Biography

Professional Experience
1998–present: Tower-crane related productivity and safety improvement in construction sites (see also Significant Professional Projects).
1994–present: Consultancy to construction firms, owner companies, and government agencies on construction engineering and project planning (equipment selection and operation, forming systems, tower cranes, site organization).
1979–2001: Formwork design for concrete elements in various building and civil engineering projects, including supervision of implementation. Since 1990 activity focused on formwork based on multitier shoring towers for high-clearance construction.
1980–1985: Engineering and financial management in a construction company, Shura Ltd. (general contractors), as Deputy Managing Director, including the areas of day-to-day functions, general policies, and long-term planning.
1977–1985: Construction management of various public and civil engineering projects (for the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, public health institutions, municipalities, etc.), as Chief Project Engineer, Shura Ltd. (general contractors). This eight-year activity covered all functions of project planning and management.
Since 1975: Registered Professional Engineer (#18507), Israel.

Teaching Experience

Technion–IIT, Faculty of Civil (and Environmental) Engineering:
Formwork Design [018619, 016619] (G,UG)
Mechanization in Construction [014609] (UG)
Project in Construction Management [014601] (UG)
Construction Methods [014610] (UG)
Seminar in Construction Management [014600] (UG)
Introduction to Civil Engineering [014009] (UG)

University of New Mexico, Dept. of Civil Engineering:
CE 470: Construction Methods and Equipment (G, UG)
CE 588: Project in Construction Engineering and Management (G)
CE 552: Problems in Civil and Construction Engineering (G)
CE 572: Construction Project Management (G)

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering:
CEE 698: Special Topics in Construction Engineering and Management (G, UG)

Administrative Positions
2/09-present: Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion–IIT.
1/02–6/04: Associate Dean for Teaching and Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion–IIT.

Visiting Academic Appointments
3/06-9/07: Visiting Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
8/93–9/94: Visiting Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA.
8/89-7/90: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana, USA.

Public Professional Activities

International
Since 1996: Member, Committee 347 Formwork for Concrete (revision of ACI 347: Guide to Formwork for Concrete; preparation of ACI 347.2R: Guide for Shoring/Reshoring of Concrete Multistory Buildings), American Concrete Institute.
1995-2001: Member, Construction Equipment Committee (A2F06), Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, USA.
1996-2000: Member, Construction Equipment and Techniques Committee (CET), Construction Division, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Referee to professional journals: Construction Management and Economics, ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Automation in Construction, ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction, International Journal of Engineering Education, Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems.

National

Standardization
Since 2009: Chair, Technical Committee 120, “Forms and Scaffolds”, The Standards Institution of Israel.
Since 2000: Chair, Experts Committee 120.01, “Formwork Design” (revision of SI 904, Part I: Formwork for Concrete: Principles, 2010), The Standards Institution of Israel.
1992-2009: Vice-Chair and Technion representative, Technical Committee 120, “Forms and Scaffolds” (preparation of SI 904: Formwork for Concrete; revision of SI 1139: Scaffolds; revision of SI 5567: Safety in Tunneling in the Construction Industry), The Standards Institution of Israel. (Member, 1991–1992, under previous organization, Standardization Committee 150)
1992-2000: Member, Experts Committee 120.01, “Formwork Design” (preparation of a new standard, SI 904 Part I: Formwork for Concrete: Principles, 1995; revision of SI 904, 1998), The Standards Institution of Israel.
Since 1996: Member, Experts Committee 120.05, “Shoring Towers,” The Standards Institution of Israel.
1994-1996: Member, Experts Committee 120.02, “Telescopic Props,” The Standards Institution of Israel.
Other
2009: Member, Accreditation Committee for the Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Council for Higher Education (Malag).
2005: Member, Steering Committee, Revision of the General Specification for Road Building and Bridging (Chapter 62: In-Situ Concrete Works, formwork discipline), Israel National Roads Company.
2002-2003: Member, Accreditation Committee for the Civil Engineering Department at the Academic College in Ariel, Israel Council for Higher Education (Malag Yosh).
2000: NBRI representative, Construction Excellence Award Committee, Association of Contractors and Builders in Israel.
1996-1997: Technion representative, Steering Committee, Revision of the Law for Registration of Contractors for Construction Works, Israel Ministry of Construction and Housing.

Membership in Professional Societies
Since 2007: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Fellow (Member since 1991).
Since 1993: American Concrete Institute (ACI), Member.
Since 1995: Transportation Research Board (TRB), Member.

Honors
2010: Teaching Excellence Award with Special Distinction, Technion–IIT.
2010: Top-25 Newsmaker of 2009, Engineering News Record, 22-37, January 18, 2010 (“for delivering innovations, achievements and services that advance the construction industry.”). Poster (PDF)
2009: Feature article, “Crane professor pinpoints key risks around tower cranes,” Engineering News Record, 262(18), 17, June 8, 2009 (following the publication of several crane-safety papers, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management). Article (PDF)
2001: Man of the Year in Research, Mivnim (Structures) magazine (article: “A practice-oriented researcher,” No. 232, 37–42). Article (PDF)
1998: Visiting Research Fellow, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
1998, 96: The A. Arenson Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Israel Technion Society.
1995: The Salomon Simon Mani Award for Excellence in Teaching, Technion–IIT.
1989: The Goldstein Prize of the Israeli Construction Industry, Building Center of Israel, for the Construction Equipment handbook (with S. Selinger).
1989, 88, 87: The Gutwirth Prize of Special Distinction, Technion–IIT, for excellence in D.Sc. studies and research work.
1989, 88: The Cement Foundation Award, National Building Research Institute, for D.Sc. research.
1987: The Rubinstein Research Award, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Israel Technion Society, for D.Sc. candidacy paper, “Method of structure definition for computerized construction management.”
1984: The Tuvia Nezer Prize, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Israel Technion Society, for M.Sc. thesis, “Design of formwork for slabs over high ceiling spaces.”
1974: B.Sc. summa cum laude, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technion–IIT.
[Left: on top of a 70-m-high free-standing tower crane, Berlin, Sept 1999]

Recent Posts