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Investigating the Need for Forensic Engineering Graduate Program to Meet the Growing Workforce Demand

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Graduate Studies Division (GSD) Technical Session 2: Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Engineering Graduate Programs

Tagged Division

Graduate Studies Division (GSD)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43877

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43877

Download Count

154

Paper Authors

biography

Piyush Pradhananga Florida International University

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Piyush Pradhananga is a Ph.D. Candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). Piyush holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Tribhuwan University (TU). Piyush is currently a Dissertation Year Fellow at FIU where he focuses on multidisciplinary research that harmonizes sustainability in construction. His research interests include Sustainable Construction, Robotics and AI-based Construction, Engineering Education, Sustainable Infrastructure, Resilient and Sustainable Post-Disaster Reconstruction, and Circular Economy. He also holds professional credentials in LEED Green Associate for sustainable buildings and ENV SP for sustainable infrastructures as well as several micro-credentials in the commercialization of research. As a Ph.D. Candidate, Piyush has published a dozen peer-reviewed journals and several conference papers.

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biography

Claudia Calle Müller Florida International University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2023-9361

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Claudia Calle Müller is a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). She holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). Claudia has 4+ years’ experience in structural engineering designing reinforced concrete residential and commercial buildings in Peru; 2+ years’ experience in entrepreneurship building a successful health coaching and wellness business; and 4+ years teaching. Currently, Claudia is a Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant at the Moss School of Construction, Sustainability, and Infrastructure at FIU where she focuses on multidisciplinary research on sustainability, equity, resilient and sustainable post-disaster reconstruction, engineering education, and well-being.

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Rubaya Rahat Florida International University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-5619

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Rubaya Rahat grew up in Bangladesh, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After graduating she worked for two years in a construction management company in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was involved in various residential and infrastructure projects. Rubaya now is a Ph.D. student at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Teaching/Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Florida International University. Her research interest includes Sustainable and resilient infrastructure, Engineering Education, and Sustainable transportation system.

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Mohamed ElZomor P.E. Florida International University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-7734-9601

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Dr. Mohamed ElZomor is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University (FIU), College of Engineering and Computing and teaches at the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Dr. ElZomor completed his doctorate at Arizona

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Abstract

Forensic engineering is a growing career choice in the civil engineering discipline for the evaluation of structural failures and poor structural performance of houses damaged in a natural disaster, deteriorating infrastructure, and maintenance of the built environment. However, most of the forensic engineers in a professional role for field investigations are structural engineers who may or may not have developed forensic skills during their academic careers. This study aims to: (1) investigate Bachelor’s in Construction Management program in 72 American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) accredited institutions to identify accessibility to forensic engineering-based courses; (2) identify essential forensic engineering skills; and (3) gaps in students’ skills and projected demand for a workforce skilled in forensic engineering. The results of this study indicated that forensic engineers need specific skills and competencies to objectively analyze the causes of failure using the collected evidence, including (a) technical competency; (b) legal knowledge including technical vocabulary and legal procedures; and (c) interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate technical information to the people from non-engineering background. However, the student survey results indicated that many students lack such skills and there is a pressing need to teach these skills in graduate programs. Additionally, the results highlighted that only 4 out of 72 ACCE institutions which consisted of 5.6% of the accredited degree programs offered courses that are related to forensic engineering. With growing concern for climate change impact and deterioration of infrastructure such as bridges, the workforce demand for forensic engineers is expected to increase. The findings of this study are directed to engineering education administrators and interested parties in the current state of forensic engineering education to suggest that universities need to allow construction management students to develop forensic engineering skills and help them become successful in their professional career.

Pradhananga, P., & Calle Müller, C., & Rahat, R., & ElZomor, M. (2023, June), Investigating the Need for Forensic Engineering Graduate Program to Meet the Growing Workforce Demand Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43877

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