The 2024 John Adjeleian Lecture

An overview of the dynamic landscape of civil engineering

Lecture Synopsis

This lecture aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the dynamic landscape of civil engineering, showcasing innovative solutions and technologies that shape the industry’s future.

The field of civil engineering presents both challenges and a myriad of opportunities in addressing issues related to the environment, productivity, sustainability, and resilience. This lecture will explore strategies that tackle these concerns and examine related developments that jointly contribute to public safety and well-being within the civil engineering domain, focusing on three key topics. The first looks at how projects are delivered from the Renaissance era and the era of master builders to contemporary approaches like integrated project delivery and various public-private partnerships. The second will briefly explore strategies to align with Canada’s targeted objective of achieving Zero-Net Carbon emissions by 2050. Emphasis will be placed on carbon-less materials, modular and industrialized construction, and applications of the circular economy.  In the third, we will highlight ongoing efforts in digital transformation of the construction industry and its impact on productivity and competitiveness embracing automation, wireless sensing, digital imaging, AI and web-enabling technologies. Example applications that transformation will be presented, spanning projects in planning and execution phases, as well as built projects during their operational phase.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Moselhi is Professor and Director of the Centre for Innovation in Construction and Infrastructure Engineering and Management (CICIEM), Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University. He is a Fellow of the Association for Advancement in Cost Engineering (AACE International), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), and of the Canadian Academy for Engineering (CAE).

His research interest encompasses two major areas: value driven asset management for sustainable and resilient civil infrastructure, and optimized delivery of engineering, procurement and construction projects. His industry experience spans tall buildings, bridges, nuclear power plants, harbor and offshore facilities. Dr. Moselhi supervised and co-supervised to completion over 100 Masters and Ph.D. graduates, and authored and co-authored over 400 scientific publications. 

Dr. Moselhi is a member of the Order of Canada, a distinction that adds to his list of accolades and awards that includes the Walter Shanly Award from the CSCE, the Tucker-Hasegawa Award from IAARC, and the Brian D. Dunfield from the AACEi.

About the John Adjeleian Lecture

The John Adjeleian lecture was established in 2003 in honour of the late Professor Emeritus, John Adjeleian. It serves to acknowledge his outstanding contributions to Carleton University and to the profession of civil engineering. The annual lecture celebrates the standard of excellence exemplified by Professor Adjeleian and highlights outstanding achievements in professional practice, education and research that have advanced the field of engineering. For list of previous lectures, visit this page.\