Selected for NSF/MSU ConstructionCI CyberTraining Program

I am excited to share that I have been selected to participate in the NSF/MSU ConstructionCI CyberTraining Program at Mississippi State University. Only 13 participants are selected nationwide from universities across the United States, and I am honored to be one of them.

The program is a National Science Foundation funded training initiative focused on cyber-physical systems for the construction industry. Over the course of the program, I will be working alongside researchers and practitioners to explore how sensing, machine learning, robotics, and cybersecurity are transforming construction practice, and how these tools can be applied to real-world construction and infrastructure challenges.

I look forward to bringing what I learn back into my own research on construction safety and cognitive ergonomics.

Post-Training Highlights

Having completed the program, here are some of the key areas I focused on and learned during the training:

• Sensing and data acquisition: Hands-on work with sensors and methods for collecting field-relevant data from construction environments.
• Supervised learning for defect and object detection: Applied machine learning techniques for concrete crack detection and other object detection tasks relevant to construction inspection.
• Arduino-based prototyping: Worked with Arduino microcontrollers for building and programming low-cost sensing and data collection setups.
• Robotics in construction: Explored applications of quadruped robots (robot dogs) for site inspection and monitoring tasks.
• Construction 4.0 and 5.0: Discussions on the shift toward digitalization, automation, and human-centered technology integration in the construction industry.
• High-voltage lab tour and demonstration: A tour and live demonstration at Mississippi State’s high-voltage laboratory, offering insight into infrastructure and electrical systems testing.

I am grateful to all the colleagues, tutors, and presenters who made this program such a valuable learning experience. Their expertise and willingness to share knowledge made this training genuinely rewarding, and I look forward to staying connected with this community as my research moves forward.