CIOB appoints Professor Ghassan Aouad as vice president

Professor Ghassan Aouad, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Salford University has been appointed as Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

He becomes President in June 2013 following Alan Crane (2012), Peter Jacobs (2011) and James Wates (2010).

Speaking about his appointment Ghassan said: “During my time leading research at the University of Salford I have travelled the world and I am fully aware of the international reputation of the CIOB, so I hope my appointment will make it even stronger globally. I am very optimistic about the future and I have every confidence that CIOB will go from strength to strength both with its core UK membership and around the world.

“I’m honoured to be appointed to the presidency and I’m looking forward to working with the Chief Exec, Board of Trustees and the entire membership in order to take CIOB to new grounds which will result in benefits to our industry, academic communities and society at large.”

Ghassan has spent the last 20 years teaching and researching subjects related to the areas of Information Modelling and Visualisation, nD simulation and process mapping within construction.

As a principal investigator, Ghassan has generated over £10M to support research related to built and human environment processes and products, collaborating widely with many UK and international institutions, he has presented his work in more than 35 countries.

University of Salford Vice-Chancellor, Professor Martin Hall said: “Ghassan will be an invaluable addition to the CIOB – under his leadership the University of Salford’s strength in research is moving ahead rapidly, and he'll be able to contribute his expertise and experience to built environment research internationally.”

Chris Blythe CIOB Chief Executive said, “Innovation and research in the construction industry has never been so important. Especially, when the demands of economy and climate change are stimulating the industry to adapt and create even greater efficiencies.

“The CIOB provides a bridge between academia and industry. Many of the industry’s leading thinkers have held the office of President, and Ghassan continues the tradition. We look forward to him becoming our President in 2013 for what will no doubt be an exciting and challenging year.”