Dr. Khaled El-Rayes

Associate Professor

Construction Management

Ranked # 1

Graduate & Undergraduate

Civil Engineering Program

by US News & World Report

Home

RESEARCH

Year

Title

Sources of Funds

Funding

Role

2008-10

Studying and Minimizing Traffic-Related Work Zone Crashes in Illinois

Illinois Center for Transportation -    Illinois Department of Transportation

$210,000

PI

Qatar National Research Fund

2006-09

Optimizing Airport Construction Site Layouts to Maximize Aviation Safety and Security

National Science Foundation-CMS

$280,000

PI

2006-07

Nighttime Construction: Evaluation of Lighting Glare for Highway Construction in Illinois

Illinois Center for Transportation -    Illinois Department of Transportation

$218,680

PI

Mid-America Earthquake Center

$180,000

2004-09

National Science     Foundation-ITR

$2,370,000

Co-PI

2003-08

Distributed Multi-Objective Optimization for the Construction of Large-scale Transportation Systems

National Science Foundation-CAREER

$400,000

PI

2003-06

Dynamic Planning and Control Methodology for Large-scale Concurrent Design and Construction Projects

National Science Foundation-CMS

$398,000

Co-PI

2003

Nighttime Construction: Lighting Equipment Grant

Illinois Department of Transportation-ITRC

$5,000

PI

2002-04

NEES: Multi-Axial Full-Scale Sub-Structured Testing and Simulation (MUST-SIM) Facility

National Science Foundation-NEES

$2,958,000

Project Manager

2001-03

Nighttime Construction: Evaluation of Lighting for Highway Construction

Illinois Department of Transportation-ITRC

$150,000

Co-PI

2001-03

Nighttime Construction: Evaluation of Construction Operations

Illinois Department of Transportation-ITRC

$150,000

Co-PI

1)    

1)  Distributed Multi-Objective Optimization for the Construction of Large-Scale Transportation Systems: This $400,000 project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. The main objectives of this project are to: (1) develop robust optimization models for minimizing construction cost, duration, service disruption and environmental impact, while maximizing quality, durability and safety; (2) formulate scalable methodologies for solving large-scale construction optimization problems; and (3) explore dynamic frameworks for revising optimal plans whenever and wherever needed. To accomplish these objectives, the research project integrates advanced methodologies from several disciplines, including evolutionary computations, distributed computing, information technology, and object-oriented modeling.

2) ITR: IT-based Collaboration Framework for Preparing against, Responding to and Recovering from Disasters involving Critical Infrastructures: This $2.37 Million project is funded by the National Science Foundation ITR for National Priorities. The goal of this project is to reduce uncertainty and improve collaboration among first responders who face many challenges in the chaotic and inhospitable environment of disaster relief operations. The main research objectives of this project are to: (1) investigate collaboration in chaotic, volatile, and complex disaster relief environments; (2) explore the role of civil engineer as a vital member of the first responder team providing key knowledge of the affected physical infrastructure; and (3) enable first responders with an IT-based components platform to address issues pertaining to critical physical infrastructure.

3) Web-based Management of Multi Interdisciplinary and Geographically Distributed Research Projects: This $180,000 project is supported by the Mid-America Earthquake Center and the National Science Foundation. The main objective of this project is to develop a robust IT-based management system for engineering research centers to ensure the accomplishment of their research, educational and outreach goals on time and within budget. To this end, a web-based system is being developed to enable remote and effective management of multi interdisciplinary research projects that are located in different geographic regions.

4) Dynamic Planning and Control Methodology for Large-Scale Concurrent Design and Construction Projects: This $398,000 project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The objectives of the project are to (1) enable the consideration of unpredictable dynamics of  design  and  construction  processes; (2)  develop  a  comprehensive  quality  and  change  management  framework; (3) enhance dynamic buffering strategies for reducing sensitivity to changes and resource constraints; and (4) implement a comprehensive agent-based  dynamic  project  model  for  planning  and  controlling  large-scale  concurrent  design  and construction  projects.

5)     Optimal Planning and Control of Construction Site Layouts: This $100,000 project is supported by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The objectives of this research are to: (1) formulate efficient methodologies to measure and quantify the impact of various site layout plans on safety of construction operations and security of neighboring facilities; (2) develop multi-objective optimization models that are capable of generating optimal tradeoffs among cost, safety and security; (3) investigate feasible methodologies for considering uncertainties in site layout planning; and (4) develop dynamic frameworks for optimizing the control of construction site layouts.

6)  Evaluation of Lighting for Nighttime Highway Construction Operations: This $150,000 project was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to evaluate and recommend design criteria and lighting arrangements for nighttime construction operations. The objectives of this research are to: (1) develop and recommend design criteria for lighting nighttime highway construction; (2) develop a design and optimization model for lighting nighttime construction sites; and (3) implement a practical and mobile computing tool for lighting design that can be utilized by contractors in design and implementation and by resident engineers in the inspection of lighting conditions on site.

7)      Evaluation of Operations for Nighttime Highway Construction: This $150,000 project was supported by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to evaluate the impact of nighttime operations on construction cost, quality, safety and productivity. The objectives of this research are to: (1) determine the advantages and disadvantages of nighttime construction considering safety of the driving public and construction workers; (2) identify construction operations which are most suited for nighttime construction considering cost, productivity, and quality; and (3) develop analytical models to evaluate the feasibility of nighttime construction.

8)     Multi-Axial Full-Scale Sub-Structuring Testing & Simulation (MUST-SIM) Facility: This $2,958,000 project is funded by NSF. The primary objective of this research project is to create a facility in which a full-scale subassembly can be subjected to complex loading and imposed deformation states at multiple connection points on the subassembly, including the connection between the structure and its foundation. My responsibility focuses on project management and control, and quality planning and control during the design, construction, and operation phases.

9)   Optimizing Large-Scale Construction Resource Utilization Problems: This project is supported by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) which provided 5,000 SU hours on its supercomputers to explore the optimization of large-scale problems. The objectives of this research are to: (1) study the computational requirements for optimizing large-scale construction planning problems; and (2) devising parallel/distributed computing algorithms to enable efficient solutions for these problems. 

10) Optimized Scheduling for Repetitive Construction: The primary objective of this research project was to develop an object-oriented model for optimizing the planning of repetitive construction. The model incorporates a number of newly developed scheduling algorithms and optimization methodologies. The model is designed to provide an optimal plan for resource utilization that minimizes the construction cost and/or duration.

11)   An AI Methodology to Quantify the Impact of Change Orders on Construction Productivity: The primary objective of this project was to develop an AI methodology for estimating the impact of change orders on construction productivity. The methodology utilizes Neural Networks to model the effects of change orders on productivity and impact costs.

12) A Knowledge-Base System for Estimating the Impact of Weather on Construction Activities: This project focused on the development of a knowledge-base system for estimating and quantifying the impact of weather on construction productivity, schedules and delays. The model utilizes a combination of knowledge-base and database and has been recently utilized in the analysis and resolution of a recent multimillion-dollar construction claim resulting from adverse weather conditions.

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