Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) is the use of multi-disciplinary performance models of design construction projects, including the Product (i.e., facilities), Work Processes, Organization of the design-construction-operation team, and Total Economic Impact (i.e., model of both cost and value of capital investments) to support business objectives. The CIFE mission is to be the world’s premier academic research center for Virtual Design and Construction of Architecture - Engineering - Construction (AEC) industry projects. Specifically, CIFE objectives include:

• Research - to develop and test innovative new ways to model, visualize, analyze and evaluate the multidisciplinary performance of design-construction projects; and
• Education - to increase awareness of the value and costs of Virtual Design and Construction for practitioners and Stanford students.

In support of this mission, CIFE researchers will work with our industry members to:

• Pursue research on Virtual Design and Construction, i.e., performance-based modeling, visualization, analysis and evaluation of products, processes and organizations across the AEC project lifecycle;
• Pursue research on IT management and business issues to optimize delivered value and cost of Virtual Design and Construction;
• Develop and deliver educational and training content to both industry practitioners and Stanford students concerning the value and costs of Virtual Design and Construction; and
• Work with our industry members to select research directions and transfer research results for the benefit of CIFE members.

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project-based learning lab (pbl)

PBL (Problem-, Project-, Product-, Process-, People-Based Learning) The master builder’s atelier in the information age is the vision behind the integrated research and curriculum in architecture/engineering/construction (A/E/C) global teamwork program which engages students from the Structural Engineering and Geomechanics, Construction Engineering Management and Design-Construction Integration Programs, in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Stanford. This program was established in 1993 and has evolved from an experimental Stanford course into a global learning network. The goal is to be a world leader in A/E/C global teamwork together with its university and industry partners. Its mission is to educate the next generation of professionals who know how to team up with professionals from other disciplines, and leverage collaboration and information technologies to produce higher quality products, faster, more economical, and environmentally friendly.

The PBL Lab and the A/E/C global teamwork program are based on a PBL pedagogical approach, where PBL stands for Problem, Project-, Product-, Process-, People- based Learning. The objectives are to develop, test, deploy, and assess radically new work spaces, information and collaboration technologies, processes, learning and work culture and approaches for cross-disciplinary, collaborative, geographically distributed teamwork.

The core atom in the A/E/C Global Teamwork program (CEE222 A & B) is the A/E/C team. One of the innovative features of this program is the role each of the participants play: undergraduate students play the role of apprentices to Masters students who play the role of journeyman; and faculty and industry practitioners play the role of mentors, owners, and sponsors. Over the years global partners have joined the program from Europe, Asia, and the United States (for an updated list of members in the A/E/C Global Teamwork learning network visit http://pbl.stanford.edu). All the A/E/C teams are geographically distributed over time, space, and culture. This authentic learning experience exposes students to four challenges: cross-disciplinary project-based teamwork; use of information and collaboration technologies; team coordination and collaboration over time, space, and culture (please visit http://pbl.stanford.edu/AEC%20projects/projpage.htm to view the A/C/C project gallery). The PBL Lab integrates cutting edge information technology and mature research software prototypes developed at CIFE. It offers a wide range of information and collaboration technologies, such as video conferencing, video streaming, project Web portals, team discussion forums, building modeling, knowledge management, integrated project delivery, visualization and direct interactive manipulation workspaces and devices that support the activities, processes, and product development of mobile knowledge workers and learners.

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national performance of dams program (npdp)

The NPDP is a cooperative effort of dam engineers and safety professionals in the U.S. and Canada to create an information resource on the performance of dams. The objectives of the NPDP are to retrieve, archive, and disseminate information on the performance of dams. The Program creates an information track that facilitates the evaluation and use of dam performance data to improve methods of design and rehabilitation, and the development of effective public policy.

The NPDP provides policy makers with information on the performance of dams that is comparable to data available to professionals in other fields involving public health and safety. Information on public health, such as the rise in tuberculosis cases or the increase in the number of HIV-positive individuals, provides lawmakers and administrators with valuable input to public policy decisions. A goal of the NPDP is to develop resources that will elevate dam safety to a similar level.