Dr. Reza Akhavian

Jim Ryan Endowed Chair in Construction Engineering and Management
Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering · SDSU

Dr. Reza Akhavian is the Jim Ryan Endowed Chair in Construction Engineering and Management and an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU). He directs the “Smart Construction, Infrastructure, and Buildings through Education, Research, and Cutting-edge Technology” (SCIBER-CT) NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program and the Data-informed Construction Engineering (DiCE) Lab at SDSU.

His research advances human-centered construction automation through artificial intelligence, collaborative robotics, BIM and digital-twin integration, and wearable and vision sensing for safety, productivity, and trust in human-robot teams. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers and served as PI/Co-PI on multi-million-dollar projects supported by NSF, Caltrans, DOT, and other sponsors.

Dr. Akhavian is Assistant Specialty Editor for the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management and serves on the Editorial Board of Elsevier’s Advanced Engineering Informatics. His honors include the NSF CAREER Award, AGC Outstanding Educator Meritorious Award, ASCE Construction Institute Outstanding Young Professional, and ENR California Top 20 Under 40. Before joining SDSU, he was Assistant Professor at California State University East Bay.