CoSci department to host 51st annual ASC conference this April

Construction science educators and graduate students from across the United States and throughout the world will come to Texas A&M April 22-25, 2015 to discuss emerging technologies’ effects on construction management practice and education at the [Associated Schools of Construction] (http://www.ascweb.org/) ’s 51 ^st Annual International Conference, which will be hosted by Texas A&M and the [Department of Construction Science] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/) .

Planning is already under way for the event, expected to attract approximately 250 educators and graduate students, said Julian Kang, conference co-chairman of the conference and associate professor of construction science.

“The conference is a great opportunity to highlight the research and teaching taking place in our department to construction educators from throughout the world,” said Kang. The conference will also showcase [Francis Hall] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/francis-hall/) , which by then will be the new home of the Department of Construction Science, following a $10 million renovation.

The ASC is a professional, interdisciplinary association whose members seek to develop and advance construction education. The construction managers, architects, engineers and other professionals in other fields in the ASC believe that sharing ideas and knowledge inspires, guides and promotes excellence in construction curricula, teaching, research and service.

Workshops at the conference, which will be led by Texas A&M construction science faculty, will focus on the theme “Emerging Construction Technology” and investigate how technological tools — mobile devices, building information modeling, geographic information systems, surveying, software advancements and robotics — are poised to bring great changes to the construction industry, said Kang.

“We will consider which emerging technologies managers want to use,” said Kang, “how these technologies change procedures at the construction jobsite, and how we teach construction management to our students.”

Some of the workshops, he added, may include presentations by the department’s industry partners.

The conference will include presentations of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers detailing research projects by construction faculty in the United States and abroad. Additionally, graduate student research will be featured in oral and poster presentations and conference participants will hear from university and department officials and industry practitioners.

Kang plans to introduce attendees to Texas A&M’s traditions through conference appearances by yell leaders or a variety of student groups.