CEM Head Hastak elected 26th president of CIB
The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) recently named Makarand (Mark) Hastak its president. Hastak, Dernlan Family Head of Construction Engineering and Management and professor of civil engineering, is the Council’s 26th president.
The Council was established with the assistance of the United Nations in 1953 and is a worldwide network of building and construction experts. According to the Council, its goal is to provide a platform for every member to “improve their performance through international co-operation and information exchange with their peers to improve the quality and impact of research and innovation activities in the sector.”
For Hastak, being elected as the Council’s newest president has significant personal meaning.
“It is a great honor to be elected 26th president of CIB, a 69-year-old organization that represents over 3,000 experts and researchers in the built environment around the world,” he said. “I appreciate the faith put in my leadership abilities by the CIB Board members and I hope to lead the organization to greater heights during my tenure. Also, in the history of CIB, I am only the third person from the United States to be elected president of this prestigious organization. That is of prestige not only to Purdue University but also to the body of construction researchers in the United States.”
Hastak’s term will last for three years, ending upon the Council’s General Assembly in 2025. Upon his announcement as president in late June, Hastak laid out his initial goals for the Council, and he also stressed the mission of cultivating both alternative and complementary funding streams. Hastak also noted his goal of growing the Council’s profile and influence with organizations throughout the globe, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, among other key bodies.
“I plan to pursue three very specific goals during my tenure: membership growth, new value-added propositions for the members and growing CIB’s profile and influence,” Hastak said. “Each of these goals includes three or four specific objectives that establish the priorities such as increasing collaborative research among members, increased interaction with the industry, steps to enhance the financial stability of the organization through third party funding initiatives, initiating a CIB day to be observed around the world, improved participation of women in construction, and finally, along with my construction colleagues on campus and the CIB secretariat, organizing the next conference — the World Building Congress at Purdue University in 2025.”
Dr. Hastak has been participating in CIB events, including collaborative research and conferences, since his early career days. In recent years, he has become more involved with the organization. In 2019, he was nominated to the CIB Board. Then, in 2020, he was invited to serve as the vice president by his predecessor, Keith Hampson of Australia.
“For a young academic, this organization is a source of knowledge and opportunities that are extremely useful to build a network of like-minded individuals in your area of expertise and to stay at the cutting edge of research,” Hastak said. “Such a network is not only useful for research collaboration but also for professional growth at a global scale.”