Public Lecture by TSB Visiting Professor: Professor Miroslaw J. Skibniewski
Three-dimensional printing (3DP) in construction.
About the Seminar
Topic: Predicting Construction Success with 3D Printing Applications
Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has advanced rapidly in construction, moving from small-scale prototypes to full building applications, yet the industry still lacks reliable ways to evaluate project viability and predict success before committing to the technology. This seminar addresses that gap.
The seminar first traces the development of construction 3DP across concrete, plastic, metal, and clay materials, processed through powder-bed and extrusion methods, and explains why conventional project-success models fall short for a technology that restructures design, fabrication, and site sequencing. The seminar then shares systematic research on predicting 3DP construction success, including a conceptual viability framework that models the interrelationships among key adoption factors, validated against a full-scale 3D-printed residential building in Germany; a technology acceptance model identifying organizational and behavioral predictors of successful implementation; and lifecycle cost models comparing traditional versus 3DP construction across design, transportation, warehousing, printing, and waste disposal stages.
The seminar finally discusses the shift from demonstrating technical feasibility to reliably forecasting cost, adoption success, and organizational readiness for construction 3D printing projects.
About the Speaker
Professor Miroslaw J. Skibniewski, University of Maryland
Miroslaw Skibniewski is a Chair Professor of Construction Engineering and Project Management in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. A pioneering expert in construction automation, robotics, and information technology, he has served for 30 years as Editor-in-Chief of Automation in Construction (Elsevier). He is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of Engineering Management (Springer) and a member of editorial boards of over 20 other scholarly journals. His research spans construction automation and robotics, e-commerce and AI applications in project management, 3D printing in construction, and digital transformation of the built environment. He has authored or co-authored over 400 technical publications. His memberships/affiliations include the U.S. National Academy of Construction, Russian Academy of Engineering, Academy of Engineering in Poland and UK Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Skibniewski holds an M.Eng. from Warsaw University of Technology and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, and is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Management Development Program. His career spans over 40 years in academia and practice, including 20 years on the faculty of the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University before joining the University of Maryland in 2005, preceded by industry experience as a structural, construction, and industrial safety investigation engineer at the oldest engineering consulting firm in the US. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors and is Past President of the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction.
Venue
CEE Seminar Room A (N1-B1b-06)