drawings, rather, Design is what gets built;
3) Design-Construction integration is fundamental.

  • BS Civil Engineering - Tecnologico de Monterrey, 1978
  • MS Civil Engineering - University of Illinois, 1984
  • PhD Civil Engineering - University of Illinois, 1988
  • Editor-in-Chief for ASCE's Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
  • Member of the National Research Council's Committee on Defense Materials, Manufacturing, and Infrastructure
  • Member of the National Research Council's Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
  • 2004-2006, Program Director, National Science Foundation, Civil and Mechanical Systems Division.
  • 1988-2006, Assistant, Associate, Professor, Vecellio Professor, Virginia Tech, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
  • 1978-1982, Project Engineer with the ICA Group, Mexico City
  • Distinguished Member of ASCE
  • Vecellio Endowed Professorship
  • The Construction Industry Institute's Richard L. Tucker Award for Leadership and Service
  • John L. Tishman Distinguished Lecture, University of Michigan
  • Fellow of the Construction Management Association of America
  • The Construction Industry Institute's Outstanding Instructor Award
  • The Construction Industry Institute's Distinguished Professor Award
  • Visiting Eminent Scholar at the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University.
  • The College of Engineering Dean's Award for Research Excellence
  • The College of Engineering Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence
  • The College of Engineering Dean's Award for Service Excellence
  • ASCE Peurifoy Construction Research Award
  • Member of the National Academy of Construction
  • ASCE Faculty of the Year Award, 1998, Student Chapter, Virginia Tech.
  • ASCE Best Paper Award, 1998, Technical Council on Computer Practices, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.
  • ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize, 1992
  • ASCE Appreciation Certificate for outstanding service as Faculty Advisor to the Student Chapter, 1990
  • Who is Who in Computing, 1989
  • Construction Management
  • Estimating, Production and Cost Engineering
  • Construction Control Techniques
  • Schedule Impact Analysis
  • RBS: Performance-based decision support system for resilient and sustainable multi-hazard building design, National Science Foundation, with Drs. M. Flint, M. Eatherton, G. Olgun, J. Irish, R. Leon, G. Reichard, A. Rodriguez-Marek
  • Successful Delivery of Flash-Track Projects, Construction Industry Institute, with Dr. Pardis Pishdad-Bozorgi at Georgia Tech
  • VDOT/VT Partnership for Highway Maintenance Monitoring and Innovation in Maintenance and Construction Contracting, Virginia Department of Transportation, with Dr. M.C. Vorster @ Virginia Tech
  • Development of a Highway Maintenance Management System, Swedish National Road Administration, with Dr. Hans Bjornsson @ Chalmers University of Technology
  • Constructability Review and Evaluation for Workgroups (CREW), National Science Foundation, with Dr. W. Rodriguez @ Florida Gulf Coast University
  • Wireless Communication and Computing at the Jobsite, Construction Industry Institute, with Dr. Ivan Howitt @ Virginia Tech
  • The Impact of Deferred Maintenance on the Interstate System, Virginia Department of Transportation, with Dr. D.R. Drew @ Virginia Tech, and Dr. A.D. Chasey @ Arizona State University
  • A Mobile Tool for Acquisition of Activity Progress Data and Updating of P3/Expedition Project Files, Primavera Systems, Inc., with Dr. Walid Thabet @ Virginia Tech
  • de la Garza, J.M., and Arcella, J., "Comparative Analysis of Current Performance-Based Maintenance Methods to Improve Virginia Highways," Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2361, pp. 35–43.
  • Fallah-Fini, S., Triantis, K., Rahmandad, H., de la Garza, J.M., (2015), Measuring Dynamics Efficiency of Highway Maintenance Operations, Omega, DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2014.07.001.
  • Kim, K., and de la Garza, J.M., “Phantom Float,” ASCE, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 129, No. 5, October, 2003, pp. 507-517.
  • de la Garza, J.M., and Alcantara, P.T., “Using a Parameter Dependency Network to Capture Design Rationale,” ASCE, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, April, 1997, pp. 102-112. This paper won the 1998 Best Paper Award from ASCE Technical Council on Computer Practices.
  • Chasey, A.D., de la Garza, J.M., and Drew, D.R., “Comprehensive Level of Service: Needed Approach for Civil Infrastructure Systems,” ASCE, Journal of Infrastructure Systems, Vol. 3, No. 4, December, 1997, pp. 143-153.
  • de la Garza, J.M., and Howitt, I., “Wireless Communication and Computing at the Construction Jobsite,” Elsevier Science, Automation in Construction, an International Journal for Construction Professionals, Vol. 7, No. 4, May, 1998, pp.327-347.
  • de la Garza, J.M., Hancher, D.E., and Decker, L., “Analysis of Safety Indicators in Construction,” ASCE, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 124, No.4, July/August, 1998, pp.312-314.
  • de la Garza, J.M., Alcantara, P., Kapoor, M., and Ramesh, P.S., " Value of Concurrent Engineering for the AEC Industry," ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 3, May/June, 1994, pp. 46-55.