Pardis Pishdad-Bozorgi, assistant professor in the School of Building Construction, was recently an invited speaker and panel leader at an event organized by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Georgia Chapter, in partnership with American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Atlanta. The panel discussed how integrated project delivery (IPD) as an emerging collaborative approach is going to change the landscape of the AEC industry and introduce a new paradigm for project delivery systems.

The panel involved experienced professionals presenting diverse viewpoints –academics (Pardis Pishdad-Bozorgi, assistant professor, Georgia Tech); contractors (Steve Holt, executive vice president, Balfour Beatty and Phil Yance, vice president, Robins & Morton); architecture (G. Steve South, senior associate, Perkins + Will); owner (Lydia Knowels, international IPD coordinator, Haworth Inc.), and specialty contractor (Stuart Sherrill, president, Steel Fab, Inc.).

More than 100 people attended the event, which was kicked off by Bill Anderson, president of ABC. The panel presentation and discussion then started after the session moderator David Hendrick (construction attorney) introduced the panelists.

Pishdad-Bozorgi joined the School of Building Construction in 2012. Her research focuses on innovative project delivery systems, re-engineering project life cycle processes, and Fast/Flash Tracking. Pishdad-Bozorgi teaches building information modeling (BIM) courses, senior capstone studio, and is the faculty advisor for the Student Construction Association. She was the recipient of the 2014 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) National Teaching Excellence Award. Pishdad-Bozorgi holds a Ph.D. in environmental design and planning and a master’s degree in civil engineering, both from Virginia Tech; as well as a master’s in project management and real estate from Harvard University.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association representing nearly 21,000 chapter members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 70 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically, profitably and for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. ABC's membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors.