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In March, the American Society of Civil Engineers will have just debuted its second IMAX movie—Cities of the Future. David Odeh will take the stage at ENR’s Emerging Leaders Forum to talk about his work on the ASCE technical team advising famed IMAX director Greg MacGillivray on the engineering reality underlying the film’s computer-generated imagery (CGI). The movie brings ASCE’s Future World Vision concepts to the giant screen and shows how the research for the project exploring the possibilities of city life in 2070 is based on cutting edge projects of today. Odeh will screen a clip from Cities of the Future and explain the Virtual Reality experience that attendees can have in the Future World Vision booth in the event exhibit area.
Early career associates, designers and project managers must decide what’s the best way to further their careers while managing the record-breaking volume of project work over the past two years. Advanced degrees, certifications or skilled labor training programs have to be balanced with work demands, personal and family time. This panel moderated by the leader of Northwestern’s master’s program in engineering and applied sciences will explore how to know when to move forward with career-enhancing education.
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Matthew Zettwoch, vice president of MTA Construction & Development’s Stations and Integrated Projects group, will share innovative methods the agency is using to successfully deliver some of New York’s City’s most challenging projects under a historic $55-billion capital program while maintaining service for nearly 5 million customers per day. Those methods include disrupting and transforming existing project delivery processes using design-build, progressive design-build and other competitive delivery models to speed work and bring down costs. He will share lessons from projects such as the reconstruction of Penn Station, tunneling under Grand Central Station and increasing accessibility to stations in the heart of Times Square. Zettwoch also will explore what’s involved in being an owner for the MTA—how it bundles and develops projects, releases RFPs, and awards jobs to designers, project management consultants and contractors through a variety of competitive procurement methods.
In an era defined by technological advancements, the construction industry is undergoing a transformative shift. From project level insights, such as real-time monitoring of structure stability and projecting climate impacts, to large scale studies analyzing project outcomes around the globe, embracing the modern world of data is a critical part of improving performance, safety, and innovation. Our panelists will discuss the challenges and opportunities they have faced in implementing data-driven solutions, how data might drive further change in the industry, and how you can thrive in the new paradigm.
Join one of our topic-specific lunch tables for a facilitated conversation with your peers. Click on the speakers to learn more about them and their topic.
Table 1: Is DE&I Dying? Where Do We Go From Here?Successfully navigating careers and leadership development in construction has challenges for those that make the successful shift to greater levels of responsibility. In this presentation, FMI will share the key transitions leaders must make to be successful at the next level, highlighting the necessary shifts in time management, how to add value to the organization in a different way, and how leader mindsets need to change to drive success. Smith will share research around what causes leaders to fail (hint: it’s typically not technical expertise!)
Smith then will shift to a panel discussion with up-and-coming leadersat various stages of their career to share stories about what these shifts have looked like for them and some best practices around what made their transitions successful.
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Join Dr. Burcin Kaplanoglu, an ENR contributor and LinkedIn Top Voice for technology & innovation, and four panelists as they talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) can change construction industry. Burcin will share eight AI predictions about prompt engineering and AI agents, multimodal AI, data rights, video generation, applications and robotics, adoption, fakes and cloning, artificial general intelligence (AGI) and relevant examples. Then, he will moderate a panel discussion with experts about the practical applications of these AI predictions to engineering, design, and construction.
As firms and agencies rethink their future through the lens of digital transformation and collaboration, C-suite managers are looking to strengthen connections and internal relationships to bridge up to five generations in the workplace. Hear from STV Group’s CEO Greg Kelly and Vice President KiSeok Jeon on how the multinational AEC firm strives to give up-and-coming leaders a voice in shaping the company’s strategic plan and developing stronger ties with its customers.
Join us in celebrating ENR's National Top 20 Under 40 ENR's National Top 20 Under 40, which honors the best of the next generation of industry professionals, and get their perspectives on issues affecting the construction industry today.
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Since launching launched his own Harlem-based architecture firm in the early 1990s, Victor Body-Lawson has reinvented the tired institutional template that has dominated affordable housing design. His groundbreaking portfolio led the way to a new way of thinking about how affordable housing should look. His design for a low-income senior housing complex called Erbograph Apartments in Harlem has been hailed as one of the city’s first aesthetically pleasing subsidized housing developments. ENR’s on-stage interview with Body-Lawson will not only unpack his passion for transforming affordable housing but will also explore his life and career journey. Growing up in Nigeria, his father was a surveyor who often took Victor into the field. When Body-Lawson later came to the U.S. to go to college he initially enrolled in advertising, but eventually discovered architecture. Later, at Columbia University, Body-Lawson met trailblazing architect Max Bond, who was chair of the architecture department at the time and would become both his employer and his mentor. Today, Body-Lawson—now a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation—is a mentor to aspiring designers.
Are you worried you could become the boss you promised never to be? Two ENR Top 20 Under 40 Award winners from the Class of 2019 reunite to discuss how their distinct approaches to leadership have impacted their careers and their ability to develop their teams. Hear their advice on harnessing your leadership style while avoiding common pitfalls. Learn how these leaders advance business and operational growth at their respective companies and build high-performing, multigenerational teams.
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Women leading Chicago offices for major firms discuss hot jobs and working on some of the biggest projects in the region, their approach to winning work, and how they've redefined leadership in Chicago construction.
Creativity and collaboration helped general contractor Clune Construction convert a 39,000 sq-ft warehouse in Chicago's West Loop into an employee "playground" and office for client Barstool Sports. Described as a media "fantasy factory" by its owners, the space includes over twelve STC-rated broadcast and podcast studios, three video studios, a green screen and cyclorama, with a basketball court, golf simulator, and a high-tech bar, kitchen and hosting space. In a presentation by Clune project manager Matt Wozniakowski, learn about the construction logistics behind the building's features followed by an optional off-site tour of the finished project. Experience this project in person with an off-site tour at the end of the event. Sign up here!
1000M, a 74-story skyscraper overlooking Lake Michigan was famed architect Helmut Jahn’s final design. The challenges of constructing this residential tower that features a cantilever swooping over an adjacent, shorter building will be the focus of a dynamic panel discussion bringing together the architecture firm, Jahn, the contractor, McHugh Construction, and the structural engineer, Magnusson Klemencic Associates. Learn how they worked together to finish a building that was re-configured from 506 condos to 738 apartments following a shift in the real estate market. At 805 ft—it is Helmut Jahn’s tallest building in Chicago.
This table will discuss the threat of scaling back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives nationwide in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against university programs, plus lawsuits filed against M/W/DBE programs in construction. Williamson will lead a conversation about the challenges, perceived benefits and potential consequences associated with these actions. The session will provide a safe space to share best practices and questions surrounding the effects on workforce and recruitment dynamics, company culture and overall industry progress, as we grapple with this evolving landscape.
Everyone should do their part in the fight against climate change—but first they must know how. Liban will lead a discussion of how construction industry professionals can become more environmentally aware, reducing climate change effects in their personal life, their companys' and clients' operations.
The world of the construction industry is fast evolving with new technologies aimed at making projects more accurate and on time. A career in VDC is no longer limited to 3D modeling and clash coordination. It now delves deep into the world of 4D visual planning and even 5D. The future of emerging tech is bright with laser scanning, reality capture, drone technology, robotics and VR. This lunchtime table discussion will focus how young engineers can learn and leverage emerging technologies to map a career path for themselves in Virtual Design and Construction.
This session will cover what it takes to become an exceptional leader, how high-performing leaders spend their time, and what things can destroy their credibility. Participants will learn the most important characteristics of exceptional leaders and how to develop those skills, the top three activities or best practices of high-performing leaders, and what it takes to keep credibility killers from throwing aspiring leaders and their careers off track.
From ENR to McKinsey to Gartner, the adoption of AI in the A/E/C industry is not in question, but how and where it will be adopted remains to be seen. This conversation table will discuss: