Construction Management

Edward Minchin

Edward Minchin

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Professor
352-273-1153
RINKER 320

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University;
Master of Engineering, Civil Engineering, University of Florida
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, University of Florida

Dr. Edward Minchin is currently Professor at the M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida.  In a 34-year career, Dr. Minchin has worked as part of eight major areas of the construction process.  He has been a laborer, construction contractor, designer, inspector, construction owner, researcher, consultant, and adjudicator.

After earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, Dr. Minchin worked as a construction estimator for Couch Construction Company in Tampa, and later for the Florida Department of Transportation, where he rose to the position of Chief Area Construction.  After 14 years in industry, he obtained a PhD in Civil Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts from Harvard University.

Dr. Minchin has over 140 publications, including two books, and seven book chapters.  He served as External Examiner, and committee member for a doctoral thesis in the Department of Civil Engineering; Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, as well as Northeastern University.  He currently simultaneously holds three professorships:  the UF Term, UF Research Foundation, and Holland Professorships.  He has served as was a Visiting Scholar at Northeastern University in 2015-16, and was selected as a Keynote Speaker at four international Construction Conferences in the last 10 years, in Panama, China, Canada, and Thailand.

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James G. Sullivan

James G. Sullivan

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Director of Undergraduate Program
// Assistant Professor
352-273-1154
RINKER 307

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Florida, 2007
Master of Building Construction, 2001
Master of the Arts in Mass Communications, 1990
Bachelor of Science in Advertising, 1988

Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Building Energy, Built Environment Resilience, Smart Buildings/Cities, Sustainable Construction)
Focus on LEED and GBCI accreditation training and building certification. Emphasis on whole building design and cost alternatives.

Bio:
Dr. James Sullivan
is the Charles R. Perry Sr. Lecturer and Program Director at the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida.  Dr. Sullivan’s research interests includes sustainable high-performance design and construction of the built environment, labor productivity, schedule adherence best practices, Lean processes and professional development. Dr. Sullivan has received the several teaching and service honors including the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) National Excellence Teaching Award (2011), ASC Regional Excellence Teaching Award, the College of Design, Construction and Planning Teacher of the Year Award, and the College of Design, Construction and Planning Outstanding Service Award. He also serves as the ASC Region 2 Director and on several advisory boards relating to worker training and education. Dr. Sullivan has also facilitated the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Build Your Future Florida web portal that provides access to careers in construction.

Dr. Sullivan received a Bachelors of Science Degree, a Master of Arts in Mass Communication, a Masters in Building Construction, and a Doctor of Philosophy all from the University of Florida.  His professional experience includes being an Operations Director for CPPI with a focus on Healthcare projects, a Project Manager for Clark Construction, and an Owner’s Representative for Hines Real Estate Development.

Dr. Sullivan’s teaching focus is focused on field and management career readiness.  He has taught a variety of courses with most current focus on field communication and techniques as well as pre-professional project management courses.  He also provides leadership with regard to student groups and competition teams.  He has worked with teams with focuses on sustainability, concrete, risk, and commercial projects.

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Robert J. Ries

Robert J. Ries

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Professor
352-273-1155
RINKER 332

Ph. D. in Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, 1999
MS in Architecture Carnegie Mellon University, 1995
B. Arch, Pratt Institute, 1982

Areas of Focus: 
Sustainability (Building Energy, Building Materials, Built Environment Resilience, Renewable Energy, Smart Buildings/Cities Sustainable Architecture and Design, Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Technology)
The spatial dimensions of work range from assessing indoor environmental quality in spaces to modeling water resources regionally to modeling the potential for ground-level ozone formation nationally. The dimensions of interest range from the health and performance of people, life cycle pollution generation and resources, and life cycle financial performance, sometimes all at once, based on a foundation of ethics. Research indicates that of the range of environmental impacts we generally consider in sustainability and resilience, biodiversity has been impacted to the greatest extent, and in my opinion, biodiversity impact is an under-appreciated environmental impact of the built environment.

Special Fields Green Building, Sustainable Development, Life Cycle Assessment in the Construction Process Employers University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, Brooklyn Design and Fabrication AC3D Architectural Firm Publications More than 80 publications in the area of life cycle assessment and optimization, green building construction, and environmental impact assessment of buildings.

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William O’Dell

William O’Dell

M.E. Rinker, Sr, School of Construction Management, Shimberg Center for Housing Studies
Associate Research Professor; Director, Shimberg Center for Housing Studies
(352) 273-1171
RINKER 203

Areas of Focus:
Sustainability 
(Built Environment Resilience, Housing)

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Sherry Ahrentzen

Sherry Ahrentzen

M.E. Rinker, Sr, School of Construction Management, Shimberg Center for Housing Studies
Professor Emeritus

B.A., Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 1977
M.A., PhD, Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, 1982, 1980

Special Fields: Housing/Residential: Building Performance for Occupant Health, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, Community/Neighborhood Development, Sustainability, Special Populations (elderly, disability) Employers: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Arizona State University, University of Florida Publications: Over 60 published articles, chapters and reports, including publication in Journal of Housing for the Elderly, Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Harvard Design Magazine, Journal of Social Issues, Planning, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and Progressive Architecture, among others. Co-edited book, New Households, New Housing, with Karen Franck. Member: AIA Housing and Design Research Consortium American Institute of Architects American Association of University Women Environmental Design Research Association Planners Network Awards: ACSA Distinguished Professor Award EDRA Career Award ARCC James Haecker Distinguished Leadership in Architectural Research Award

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