Dr. Idris Jeelani is an Assistant
Professor in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, at the
University of Florida, where he leads the Construction Automation and Safety
(CAS) research group. He obtained his B.Tech. in Civil Engineering from NIT
Silchar in 2011, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from North
Carolina State University in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Dr. Jeelani’s
research focuses on construction safety, visual data analytics, and cognitive
sciences to support the building of the next generation of safe and smart
infrastructure. He developed the first personalized hazard-recognition training
intervention for construction workers in 2016. The work was published in the
ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, was awarded the best
paper of 2017, and was nominated for the Norman medal. He has also developed the
first algorithm to map real-world gaze fixations of dynamic human subjects and
developed a novel vision-based automated hazard detection system for
construction. Currently, he is working on multiple projects funded by NSF and
the US Department of Labor investigating the health and safety implications of
UAVs on construction job sites, and building AI-based tools to improve safety
performance in construction.
Dr. Masoud Gheisari is the Director
of Graduate Programs & Research and an Associate Professor in the M.E.
Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. He
leads the Human-Centered Technology in Construction (HCTC) research lab. He obtained
his M.Sc. in Construction Management from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2009,
and his Ph.D. in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology
in 2013. His research focuses on the theoretical and experimental investigation
of human–robot interaction in construction and technology-supported education
innovation. Dr. Gheisari’s contributions to research and teaching have earned
him numerous awards, including the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC)
International Outstanding Researcher Award (2021), ENR Southeast’s Top Young
Professional (2020), Russell J. Alessi ELECTRI International Early Career Award
(2018), and ASCE ExCEEd Fellowship (2015), among others. He is also an
Associate Editor for ASCE’s Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering and
serves as the Secretary of the Education Committee within the ASCE Computing
Division.
