Distinguished Lecture Series by Prof. Nora El-Gohary – Data-Driven Analytics and AI for the Built Environment: Emerging Applications and Future Possibilities

The Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering’s
Distinguished Lecture Series presents:

Data-Driven Analytics and AI for the Built Environment: Emerging Applications and Future Possibilities

Prof. Nora El-Gohary (CivE PhD oT8)
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

FREE TO ATTEND – REGISTER ONLINE

(an email with location information will be sent out prior to in-person event)

Abstract

Data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are bringing unprecedented opportunities to reshape the way we design, construct, and operate our buildings and infrastructure systems. On one hand, advances in digital technologies, sensing, and robotics are enabling new opportunities for collecting and managing data about the physical infrastructure, the people, and the surrounding environment. On the other hand, advances in data analytics and AI technologies – including natural language processing and generation, computer vision, and machine learning – offer a new wave of opportunities for turning data into actionable insights, advancing automation, and enabling autonomous operations. Dr. El-Gohary will discuss recent research efforts and directions that aim to advance the science and application of data analytics and AI for sustainable and value-adding buildings and infrastructure systems, with focus on critical applications in deterioration prediction, compliance analytics, and behavioral energy efficiency. This includes advanced techniques in information modeling, information extraction from unstructured data sources, multi-source heterogenous data fusion, and advanced machine learning. Dr. El-Gohary will also discuss future directions in collaborative and human-centric AI including open knowledge networks and “living data and AI labs”.

Bio

Nora El-Gohary is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. El-Gohary’s research focuses on data analytics and AI for the development and operation of sustainable buildings and infrastructure systems, including information modeling, information extraction, data fusion, machine learning, and big data analytics. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Illinois Department of Transportation, Qatar Foundation, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada among other funding agencies. The outcomes of her research have been published in over 140 journal and conference publications. She has received several research awards including the NSERC’s Discovery Award in 2009, the NSF’s CAREER Award in 2013, the Center of Advanced Study Award in 2015, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Award in 2018, and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) Award in 2019. Dr. El-Gohary currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Information Systems in Construction Management Subcommittee, the Past Chair of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s Computing Division, and the Past Chair of the Executive Committee of the ASCE’s Construction Research Council. She also currently serves as Associate Editor for the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.