EDUCATION MOATASSEM A. ABDALLAH Senior Research Instructor, Civil Engineering Department, University of Colorado at Denver 1200 Larimer Street, 3019-B North Classroom Building, Denver, Colorado 80217 Tel: (303) 556-5287, Cell: (217) 819-0274 E-mail: Moatassem.abdallah@ucdenver.edu Website: https://sites.google.com/site/moatassemaabdallah/home University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering, August 2014 (GPA 3.88/4.0) Specialization: Dissertation title: Construction Management Optimizing the Selection of Sustainability Measures for Existing Buildings Dissertation Advisor: Professor Khaled El-Rayes Cairo University, Egypt Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Spring 2008 (GPA 3.85/4.0, 1st/35 students) Specialization: Dissertation title: Construction Engineering and Management A Framework for Planning Tunnels Construction using Computer Simulation Dissertation Advisor: Associate Professor Mohamed Marzouk Cairo University, Egypt Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Spring 2005 (GPA 3.63/4.0, 1 st /55 students). Specialization: Graduation project: HONORS AND AWARDS Structural Engineering Comprehensive design of high-rise building, swimming pool, and a special structure consisting of three big halls that are covered with a doom and folded plates. UIUC Teaching/Research Assistantship and Tuition Scholarship (2008-2013). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA. AAAEA Student Scholarship (2012). Awarded annually to distinguished Undergraduate and Graduate Engineers, Architects, and Computer Science students who are members of the AAAEA. William E. O Neil Scholarship Award (2011). A merit-based scholarship awarded to prominent graduate students in the construction management program based on their academic and research performance. Best thesis at Faculty of Engineering Cairo University (March 2009) Awarded by faculty of Engineering at Cairo University for best thesis among the faculty members. The decision is made based on the quality of research work and the publications produced from the thesis. Engineers Syndicate Excellence Award (2006). Awarded annually for graduate engineers who are top ranked in their undergraduate studies based on accumulative GPA over 5-years Bachelor degree. Cairo University Excellence Award (2005). Presented by Cairo University to the most distinguishable students accumulatively over the 5-years Bachelor degree. I was ranked 1 st /55 students of the structural engineering under-graduate program. Curriculum Vitae Page 1/6
Students Union Excellence Award (2000-2005). Presented by students union of faculty of engineering at Cairo University to the most distinguishable students based on their academic performance during the corresponding year. PUBLICATIONS Refereed Journal Papers 1. Abdallah, M., and El-Rayes, K. (2014) Optimizing the Selection of Building Upgrade Measures to Minimize the Operational Negative Environmental Impacts of Existing Buildings, Journal of Building and Environment, Elsevier, accepted on Oct 9 th, 2014. 2. Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, K., and Liu, L. (2013) Operational Performance of Sustainable Measures in Public Buildings. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, 139(12). 3. Abdallah, M., and Marzouk, M. (2013). Planning of tunneling projects using computer simulation and fuzzy decision making. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, Taylor & Francis, 19(4), 591 607. 4. Marzouk, M., Abdallah, M., and El-Said, M. (2010). Modeling Microtunneling Projects using Computer Simulation. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, 136(6), 670 682. Refereed Conference Papers 1. Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, K., and Liu, L. (2014) Optimal Selection of Sustainability Measures to Minimize Building Operational Costs. Construction Research Congress (CRC), American Society of Civil Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 2014. 2. Abdallah, M., El-Rayes, Khaled, and Liu, L. (2013). Automated Decision Support System for Optimizing the Selection of Green Building Measures. 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining, International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC), Montreal, Canada. 3. Marzouk, M., Abdallah, M., and El-Said, M. (2009) A Computer Simulation Model for Cut-and-Cover Tunneling Using Secant Pile Walls, Arab Construction World (ACW) magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue No. 3 (March 2009), 18 20. 4. Marzouk, M., Abdallah, M., and El-Said, M. (2008). Modeling Cut and Cover Tunnels Using Computer Simulation. 5th International Engineering and Construction Conference (IECC 5), American Society of Civil Engineers, Los Angeles, USA, 717 727. 5. Marzouk, M., Abdallah, M., and El-Said, M. (2008). Tunnel_Sim: Decision support tool for planning tunnel construction using computer simulation. 2008 Winter Simulation Conference, IEEE, 2504 2511. Technical Reports 1. El-Rayes, K., Liu, L., and Abdallah, M. (2013) Green-Friendly Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Interstate Rest Areas - Phase II, Final Report, Project R27-103, Illinois Transportation Research Center, Illinois Department of Transportation. 2. Abdallah, A., Bai, Y., Michel J., Miro, M., Abdelmohsen A., and Cai, X. (2012) Engineering Sustainable Solutions to Postharvest Loss, progress report, ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Page 37-39. 3. El-Rayes, K., Liu, L., and Abdallah, M. (2011) Green Friendly Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Interstate Rest Area. Final Report, Project R27-74, Illinois Transportation Research Center, Illinois Department of Transportation. Moatassem A. Abdallah, Curriculum Vitae Page 2/6
AWARDED RESEARCH PROJECTS 1. PI, Upgrading an Existing Building Retrofit Optimizer Tool (BROT) for Commercial Use, Office of Research Services at University of Colorado Denver, $32,031, period covered 11/1/2014 to 10/31/2015. 2. CO-PI, Developing a Thermal Comfort Report Card for Buildings, Rexel Foundation, $32,000; CO-PI, Period Covered 10/01/14 to 09/30/15 RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Prof. Khaled El-Rayes Green friendly best management practices for Illinois interstate rest areas - Phase II - (Spring 2011 Spring 2013), this $220,000 project was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation which focused on Investigating the feasibility of installing temporary/permanent sub-metering systems to measure and monitor the actual energy and water consumption of equipment and fixtures of rest area buildings in Illinois. Conducting on-site assessments and field measurements of six selected rest areas that have the highest energy consumption in Illinois. Investigating and providing economic and environmental analysis of implementing various greenfriendly measures in the six selected rest areas, including LED and induction lighting; motion sensors for interior lighting, vending machines, and exhaust fans; grid-connected photovoltaic systems; solar water heaters; solar tube lighting; thermal pane glass; vestibule entrances; ENERGYSTAR-rated HVAC systems; geothermal heat pumps; and water-saving plumbing fixtures. Developing a practical decision support system that is capable of identifying optimal upgrade decisions for achieving LEED-EB certification levels with the minimum upgrade costs or achieving the highest LEED-EB points within an upgrade budget. Integrated crop supply chain planning for minimum post-harvest loss (Summer 2011 fall 2011), this research proposal sponsored by Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM) institute for postharvest loss prevention which focused on minimizing postharvest loss of crops in India and Bazile. I participated in preparing comprehensive literature review of the post-harvest losses in multiple crops, identifying available data for postharvest loss in crops in India and Brazil, and formulating a list of research questions that need to be addressed in the study. Minimizing traffic-related work zone crashes in Illinois (Summer 2010), this project sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) which focused on reducing the number of motorist fatalities in traffic-related work zone crashes. I participated in setting up and conducting field experiments of evaluating the effectiveness of using temporary rumple stripes for work zones in highways. The conducted experiments evaluated the effectiveness of temporary rumple stripes in terms of practicality and ease of use within and prior to work zones. Green friendly best management practices for Illinois interstate rest areas - Phase I - (Fall 2009 Fall 2010), this $100,000 project was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation which focused on: Developing energy cost baseline data for all rest area buildings in Illinois. Conducting a comprehensive literature review of currently available green-friendly measures that can improve energy and water performance of buildings. Conducting on-site assessment of existing conditions in three selected rest area buildings. Moatassem A. Abdallah, Curriculum Vitae Page 3/6
Providing economic and environmental analysis for implementing various green building measures in the three selected rest areas for onsite assessment. Developing a decision support tool for identifying optimal upgrade measures that can provide the highest level of LEED certification while complying with the limited upgrade budgets Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Structural Engineering, Cairo University, Prof. Mohamed Marzouk. Planning of tunnel construction using computer simulation (Spring 2006 Summer 2008), the objectives of this Master s research study focused on: Investigating and studying tunnel construction techniques that are commonly used in the construction industry. Developing special-purpose simulation models for construction of tunnels, including cut and cover tunnels with diaphragm walls, cut and cover tunnels with secant pile walls, cut and cover tunnels with soldier piles and lagging, cut and cover tunnels with steel sheet pile walls, and segmental tunneling using slurry tunnel boring machines. Developing special-purpose simulation models for construction of micro-tunnels with various shafts and pipe-jacking construction techniques, including pipe-jacking with manual excavation, pipe-jacking with mechanical excavation, pipe-jacking with slurry mechanical excavation, shafts construction using traditional forms, shafts construction using slip forms, and shafts construction using pre-cast concrete segments. Designing a decision support system for selecting tunnel construction technique based on construction cost, duration, and utilization of contractor s available resources. RESEARCH PROPOSALS Assisted the PIs in preparing the following research proposals: Effect of flaggers & spotters in directing work zone traffic for Illinois multilane highways (funded $167,000 in 2011). This proposal was submitted to the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) to (i) assess the effectiveness and essential role of flaggers and spotters in directing work zone traffic for multilane highways in Illinois, and (ii) guide decision-makers on expanding the use of work zone spotters to improve work zone safety and mobility performance in future road and bridge construction projects. (PI: Khaled El- Rayes, and Co-PI: Liang Liu, and Nora El-Gohary). Green friendly best management practices for Illinois interstate rest areas Phase II (funded $220,000 in 2010). This proposal was submitted to the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) to (i) study and analyze the implementation of various green-friendly best management practices for improving the economic and environmental performances of six selected rest area buildings in Illinois, and (ii) develop a practical Decision Support System (DSS) that is capable of achieving LEED-EB certification levels with the minimum upgrade costs and achieving the highest LEED-EB points within a specified upgrade budgets (PI: Khaled El-Rayes, and Co-PI: Liang Liu). Green friendly best management practices for Illinois interstate rest areas (funded $100,000 in 2009). This proposal was submitted to Illinois Center for Transportation to develop a baseline for rest areas energy and water consumption in Illinois, and study and analyze the implementation of various greenfriendly best management practices for improving the economic and environmental performances of three selected rest area buildings in Illinois (PI: Khaled El-Rayes, and Co-PI: Liang Liu). Evaluating the compatibility, durability and visibility of pavement markings on portland cement concrete and various asphalt surfaces (2009). This proposal was submitted to the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) to evaluate pavement marking systems, in Illinois, placed on different Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) and various asphalt pavements to determine the pavement marking durability, compatibility and visibility (PI: Khaled El-Rayes, and Co-PI: Liang Liu.). Moatassem A. Abdallah, Curriculum Vitae Page 4/6
TEACHING EXPERIENCE Instructor, University of Colorado Denver, mechanics of materials for civil engineering students and strength of materials for mechanical engineering students (Fall 2014). Teaching Assistant, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Construction Management Program. Assisted Prof. Khaled El-Rayes in teaching senior undergraduate level course CEE421 Construction Planning (Spring 2009 - Spring 2014), and graduate level course CEE598COD Construction Optimization and Decision Making (Fall 2010 and Fall 2012): Taught lectures for the graduate course Construction Optimization and Decision Making which focused on introducing Genetic algorithms for solving construction optimization problems, and discussing application examples for the use of computer optimization tools in the construction industry (class of 50 students). Prepared course assignments and exams. Graded assignments, projects, and research papers. Prepared and instructed lab tutorials of software packages, including Primavera (P6), and Solver and Evolver (6) for M.S. Excel. Led discussions on the team projects of the construction planning class and paper presentations of the construction optimization and decision making class. Managed the course website to post course materials and announcements. Upgraded the construction planning course design to integrate 4D modeling of the course project to visualize the planned construction activities using Revit, Navisworks, and Primavera (P6). Teaching Assistant, Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering (Fall 2005 Spring 2008). Worked as a teaching assistant in several courses in the civil engineering department, including introduction to construction management, construction planning and scheduling, engineering economics and financing, cost estimation and control, planning of construction resources, and construction engineering senior graduation projects (average class size is 50 students) Prepared course assignments. Graded assignments, exams, and projects of more than 600 students in the civil engineering program. Held weekly discussion sessions on application examples in all the aforementioned classes. Prepared and presented tutorial sessions of project planning software packages. Met on weekly basis with students to supervise their progress in capstone projects. PROFESSIONAL EXAMS AND LICENSES Certified Engineer in Training (EIT), Michigan, USA LEED Green Associate (expected in January 2015) MENTORING EXPERIENCE Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program (Spring 2011 and Spring 2012), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mentored two undergraduate students in the construction management program, working 10 hours a week during Spring semester of 2011 and Spring semester of 2012, to participate in (i) developing an economic and environmental analysis for replacing existing exterior lighting in six rest area building with LED and induction lighting, (ii) studying and investigating the design of photovoltaic systems and possible energy losses for commercial applications, and (iii) conducting feasibility analysis of installing metering and sub-metering systems in Illinois interstate rest area buildings. Moatassem A. Abdallah, Curriculum Vitae Page 5/6
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Junior project manager, Egyptian Group for Engineering Consultant, Cairo, Egypt (2006) Scheduled and monitored construction of an extension of the main waste water treatment plant in Giza (Project Cost - $200M) Performed quantity takeoff for some construction activities of the waste water treatment plant Designer, Cosmos E Company, Cairo, Egypt Internship (July - August 2004) Designed residential concrete buildings Performed quantity takeoff of residential concrete buildings Site engineer, Bauer Egypt, Cairo, Egypt Internship (July 2003) Managed and supervised construction activities of underground tunnel using cut and cover method with diaphragm walls (project cost $1M) Site engineer, Arab Contractors, Cairo, Egypt Internship (August 2003) Managed and supervised the construction activities of a local bank in Cairo (project cost $1.4M) TECHNICAL SKILLS Programming languages and mathematical packages: C++, VB, and Matlab. Computer aid design/engineering: AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks, Google Sketch-Up, and Sap 2000. Computer simulation: Stroboscope, equest, and Energy Plus. Construction planning: Primavera P6 and MS Project. Others: Latex, MS office, and MS Visio. LANGUAGE SKILLS English: Fluent Arabic: Native language German: Rudiment speaking, reading, and writing knowledge. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, reviewer (2012 present) Construction Management Association of America, member (2010 present) Egyptian Syndicate of Professional Engineers, member (2005 present) Arab American Association of Engineers and Architectures (AAAEA), member (2009 present) Moatassem A. Abdallah, Curriculum Vitae Page 6/6