Our research group’s mission is to improve the performance of the built environment and empower the stakeholders delivering it. We focus on Performance Innovations in Delivery, Energy, And Sustainability (PiDEAS). Examples of our funded research programs include improving performance through innovative project delivery and developing decision-making tools and models to provide data-driven insights.
Jennifer Jones (Research Operations Manager 2021): Jennifer serves as the Research Operations Manager in Dr. Asmar’s lab. Instrumental in the day-to-day operations of the group, Jennifer provides valuable input for the following tasks: editing research publications, online presence, supporting research events, and more.
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, ASU, 2018
B.S., American Indian Studies, ASU, 2019
Certificate, Energy and Sustainability, ASU, 2019
M.S. Candidate, Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2020-2022
Niti Patadia (MS 2021): Niti graduated with a Masters in Architecture in May 2020 from Arizona State University and is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Construction Management. She is studying the role of circular economy principles in the indigenous built environment. Her research intends to help inform American Indian nations’ decision making related to housing. Her study is focused on designing a culturally responsive sustainable built environment utilizing natural, local, and bio-degradable materials using the existing infrastructure to support housing solutions for the tribal nations that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. She is a Registered Architect in India and an Autodesk Certified Professional in AutoCAD and REVIT Architecture packages. She was awarded the John Yellot Scholarship in 2019. She is also the recipient of the fall 2019’s Design Excellence Award from the Design School, ASU.
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2021
M.Arch., Masters in Architecture, ASU, Tempe AZ, May 2020
B.Arch., Bachelor of Architecture, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, India, 2015
Dr. Namho Cho (Ph.D. 2020): Namho is a project engineer at McShane Construction Company. He studied the long-term performance impact of design-build for highways. Namho is the recipient of the 2017 Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Scholarship and the second place Best Poster Award of the 2017 Arizona Pavements/Materials Conference.
Ph.D., Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, 2020
MBA, Hanyang Cyber University, Seoul, 2015
M.E., Construction Engineering and Project Management, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 2012
B.S., Civil Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 2010
Dr. Jeffrey Feghaly (Ph.D. 2020): Jeffrey studied the application of alternative project delivery methods (APDM) for water infrastructure projects. He is a recipient of the 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute Scholarship; 2019 Design-Build Institute of America Scholarship; and 2019 American Public Works Association Scholarship. Jeffrey has also received the first-place award for the 2019 North American Society for Trenchless Technology Research Poster Competition.
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, ASU, 2020
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2018
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beriut, 2015
Dr. Dean Papajohn (Ph.D. 2019): Dean is Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona. His research interests build on his vast experiences in the public, private, and academic sectors. He is studying post-award contract administration for alternative project delivery methods. Dean also is the recipient of the 2015 Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Scholarship and the DBIA Educator Workshop Scholarship.
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, ASU, 2019
M.S., Civil Engineering (Construction Management), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005
B.S.E., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1985
Dr. Abdulrahman Yussef (Ph.D. 2019): Abdul is an Associate Professor at Taibah University. He studied the maturity and accuracy of front end engineering design (FEED). He was the graduate student on the Construction Industry Institute (CII) Research Team 331. Abdulrahman is the recipient of the 2016 Taibah University Scholarship, and the ASCE Construction Research Congress (CRC) 2018 Best Paper Award.
Ph.D., Construction Management, ASU, 2019
M.S.E., Construction Management, ASU, 2015
B.S.E., Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, 2012
Mohammad Aldaaja (MS 2019): Mohammad is a Field Engineer at Sundt Construction. He was studying the applications of circular economy in the construction industry. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship; the 2019 DBIA Scholarship; 2018 IFMA Foundation Scholarship; 2018 and 2019 Greater Phoenix Chapter of IFMA Scholarship; and 2018 CMAA AZ Scholarship.
M.S., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2019
B.S.E., Civil Engineering, University of Jordan, 2014
Yinglu Xing (MSE 2019): Yinglu (Lulu) is a pre-construction Estimator at Hardison Downey. She was part of our instructing team for the CON 223 class on Strength of Materials. Lulu received the first prize award of the National Secondary and Higher Institutions BIM Application Skills Competition in China in 2016.
M.S., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2019
B.S., Quantity Surveying, Shenyang Jianzhu University, 2017
Georges Nassif (MSE 2018): Georges is a Research Associate with SGIP at Smart Electric Power Alliance. He was part of our instructing team for the CON 223 class on Strength of Materials.
M.S.E., Solar Engineering, ASU, 2018
B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Tech, 2015
Dr. Abbas Chokor (Ph.D. 2017): Abbas is the Head of Data Science at JBS. His research focused on predicting the energy consumption performance of complex institutional facilities. He also developed a predictive model for the remaining useful life of solar energy facilities.
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, ASU, 2017
M.S., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2015
B.E., CEE, American University of Beirut, 2014
Dr. Jera Sullivan (Ph.D. 2016): Jera is Assistant Professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Her research focused on improving market entry performance for contractors.
Ph.D., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2016
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011
B.S., Physics, The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, 2010
B.S., CEE, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010
Dr. David Ramsey (Ph.D. 2016): David is an Instructor at Florida International University in Miami, FL. His research focuses on quantifying the performance of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the U.S. transportation sector. David is the recipient of the Dean’s Fellowship and the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII) 2014 Best Poster Award.
Ph.D., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2016
M.S.E., Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, ASU, 2012
B.S.E., Civil Engineering, Arizona State University, 2010
Dr. Tober Francom (Ph.D. 2015): Tober is a Project Manager with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in San Francisco, CA. During his time at ASU he quantified the impact of the Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) delivery system on the performance of pipeline engineering & construction projects. Tober is the recipient of NASTT’s 2015 Best Graduate Student Presentation, the 2014 Michael E. Argent Memorial Scholarship, and the 2014 Charles P. Lake Rain for Rent Scholarship.
Ph.D., Civil, Env., and Sustainable Engineering, ASU, 2015
M.S.E., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2013
B.S., Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, ASU, 2012
Dr. Evan Bingham (Ph.D. 2014): Evan is an Assistant Professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah. He studied Best Practices for the Delivery of Infrastructure Construction Projects.
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2014
B.S., Construction Engineering, ASU, 2013
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2010
B.S., Construction Management, Brigham Young University, 2007
Rizwan Assainar (MSE 2014): Rizwan is a Project Field Engineer with DPR Construction in Phoenix, AZ. He studied early stakeholder involvement in construction, and its effect on the performance of complex institutional projects. Rizwan is the recipient of the 2014 Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Scholarship.
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2014
B.Tech., Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Warangal, 2013
Hossein Vashani (MS 2014): Hossein is a Civil Engineer & Construction Manager with Tazand Consulting Group. During his MS studies at ASU he analyzed the market share of DB firms in the U.S. and investigated DB market growth data and trends from the past decade.
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2014
B.S., Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, 2013
Vahid Nikougoftar Zarif (MSE 2014): Vahid is an ITS Engineer with the Arizona Department of Transportation in Phoenix, AZ. He was a teaching assistant for several classes at ASU, including CON 223 Strength of Materials, CON 448 Sustainable Construction, and CON 551 Innovative Delivery Methods. Vahid worked as a consulting engineer with a design firm in the valley before joining ADOT.
MSE, Construction Engineering, ASU, 2014
M.S., Geotechnical Engineering, Sharif Univ. of Technology, 2011
B.Sc., Civil Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology – Tehran Polytechnic, 2008
April Cobos (BA & BS 2015): April is a Public Health Advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). April was a NASA Space UG Researcher and Barrett Honor’s student investigating health in the built environment.
B.S., Biological Sciences: Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology, ASU, 2015
B.A., Global Health, ASU, 2015
Claire Tilton (BS 2015): Claire is a Project Manager at NORESCO. As a FURI UG Researcher, Claire investigated building energy consumption on ASU’s Tempe Campus. Specifically, she compared the actual consumption of LEED certified buildings to that of similar non-LEED-certified buildings.
B.S.E., Civil Engineering, ASU, 2015
Keegan Abele (BS student): Keegan was part of our undergraduate instructing team for the CON 223 class on strength of materials.
B.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2016
Abraham Bonilla (MS 2017): Abraham is Assistant Superintendent at Chasse Building Team, currently running his own project. He was part of our undergraduate instructing team for the CON 223 class on strength of materials. He also served as the president of our DBIA ASU Chapter.
M.S., Safety Management, West Virginia University, expected
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2017
B.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2017
Summer Research Interns
2020 Oscar Bou Maachar: Oscar assisted by gathering data for qualifications-based selections for DB and CMAR delivery processes.
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Expected in 2022
2020 Bahaa Cahmmout: Bahaa collected data and assessed qualifications-based selection criteria in alternative project delivery methods.
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Incoming in 2022
M.E., Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, American University of Beirut, Expected in 2022
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2021
2018 Elie Chdid: Elie helped identify the design-build leaders in the water industry across the U.S., as part of a larger funded study that is investigating DB administration practices.
M.E., Engineering Management, American University of Beirut, 2021
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2019
2017 Hala Sanboskani: Hala quantified the impact of design-build on the IRI of various pavement types. She is pursuing her MS at the American University of Beirut.
Ph.D., Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, ASU, expected
M.E., Construction Management, American University of Beirut, 2020
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2016
2016 Hoseb Abkarian: Hoseb studied the long-term performance impact of alternative project delivery methods for highways. He is a Ph.D. Student at Northwestern University.
Ph.D., Transportation Systems Analysis and Planning, Northwestern University, expected
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2018
2015 Hassan Obeid: Hassan studied the market trends for Construction Management at Risk in the U.S. He is currently a Research Scientist for Growth at Lyft.
Ph.D., Engineering, University of California- Berkeley, expected
M.S., Engineering, University of California- Berkeley, 2017
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2016
2014 Fernando Fortes Melro Neto: Fernando is a Project Manager at Enactus.
B.A., Psychology, Tiradentes University, expected
B.S., Civil Engineering, Federal University of Alagoas, 2016
2014 Jad Chalhoub: Jad is a Technology Solutions Implementation Lead at Rosendin.
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, ASU, 2019
M.S., Construction Management, ASU, 2017
B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, 2015
Team Pictures
We have fun too! The second picture is from our group’s second annual Graduation Celebration. Meeting at a Phoenix Suns game is our traditional yearly event to congratulate graduating students and celebrate their accomplishments!
