School of Building Construction graduate student Abraham J. Kruger was recently awarded the first of four Residential Construction Industry Applied Research Fellowships, as part of the Housing Education Leadership Program's (H.E.L.P.) grant to the School by the National Housing Endowment. Kruger is a graduate student in the Residential Construction and Development track in the School of Building Construction's master’s program. The Fellowship, which will begin Fall 2012, will allow him the opportunity to work on research related to one of the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) certifications, which are also part of the scope of the H.E.L.P. Grant.

Earlier this year, Georgia Tech’s School of Building Construction team, led by Dr. Javier Irizarry, received  top prize in a National Housing Endowment competition, taking home a four-year, $99,535 grant. 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 the challenges facing the industry, equipping them with the needed skills to manage the industry's complexity. The grant is being 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. Kruger is the first research fellow; applications will be made available soon.