We look forward to welcoming back University of Cambridge Civil Engineering alum, Dr Weiwei Chen to give an update on her research since taking up her role as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction (BSSC), University College London.
Weiwei specialises in Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Digital Twins. She earned her PhD in Civil Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where she was awarded a prestigious postgraduate scholarship. In 2018, Dr Chen expanded her research through an overseas research opportunity at Carnegie Mellon University, supported by a research award. In 2021, she served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Construction Information Technology lab at the University of Cambridge under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship.
Dr Chen's research encompasses key areas such as BIM, Digital Twins, the Internet of Things, 3D Reconstruction, Information Interoperability, Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and Facility Management across roads, bridges, buildings, and other infrastructure. She currently serves as Deputy Director of Research at the departmental level and contributes to the MSc Digital Engineering Program as Deputy Program Leader at UCL's BSSC. As Principal Investigator, Dr Chen manages three ongoing projects funded by Horizon Europe, UKRI, and UCL.
Additionally, Dr Chen is a dedicated reviewer for leading international journals, including Automation in Construction, Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Advanced Engineering Informatics, and Computing in Civil Engineering. She is an active committee member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3), and the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM). With her expertise, Dr Chen is committed to advancing research and education in sustainable construction and digital transformation within construction engineering.