A Georgia Tech School of Building Construction team lead by Dr. Javier Irizarry recently captured top prize in a National Housing Endowment competition, taking home a four-year, $99,535 grant. The award was accepted at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., by Professor Rick Porter along with students who were also present at the event. 

A key goal of the National Housing Endowment competition is to increase the number of qualified college graduates entering the residential construction profession and to better prepare them for industry's complexity. The grant will be used to advance the curriculum in the graduate track in Residential Construction Development, and to support three research fellowships for students enrolled in the program. The first research fellow will begin in fall 2012; applications will be made available soon.

Members of the project team included Professor Rick Porter, Dr. Debbie Phillips, Dr. Daniel Castro, Mrs. Brenda Morris and Mr. David Ellis of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association.