G. Edward (“Edd”) Gibson, Jr. has been named director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He has served as interim director since August 2010.
Gibson joined ASU in 2009 as program chair of the Del E. Webb School of Construction. He is professor and Sunstate Chair of Construction Management and Engineering in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.
“Edd will bring the same visionary approach as director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment that he brought to our construction programs when he joined ASU. He has placed a spotlight on the critical challenges that we face such as aging infrastructure, sustainable urban systems, and environmental stewardship, and is a proponent for refocusing education and research efforts to address these needs. Our nationally recognized programs are on a solid course under Edd’s leadership,” says Paul Johnson, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
“ASU and the engineering and construction communities will be well served by our new director, Edd Gibson. There probably isn’t anyone better qualified to lead the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment than Dr. Gibson. His appointment will usher in a new era of excellence and quality education for many, many talented young people,” says William “Wink” Ames, co-founder of Minard-Ames Insurance Services LLC.
Gibson has taught at the university level for over 20 years and has developed and taught numerous short courses for industry. He has won several teaching awards, including the Construction Industry Institute’s Instructor of the Year and the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Outstanding Engineering Educator.
“As president of the Executive Advisory Board for the Del E. Webb Construction program, I have worked with Edd Gibson over the past 18 months. In a very short time frame, Edd has created a progressive environment and is focused on continuous improvement. He has been responsive to industry input, while also asking industry to get involved. In his new role as director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Edd will help move all programs toward excellence,” says Eric Hedlund, senior vice president and building group manager, Sundt Corp.
“Edd has a great capacity for building consensus, setting a direction and measuring results,” says Hedlund. “Edd’s ability to work collaboratively with Dean Johnson will play an integral part in providing resources to further the School’s programs.”
During his career, Gibson has helped lead over $9 million in funded research. His expertise is in front-end planning, risk management, construction productivity, organizational change, dispute resolution, asset management and electronic data management for the construction industry. He has twice been named the Construction Industry Institute’s Researcher of the Year.
“I look at our School as a great opportunity,” says Gibson. “We have a wonderful faculty, an excellent staff and great students. Add to that a passion within our School to confront, and solve, many of the sustainable engineering and construction challenges of today and the future, and you have the ingredients for a ‘step change’ in the way we educate the civil engineers and construction managers who will be leaders in the future. ASU is the right place and this is the right time to make this happen.”
Prior to joining ASU, Gibson was a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama and served as director of the newly established Construction Engineering program. Under his leadership, the program grew to more than 130 undergraduates and 15 graduate students, and raised more the $1.6 million in endowments.
Previously, Gibson spent 15 years as a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He was associate chairman of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering for three of those years, as well as serving as leader of the graduate program in construction engineering and project management and Center for Construction Industry Studies.
Gibson has worked in industry as a project engineer for Texas Instruments and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
He is a licensed professional engineer and a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2005 as its youngest member.
Gibson holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Auburn University and an MBA in engineering management from University of Dallas.
