My research focuses on essential challenges related to data, information, and knowledge management in construction engineering and project management. Infrastructure and construction projects are critical to society. Therefore, improvements in project execution have broad and long-term consequences. In the last few decades, the infrastructure and construction sectors have been moving at an extraordinary pace towards globalization. At the same time, evolving requirements are increasing project complexity and causing difficulties to an already elaborate process, which typically involves dynamic interactions among several organizations. Communications, computation, information, and sensing technologies provide alternatives for collaboration, coordination, and decision-making in this complex, dynamic, and distributed project environment. The project data being collected also provide a valuable source for data mining. Discovered knowledge can be used to improve the performance of future activities and projects. However, the inherent characteristics of construction project data still pose challenges to data processing, information management, and knowledge discovery. For all of these reasons, research in these areas is essential in order to build faster, cheaper, safer, and sustainable infrastructure and construction projects. My educational background is in the fields of civil engineering, construction management, and computer science. I combine experience and knowledge from all of these areas to successfully develop my research program. I also strive to conduct studies that span from fundamental research to applied knowledge, bridging the gap between some of the significant challenges of computational research and the applied aspects of construction engineering and project management. My current research efforts can be divided into three main interrelated and complementary themes: intelligent and automated construction job site, leveraging information technology to improve project management processes, and knowledge discovery and transfer techniques.
My research program has been supported by a combination of federal agencies, state departments, and industry consortiums, including NSF, NIST, CII, FIATECH, and TxDOT. These studies totaled almost $7.9 million in research funding and generated over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Below is a list of my current and completed research projects.
Carlos Caldas - Research Projects
Integrated Approach to Management Practices and Productivity Measurement for the Singapore Chemicals Industry – Phase 1
Sponsor: Singapore Economic Development Board
PI: Mulva and Caldas
Period: 04/2014 to 06/2014
Total: $156,167
Successful Delivery of Megaprojects
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PI: Caldas
Period: 09/2013 to 08/2015
Total: $185,610
Planning and Controlling Utility Relocations
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Caldas
Period: 10/2013 to 09/2015
Total: $199,127
Development of an Indoor Intelligent and Automated Construction Job Site Testbed
Sponsor: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
PI: Caldas
Period: 04/2009 to 03/2014
Total: $970,387
Investigating and Analyzing Utility Adjustment Factors
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Kwaja and Caldas
Period: 09/2013 to 08/2016
Total: $163,636
Performance Assessment of Healthcare Projects
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PI: Mulva and Caldas
Period: 09/2012 to 08/2013
Total: $9,564
Transferring Experiential Knowledge from the Near-retirement Generation to the Next Generation
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PI: Caldas and O'Connor
Period: 09/2011 to 12/2013
Total: $209,547
Prevention of Backing Fatalities in Construction Work Zones
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Fan, Leite, Seedah, and Caldas
Period: 09/2011 to 08/2013
Total: $296,864
Linking Regional Planning with Project Planning in Support of NEPA
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Caldas, Prozzi, Loftus-Otway, Clower, and Bomba
Period: 09/2011 to 12/2012
Total: $212,996
Condemnation in Transportation Projects: Causes and Solutions
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Caldas, Bhat, Kockelman, Loftus-Otway, and Hutson
Period: 09/2010 to 02/2012
Total: $145,295
Potential Value Extraction from TxDOT’s Right of Way and Other Property Assets
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Caldas, Prozzi, Loftus-Otway, and Zhang
Period: 09/2010 to 02/2012
Total: $202,000
Analyzing and Improving Utility Adjustments’ Schedule and Right-of-Way Acquisition Cost Performance
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PI: Caldas
Period: 09/2009 to 08/2011
Total: $131,113
Development of a Benchmarking System for Upstream Oil and Gas Projects
Sponsor: FEC/UFF/Petrobras
PIs: Mulva, Caldas, and Jablonowski
Period: 11/2008 to 06/2010
Total: $598,617
Craft Productivity Research Program
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PIs: Goodrum, Caldas, and Haas
Period: 09/2007 to 12/2013
Total: $907,833
Global Procurement and Materials Management
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PIs: Caldas, Menches, and Reyes
Period: 09/2007 to 08/2009
Total: $254,962
Performance Test Methods for Automated Structural Steel Pick-and-Place
Sponsor: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
PI: Caldas
Period: 04/2006 to 03/2009
Total: $444,762
Complete Implementation of the Electronic Appraisal System
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Zhang and Caldas
Period: 04/2008 to 08/2009
Total: $208,000
Real-Time Spatial Information Acquisition andUse for Infrastructure Construction and Maintenance
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
PI: Caldas
Period: 09/2004 to 08/2008
Total: $364,682
Synthesis Study of Programs Used to Reduce the Need for Inspection Personnel
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Menches, Caldas, and O'Connor
Period: 09/2007 to 08/2008
Total: $113,413
Leveraging Technology to Improve Construction Productivity
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PIs: Haas, Goodrum, and Caldas
Period: 09/2006 to 08/2008
Total: $199,747
Tracking the Performance of HMA Mixtures in Texas
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Prozzi and Caldas
Period: 09/2005 to 08/2008
Total: $229,162
Effective Management Practices and Technologies for Lessons Learned Programs
Sponsor: Construction Industry Institute (CII)
PIs: Gibson and Caldas
Period: 09/2005 to 08/2007
Total: $125,687
Optimizing the Identification of Right-of-Way Requirements during the Project Development Process
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Caldas and Gibson
Period: 09/2005 to 08/2007
Total: $208,510
Implementation of the Electronic Appraisal System
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Zhang and Caldas
Period: 09/2006 to 08/2007
Total: $135,000
Development of Obstacle Avoidance Algorithms for Construction Machinery Using a High Frame Rate FlashLADAR
Sensor
Sponsor: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
PI: Caldas
Period: 09/2004 to 09/2006
Total: $50,640
Effectiveness of Combined Utility Relocation/Highway Construction Projects
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: O'Connor and Caldas
Period: 09/2004 to 08/2006
Total: $248,916
Electronic Appraisal Development Study
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Zhang and Caldas
Period: 09/2004 to 08/2006
Total: $227,646
Implementation of a Right-of-Way (ROW) Acquisition Cost Estimating Planning Tool
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Kockelman, Caldas, and Zhang
Period: 03/2005 to 08/2006
Total: $162,000
Best Practices for Right-of-Way Valuation and Negotiation
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
PIs: Caldas, Zhang, Kockelman, and Persad
Period: 09/2005 to 08/2006
Total: $84,943
Field Trials of GPS Technology for Locating Fabricated Pipe in Laydown Yards
Sponsor: FIATECH/CCIS
Field Trials of RFID Technology for Tracking Fabricated Pipe - Phase II
Sponsor: FIATECH/CCIS
Field Trials of RFID Technology for Tracking Fabricated Pipe
Sponsor: FIATECH/CCIS
Integration of Project Documents in Model-Based Information Systems
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Doctoral Research - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Advisor: Dr. Lucio Soibelman
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last update: 08/27/2014
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