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This summer, civil engineering major Veronica Escobar ’08 (La Paz, Bolivia) is synthesizing several recent graduates’ honors theses on construction management into a paper for submission to an academic journal. She also will expand on their findings by exploring alternate ways to measure productivity.
Escobar is collaborating with David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Veshosky has shared his research through articles in scientific journals, book chapters, and papers presented at conferences in the United States and Canada. He is a member of the research faculty at the Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems and a research associate at the Center for Innovation Management Studies. His past roles include: researcher at the NATO Oceanographic Research Center in La Spezia, Italy; port and transportation industry consultant; and project manager for port studies in the United States, Kenya, and Egypt. He is a recent recipient of the Delta Upsilon Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award.
He advised honors theses projects by Peter Totev ’04, who received a B.S. civil engineering and A.B. with a major in economics and business, and Cristin MacDonald ’05, who earned a B.S. civil engineering.
“Veronica is working with their theses, and of course we’re in touch with Peter and Cristin to help develop a paper we can submit for publication,” Veshosky says. “Turner Construction, particularly Pat Bolger, project executive, and [A.B. engineering graduate] John Ricketts ’03, on-site assistant project manager, were extremely helpful in providing Peter and Cristin access to people and data.”
Escobar’s paper and research will support or refute the common theory that productivity in construction has been decreasing.
“My research is based on new articles that have come out on the topic since the theses were done,” she says.
Veshosky believes Escobar’s research may establish a method to measure construction productivity.
“Construction productivity is a very significant and contentious issue, particularly since construction provides the infrastructure and facilities that support most types of productive economic activities,” he says. “For the last 20 years or so, there has been disagreement over how to measure construction productivity and, partly as a result of difficulties in measuring it, whether construction productivity in the U.S. has been improving, declining, or stagnant.”
Escobar is confident she can expand on Totev and MacDonald’s findings.
“My goal is to do in-depth research on the last planner method and baseline method,” she says. “Once I’ve compiled the necessary information, I will put both theses together, including some of the new information, and end with an article.”
Veshosky notes Escobar’s research is not simplistic, and before beginning the project, he had to be sure he had someone who could work independently.
“Veronica’s very intelligent, with excellent quantitative analytical techniques,” he says.
Escobar was a member of a nine-student team that competed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability this spring. Her team presented a method for removing arsenic from water supplies. She also presented similar research conducted with Arthur Kney, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, at the 20th annual National Conference for Undergraduate Research this past April. She is a member of Hispanic Society of Lafayette and International Students Association.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.