Dear all:

The spring issue of 2016 brings four very interesting articles that highlight the success of our alumni, the engagement activities of our students, as well as our faculty research achievements and service activities. The CEM program has generated successful alumni throughout its history. The first story is about José Armijos, one of our alumni from Ecuador, and his achievements since he graduated from Purdue. Like many of our graduates, José maintains his connection with our program, and he even met with our EPICS Ecuador team earlier this year. As you know, experiential learning is the cornerstone of our program. The second article illustrates the community service and experiential learning activities of our students as they engage in service projects that build a stronger sense of community. Our faculty are very active in research that represents the cutting edge of knowledge in the construction engineering and management area. The third article highlights one of those advancements in knowledge. As a result of these achievements, our faculty frequently share their thoughts as invited keynote speakers at conferences around the world. The fourth article highlights some of these activities as well as the achievements of two of our recent graduates and student leaders.

Since the last issue of the magazine, we have seen a few changes to our staff. Hope McGowen joined our team as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She brings the much needed skillset to the Division that has significantly helped our undergraduate recruitment, internship, and placement team. She has successfully taken over our communication efforts and you will see some of her talents reflected in this issue of CEM News. A second talented individual joined our Division earlier this year. Rebecca “Becca” Miller joined our staff as the new Administrative Assistant to the Head. A Purdue veteran, Becca brings a wealth of knowledge in managing the activities at the main office and helping me with my responsibilities.

I am happy to report that the student interest in construction engineering and management program remains strong as we see a steady increase in the student enrollment. The four articles in this issue highlight some of the engagement activities of our students, research breakthroughs achieved by our faculty, and the scholarship of our faculty and students. I hope you enjoy reading this issue of CEM News. Please let us know any additions or changes to the news format that would further improve this publication. As always, we appreciate your feedback.

With best regards,

Makarand (Mark) Hastak, PhD, PE, CCP

Professor and Head
Division of Construction Engineering and Management