On June 27, 2018, the appointment ceremony of Tsinghua Distinguished Visiting Professor Makarand Hastak was held in Room 201, Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University. Professor Dongping FANG, Chair of the School of Civil Engineering, Nan LI, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Urbanization, and invited professors & students attended the ceremony.

The ceremony starts with the welcome speech given by Professor Dongping FANG. He said the title of “Distinguished Visiting Professor” is a recognition of Professor Makarand Hastak for his collaboration with Tsinghua in the past six years. Professor Fang then briefly introduced Professor Makarand Hastak and his brilliant achievements.

Next, Professor Makarand Hastak was awarded the certificate of Distinguished Visiting Professor. In his acceptance speech, Professor Makarand Hastak expressed his gratitude for the support of the school, and hoped for more cooperation in the near future. Then he gave a lecture titled “Intelligent Construction Unit for Modular Construction” for students attending the Tsinghua Summer School of International Construction.

Tsinghua Distinguished Visiting Professor is an academic honorary title, which is awarded to top professors and scholars worldwide who have a high international reputation and can play an important role in talent training, scientific and academic research for Tsinghua.

About Professor Makarand Hastak

Dr. Hastak gets BE (Civil) in Nagpur University (India), MS in University of Cincinnati, and PhD in Purdue University.

He is currently serving his second term as the Head of the Division of Construction Engineering and Management. Professor Hastak’s research interests and areas of expertise include development of innovative computer based risk assessment and strategic management decision support systems/ solutions for Construction Engineering and Management (CEM).

Professor Hastak’s research has made significant contributions to the field of risk management in construction with particular emphasis on understanding, assessment, and management of profitability and risk in construction. His research efforts in risk and profitability in construction have been applied to areas such as infrastructure management, disaster risk reduction, land development, urban and manufactured housing, cost control, international construction, composite materials, and strategic process evaluation for management decision-making.

Professor Hastak plays a significant role in research and professional development at the national and international level. He was part of a NSF sponsored US delegation to China in October 2008 to participate in a joint US-China workshop on Trenchless Technologies and Asset Management in Wuhan, China. He has also led a team of ten US professionals (academics, industry, and government personnel) as a Co-PI to a NSF sponsored US-India Workshop on Urban Housing and Supporting Infrastructure in New Delhi, India (Oct 20-22, 2005) where he was also the leader for the Supporting Infrastructure focus area.