Ibrahim S Odeh
Research Interest
Dr. Ibrahim Odeh is the Founding Director of the Global Leaders in Construction Management (GLCM) program at Columbia University's Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. He is a unique combination of a strategist, academic, innovator, and entrepreneur. Spanning the global construction market, Odeh’s work seamlessly merges the worlds of industry and academia. Working with leading construction firms, Odeh provides unique market and growth insights as well as innovative strategies that help respond to rising technological trends. His team also provides guidance on the impact of digital transformation and technological trends such as the use of drones, 3D printing, and GenAI, on business operations. Companies that Odeh has collaborated with include World Economic Forum, Royal Commission of AlUla, ExxonMobil, Turner Construction, Nesma & Partners, Skanska, Parsons Corporation, The Vertex Companies, Dentons, AECOM, AI Engineers, WGI Engineering and Plaza Construction.
Odeh has also worked as an advisory committee member at the World Economic Forum on the “Future of Construction” project. In 2017, he served for two years as an advisory board member at Financial Times - Future of Construction Summit on a similar initiative. He sits on several advisory boards and committees including Tough Leaf, Black Buffalo, AI Engineers, EnTech Engineering, Group PMX, Trunk Tools, Infraclear, and GrydSense. In 2021, Odeh was also appointed as an advisory board member at the GI Hub - a G20 initiative that is now part of the World Bank's Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). The initiative focuses on connecting the global infrastructure community and sharing insights to facilitate delivery of global economic, social and environmental outcomes through increased and improved infrastructure.
In fall 2016, Odeh introduced the first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) designed to train the next generation of global learners in Construction Management under the Coursera platform. The number of learners registered for Odeh’s courses to-date has reached over half a million from 190 countries with more than a million global followers! His courses ranked third globally under the business category on Coursera for several years. Odeh regularly travels across the world to deliver keynote presentations in digital transformation and the future of the construction industry. Odeh has won several prestigious awards and recognitions such as the 2023 McGraw Hill Pathfinder Award - an award that recognizes educators for their innovative and inventive approaches to education on global scale. He has also won Columbia University's prestigious Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching - top honor presented to only five recipients from nearly 1,000 nominations. Odeh has been named Top 20 Under 40 by Engineering News Records and Top 40 Under 40 by Consulting-Specifying Engineer. Odeh received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
Projects highlights:
- Engineering and Construction Transformation Map (World Economic Forum)
- City Adaptability Index
- Selected Publications
- Founding Director – Global Leaders in Construction Management – Department of Civil Engineering – Columbia University, SEP 2011 – Present
- Advisory Committee Member – World Economic Forum – Switzerland, MAY 2015 – Present
- Consultant – Skanska Inc. – New York, MAY 2014 – Present
- Consultant – HAKS – New York, FEB 2017 – Present
- Consultant – Dentons – New York, JAN 2016 – AUG 2016
- Advisor – STV Inc. – New York, JAN 2012 – MAY 2012
- Global Real Estate Developer – JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, MAY – AUG 2008
- World Economic Forum – Expert Network
- Smart City Works (Accelerator) – Advisory Board
- CG/LA Inc. (www.cg-la.com) – Advisory Board
- Columbia University Middle East Research Center – Faculty Steering Committee
- AAAEA (www.aaaea-tristate.com) – Board of Trustees
- AECOM Arabia Academy – Advisory Board
- BADER for Entrepreneurship in Jordan – Review Committee
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – Member
- Jordanian Engineers Syndicate – Member
- Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching Nominee; Finalist 11 from among 700 nominations and 5,000 faculty members, 2016.
- Columbia University, Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, School of Engineering, Columbia University, 2014.
- Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects Scholarship Award, Chicago, Illinois, 2009
- Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects Scholarship Award, Chicago, Illinois, 2008
- Teaching/Research Assistantship and Tuition Scholarship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005 to 2009
- “Eight ways to win the fight for talent in construction” (https://futureofconstruction.org/blog/eight-ways-to-win-the-fight-for-talent-in-construction/)
- “Shaping the Future of Construction: Insights to redesign the industry” (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_Future_Construction.pdf)
- “Shaping the Future of Construction: Inspiring innovators redefine the industry” (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_the_Future_of_Construction_Inspiring_Innovators_redefine_the_industry_2017.pdf)
- “Shaping the Future of Construction: A Breakthrough in Mindset and Technology” (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_the_Future_of_Construction_full_report__.pd)
- Fitch, G.; Odeh, I.; Kautz, F; and Ibbs, W. (2017) “SD Models for the Valuation of Real Options in P3 Concession Project Agreement” Journal of Infrastructure Systems, Under Review.
- Antunes, R.; González, V.; Walsh, K; Rojas, O.; O'Sullivan, M.; Odeh, I. (2017) “Benchmarking Project-Driven Production In Construction Using Productivity Function: Capacity And Cycle Time” ASCE Journal of Construction Engr. & Management, Under Review.
- Asgari, S., Kandil, A., and Odeh, I. (2016) “Impact of Considering Need for Work and Risk on Performance of Construction Contractors: An Agent-Based Approach” Journal of Automation in Construction, 2016.
- Fitch, G., Odeh, I., and Kandil, A. (2016) “Employing a System-of-Systems Approach to Water Management in The Shale Gas Value Chain” International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction, Cambridge, England.
- Moran, R. and Odeh, I. (2016) “Design Build Mega Bridge Projects in New York and Best Practices in Procurement” ASCE Construction Institute, Construction Research Conference.
- Asgari, S., Kandil, A., and Odeh, I. (2016) “Optimal Risk Attitude for Construction Contractors in Competitive Bidding Environments” ASCE Construction Institute, Construction Research Conference.
- Fitch, G., Odeh, I., and Kandil, A. (2016) “Planning and Cost Control of Air Quality Control Systems for Clean Coal Power Generation” ASCE Construction Institute, Construction Research Conference.
- Fitch, G.; Odeh, I.; and Ibbs, W. (2015) “Economic Sustainability of DBO Water Based on Wastewater Projects in the U.S.: Three Case Studies” ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2015.
- Asgari, S., Song, X., and Odeh, I. (2013). “Introducing the Concept of Green Performance Bond And Its Application in Managing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in Construction Projects”, The 4th Construction Specialty Conference, CSCE 2013, Montréal, Canada.
- Hassan, M., Odeh, I., and El-Rayes, K. (2010) “Glare and Light Characteristics of Conventional and Balloon Lighting Systems” Submitted to the Transportation Research Board 2010 Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 10-14, 2010.
- Hassan, M., Odeh, I., and El-Rayes, K., (2010). “Glare and Light Characteristics of Conventional and Balloon Lighting Systems” Submitted to the Transportation Research Board 2010 Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 10-14, 2010.
- Elghamrawy, T., El-Rayes, K. , Liu, L. , and Odeh, I., (2010). “Analysis of Injury and Fatal Crashes in Highway Construction Zones.” Proceedings of the ASCE Construction Research Congress, Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 8-11, 2010.
- Odeh, I., El-Rayes, K., and Liu, L. (2009) “Field Experiments to Evaluate and Control Light Tower Glare in Nighttime Work Zones.” the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, September 2009.