TxDOT's Digital Delivery Transformation
Speaker: Jacob Tambunga, P.E.
Jacob is the Director of Digital Delivery for TxDOT. His transportation career began in 2004 in the San Angelo Area Office and has taken him through the private sector, TxDOT’s Right of Way Division and Austin District Central Design to his current position in Digital Delivery. Jacob is currently leading TxDOT’s Digital Delivery initiative as TxDOT moves towards using 3D models in construction. He has been engaged in several national studies and strategic initiatives to help advance Digital Delivery in Texas including work with the Transportation Research Board, AASHTO’s Joint Technical Committee on Electronic Engineering Standards, FHWA Pooled Funds, and serving on the Board of Directors for the Highway Engineering Exchange Program. Jacob has a bachelor’s in Applied Physics from Angelo State University and a master’s in Engineering Management from The George Washington University.
Speaker: Marco Galindo, P.E.
Born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, Marco began his career with TxDOT in 2008 at the Bexar Metro Area Office after graduating with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas @ San Antonio. Marco gained valuable experience through various rotations as part of TxDOT’s Engineering Assistant Program within the SAT District including Construction, Advanced Planning, Central Design, and the Lab. He obtained his Professional Engineer’s license in 2013 and in 2015, he returned to the Bexar Metro Area Office as a Construction Engineer, where he had the rare opportunity to oversee some of the projects that he designed.
Marco has served as the Alternative Project Delivery Supervisor for the San Antonio District since December of 2022. In this role, Marco leads the management of the I-35 NEX Program, valued at over $3 billion dollars.
Friday, March 20 | 12:30 -1:45 pm
Plenary Lunch - From Lab to Jobsite: Moving Research to Practice through Commercialization
Moderator: Steven Ayer, Associate Professor, Faculty Director for Civil Engineering Construction Engineering and Management, University of Colorado Boulder
Speaker: Ali Mostafavi, Zachry Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University
Ali Mostafavi is a Zachry Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is the director of UrbanResilience.AI Lab whose research focuses on creating advanced computational models and data science algorithms to advance urban resilience to crises. His research program has led to new ways of developing computational tools and improving the understanding of resilience in complex urban systems. His research program has received more than $8 million in funding support from various sponsors such as NSF, National Academies, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Department of Transportation, and CII. He is the author of more than 230 journal articles and 85 conference proceedings. He has received several prestigious awards such as the ASCE Walter Huber Research Prize, ASCE Halpin Award, NSF CAREER Award, Early-Career Fellowship of the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program, AWS Machine Learning Award, College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Award, CII Outstanding Professor Award, and Best Paper Awards in ASCE Computing in Civil Engineering and Construction Research Congress. He is a member of the ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Division, a Resilience Fellow of 4TU Resilience Engineering Center at TU Delft, and the Editorial Board Member of Nature Scientific Reports, ASCE Management in Engineering and Infrastructure Systems Journals. He is also a Founder of Resilitix Intelligence LLC (Resilitix.ai) which is a startup company focusing on bringing the most advanced AI technologies to community resilience processes.
Speaker: Logan Farrell, Co-Founder and CTO, Rugged Robotics
Logan Farrell is the Co-Founder and CTO of Rugged Robotics, a company focused on empowering the trades to do more work, faster. Rugged’s first product is an autonomous layout robot for commercial construction that turns BIM and digital models into full-detail layout directly on the slab, dramatically reducing both layout and installation time for contractors. Before Rugged, Logan spent eight years at NASA working on mechanical design for lunar rovers and software for humanoid robots. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University, where he continues to teach robotics. Blending field-tested robotics, space-grade engineering, and a deep respect for craft, Logan will share practical lessons on how autonomous tools are already reshaping construction workflows—and what forward-thinking builders can do to capitalize on this shift today.
Speaker: Todd Sutton, Director of Construction Technology, Zachry Construction Corporation
Speaker: Fernanda Leite, P.E., Ph.D., F.ASCE, King Professor in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Interim Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin
Fernanda Leite is the Interim Vice President for Research and Joe J. King Professor in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. An expert in Building Information Modeling (BIM), construction engineering, and resilient systems engineering, her research explores the integration of 3D modeling and artificial intelligence (AI) to create sustainable and adaptable infrastructure. As Associate Dean for Research in the Cockrell School of Engineering, Dr. Leite helped launch major interdisciplinary initiatives in semiconductors, quantum science, robotics, and AI. She has also led cross-campus efforts, including the Planet Texas 2050 grand challenge. Dr. Leite holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and is a licensed Professional Engineer. She brings a collaborative, forward-looking approach to research leadership – advancing UT Austin’s mission to become the world’s highest-impact public research university.
Friday, March 20 | 4:45 -5:45 pm
Afternoon Plenary Session- Perspectives from Innovation Leaders: The Future of Engineering and Construction
Moderator: Melissa Rohland, MBA, PE, PMP, Director of Strategic Programs, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc.
Speaker: Siavash Mohseni, Innovation, Corporate Venture Capital, Strategic Partnership ,Strategic Innovation Planning, Hensel Phelps
With a long-standing passion for technology in the AEC industry and more than 19 years of experience, Siavash Mohseni applies his background in technology and innovation to industry relationship management, investment opportunity evaluation, strategic innovation planning and other initiatives. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from George Washington University and a second master’s degree in management information systems from the University of Arizona.
Siavash began his career with Hensel Phelps in 2012 and has since provided expertise and guidance to drive innovation across notable projects in the high-tech, healthcare and aviation sectors. He has served on several technology-focused committees and has been a core member of the Innovation Strategy, Data Strategy and Supply Chain Strategy teams, playing a key role in shaping enterprise-wide initiatives.
For 12 years, Siavash played professional basketball. In his spare time he enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.
Speaker: Charles Hixon
Charles Hixon is the former Chief Digital Officer for North and South America at Mott MacDonald, a global engineering, management, and development consultancy. In this leadership role, he guided the company's use of technology and digital innovation in its projects. As a Business Development Leader and former IT Director, Charles utilized his strong technical background to develop unique business development processes and identify growth opportunities for several national architectural and engineering consulting firms. These processes involved identifying, researching, and implementing strategic business plans to drive revenue growth across various geographic regions and both established and new business segments. Additionally, he mentored colleagues and teammates on building and maintaining professional relationships. Charles is nationally recognized for his expertise in innovative design and construction technology applications, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Laser Scanning, and Virtual Reality (VR). He has spoken at over 150 national and international conferences.
Speaker: Stephen Phillips
Stephen Phillips is a Solution Architect at Epic Games since November 2020, providing project support, prototypes, and strategic guidance for customers utilizing Epic Games' tools, including Unreal Engine and Twinmotion. Prior to this role, Stephen served as CTO and Co-Founder of Theia Interactive from May 2014 to November 2020, where efforts centered on expanding a small team to over 20 members and establishing a renowned real-time visualization studio in Chico, California. Under Stephen's leadership, Theia delivered over 100 AR/VR projects for prestigious clients such as Epic Games, HP, and NVIDIA, with a focus on architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) and design visualization.