William Obrien

About William Obrien

Dr. William J. O’Brien focuses his professional efforts on improving collaboration and coordination among firms in the design and construction industry. Dr. O’Brien is an expert on construction supply chain management and collaborative approaches, where he conducts research, teaches, and consults on both systems design and implementation issues. Recently, his research on Advanced Work Packaging was featured in a cover story by Engineering News-Record, designated a Best Practice by the Construction Industry Institute, and has been adopted as a corporate execution standard by major owner-operators and constructors. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Construction Industry Institute, Fiatech, the Transportation Research Board, and the Texas Department of Transportation. Dr. O’Brien was elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2020. His impact on the profession was also noted by the 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers Computing in Civil Engineering Award. He was awarded the Richard L. Tucker Leadership and Service Award in 2018, among the highest honors of the Construction Industry Institute (CII). His research has been recognized by the Fiatech consortium, where he was the recipient of the 2007 and 2011 CETI Awards in the Technology and Knowledge-Enabled Workforce category, and the 2015 STAR Award. In 2012, Dr. O’Brien received the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Construction Industry Institute. In 2018, Dr. O’Brien received the CII/Fiatech CETI award for Outstanding Researcher – Career which recognized his numerous contributions to industry and academia. His innovations in teaching were recognized by a 2008 University of Texas Innovative Instructional Technology Program (IITAP) Gold Award. Dr. O’Brien is the C.T. Wells Professor of Project Management at the University of Texas at Austin. He has had many service appointments, including Area Coordinator for the Construction Engineering and Project Management Program and Associate Chair for Architectural Engineering. He was the Transition Manager (Interim Director) of the Fiatech Industry Consortium, leading its merger with the Construction Industry Institute. He served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Engineering Informatics and as a leader on the Executive Committee of the ASCE Computing Division. From 20••••23, he served as an Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the US DOE Building Technologies Office where he supported and then led the Advanced Building Construction Program.

Experience

1. Associate Director, Technology

   Construction Industry Institute

   Sep 2023 — Present · Austin, TX, US

Education

• Stanford University

  MS, Civil Engineering

  1991 — 1992

• Stanford University

  MS, Engineering-Economic Systems

  1992 — 1994

• Columbia Engineering

  BS, Civil Engineering

  1987 — 1991

• Stanford University

  PhD, Civil Engineering

  1992 — 1998