Construction Innovation has provided funding for scholarships to students since 2002. In this second instalment, we look back on a selection of our past scholars. This month we feature Garry Creedy, Mike Hefferan, Joanne Jakovich, David Luxmoore, Tayyab Maqsood, Tim Rose, Derek Thompson, Marcello Tonelli, and Ji Soo Yoon.
Garry completed his PhD in 2007 and received his PhD award in February 07. The research focused on the client and the necessity to achieve accurate risk assessment of highway project cost estimates at the time the decision to build is made. It assists such clients in identifying a broader range of risk factors by the incorporation of realistic contingency percentage on-costs in client project budget estimates. Garry has subsequently returned to the Queensland Department of Main Roads in July 2006 to his previous role as Director of Roads Information.
Judy is on track for the 3 year completion of her PhD and has submitted it for external examination. Her PhD focus and committment to timelines as well as the quality of her results have been impressive. Judy undertakes consultancy work via her business Terrella Consulting (currently both research based and commercial). Judy submitted and had accepted a conference paper to CIB DUBAI 15-17 November 2008 entitled Value Mapping For Major Economic Infrastructure Projects by Judy Kraatz, Prof Stephen Kajewski and Dr Karen Manley.
Joanne submitted her PhD for external examination on Mar 30 2009 and has recently been appointed a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture at UTS. Joanne is an architect and researcher specialising in interactive spaces spanning art, architecture and urbanism. Her PhD research examined the role of adaptation in human-system engagement in interactive spaces. Research outcomes include a quantitative analysis method of engagement, numerous interactive installations, and evaluation of these through experiments with the public. As both designer and engineer of interactive works, she encourages broad-based computing skills in architectural design education. Her teaching areas include architectural design, urban studies, interaction design, physical computing and software scripting. Joanne is the editor of one book, first author of international academic journal and conference publications, and presents international addresses to design and academic audiences.
Dave's research provided a comparison with Current Mainstream Housing and Sustainable Housing. On completion of his Masters, Dave's subsequent report on the three Greensmart Houses was accepted by Qld EPA and posted onto their web site as industry example of sustainable housing. Since completing his Masters in 2005, David has been the Director of Sustainable Development Strategies Pty. Ltd. Dave has also been a construction project manager on the Gold Coast, and since late 2008 is the Commercial Construction Manager of BioLytix based at Maleny. Biolytix, using nature not machinery is a supplier of wastewater treatment systems around the world. See http://www.biolytix.com/detail.php?ID=80 for examples of case study implementation. A new project involving a 1000 house subdivision at Port Lincoln SA is incorporating BioLytix into its planning.
As of November 2008, Brett reached his PhD term and all data has been collected (pilot, study 1 and study 2). Brett applied and was granted an additional extension to write up his thesis which was due to expire end of March 2009. However, since January 2009, Brett has returned to full time work and has been granted a leave of absence which, with the remainder of his previous extension, should see him finish his PhD by December 2009. Brett is currently finalising a role with Maritime Safety Queensland and is part of a large commercial tender team with Worley Parsons.
Tim's has completed his PhD - awarded in Aug 08 - and after working as a policy officer and a short stint as a project manager at Qld Dept of Public Works, Tim now works full time as a Researcher at QUT. His research explores the impact of financial incentives on contractor motivation in Australian Government non-residential building projects. It aims to identify how financial incentives can be applied to improve the level and direction of effort in these specific building projects. With the identification and prioritisation of the major motivation drivers in incentive construction contracts, government clients will be better equipped to implement successful strategies that improve project performance and decrease project risks.
Derek's focus included transdisciplinary project research into dynamic experience of open architectural spaces and included extensive field recording, analysis, and experimentation with 3D sound reproduction technology. The research applied concepts from soundscape studies, acoustics, and perceptual investigations to inform documentation, analysis, and sound-design intervention for transitional spaces. Derek completed his Masters in an 18 month timeframe. He continues to work with ARUP as an acoustic designer in Melbourne.
Marcello completed his scholarship period with CRC and presented his final presentation of his PhD in February 2009. His thesis is currently under external examination. Through 7 case studies of Italian organisation and identifying cultural differences, this research identified the business implications for organisations when considering corporate real estate decision, and how studying CRE decisions helps better understand strategic decision-making processes. Marcello operates his own consultancy business,WorlDynamics Pty Ltd based in Brisbane with consultancies throughout Australia and Italy.
Ji Soo's research has developed an alternative method to wayfinding within virtual worlds that adapts to dynamically changing environment by incorporating methods of swarm intelligence. During the final stages of his PhD and since its completion in 2007, Ji Soo works as an analyst at Accenture in Sydney. He has worked on projects for the Australian Tax Office, Optus and his current client is Veolia Water Solutions and Technology.
