3 professors win Best Paper Award from American Society of Civil Engineers

Three professors from Kookmin University, Chung-Ang University and Texas A&M University have won the Best Paper Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for their international collaborative research.

Kookmin University said Tuesday that the award ceremony was held Monday at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

The award recipients are Ko Tae-woo, a professor at Kookmin University’s School of Architecture; Lee Jee-hee, a professor at Chung-Ang University’s School of Architecture and Building Science; and H. David Jeong, a professor in the Department of Construction Science at Texas A&M University.

Their paper appeared in the Journal of Management in Engineering, an academic journal published by ASCE.

Each year, ASCE selects one paper published in the journal for its Best Paper Award in recognition of outstanding academic and practical contributions, innovation and impact.

The award-winning paper presents an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology that automatically assigns roles and responsibilities to different departments by analyzing requirements specified in contracts and technical specifications for large-scale construction projects.

“I am deeply honored that our paper received the Best Paper Award from ASCE. This award is a valuable achievement made possible through the close collaboration of a global research team over many years,” Ko said.

“I hope this research, which incorporates AI technology into construction management, will provide practical guidance for smart construction by accelerating decision-making at construction sites and reducing the risk of project delays and work-related disputes,” he added.

The research team developed an algorithm that uses an AI language model to automatically classify requirements in complex contract documents according to the roles and responsibilities of different departments.

The team then combined the analysis results with construction-site location data to create an “interactive mapping system” that displays the tasks assigned to each department in different colors on a digital map.

Using the system, departments and partner companies involved in road construction projects can identify the locations of their assigned tasks and the scope of their responsibilities and share relevant information through a digital map without manually reviewing extensive specifications.

A demonstration study also showed that the AI model achieved high classification accuracy, indicating its potential for practical application at construction sites.

Meanwhile, Kookmin University established its Graduate School of Architecture in August to cope with the rapidly changing architectural environment driven by AI and foster professionals who will lead the future of architecture.

The graduate school has introduced AI Craft as a new direction for architectural design and offers specialized programs covering design, theory, technology and practice, with majors in architectural design and architecture.

Through professional degree programs aligned with international standards for architectural education, the school aims to train architects and researchers equipped with creative design skills and practical expertise.