Current Faculty & Students
Idris Jeelani, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Dr Jeelani leads the Construction Automation and Safety (CAS) research group at the Rinker School of Construction Management. His research focuses on construction safety, visual data analytics, and the cognitive sciences to support the building of the next generation of safe and smart infrastructure. His research interests include (1) studying and evaluating the visual attention behavior of construction workers and its impact on their safety performance, (2) Augmenting worker Performance through the development of AI solutions, and (3) Evaluating the health and safety impacts of automated and robotic machines in construction. His work has received support worth over $1.2m in grants from external funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Labor, NIOSH-funded Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). The outcomes of the research have been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
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Office: 317 Rinker Hall
Ahmed Bin Kabir Rabbi
PhD Student
Ahmed is a Ph.D. student and joined the CASL group in the Spring of 2021. His research focuses on developing AI-based robotic frameworks for construction safety management.
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2024
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
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Zixian Zhu
PhD Student
Zixian's research focuses on safety risk assessment through 4D VR simulations and safe human-robot interaction. Zixian holds a Bachelor's degree from Beijing Jiaotong University in China (2018), and a Master's degree in Engineering Management from Cornell University in the US (2019). She also worked in construction for one year in Singapore. She likes music, anime, hiking, traveling, and sleeping in her free time.
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2025
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
Jiun-Yao Cheng
PhD Student
Jiun-Yao is a Ph.D. student in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. He is interested in the occupational safety and health challenges of drone applications in the construction industry, AI literacy in construction education, and application of virtual reality in construction training. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (2017) and an M.Sc. in Construction Engineering and Management (2019) From Taiwan National Central University.
Expected Graduation: Summer 2025
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
PhD Student
Ali is a Ph.D. student in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. His research focuses on using autonomous robots, computer vision, and AI to enhance safety performance in construction projects. Ali holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran (2019), and a Master's degree in Construction Management from the University of Tehran in Iran (2022).
Expected Graduation: Summer 2026
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
Muhammad Hasnain
PhD Student
Hasnain is a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida’s M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management. His research focuses on highway safety, computer vision, and AI applications for work zone safety risk assessment. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s in Construction Engineering and Management from NUST, Pakistan. He has a couple of years of industry experience in organizations like the National Highway Authority (NHA) and SMEC, where he evaluated the prequalification of contractors and technical and financial details of consultants and was involved in preparing Expression of Interest (EOI) and Technical Proposals in Joint ventures with consultants. He also worked as a Lecturer in NUST, Pakistan, where he taught courses related to Construction Contract Management, Project Management, and Project Planning and Control.
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2025
Office: 338 Rinker Hall
PhD Student
Yuan is a Ph.D. student in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. She is interested in VR and the use of Virtual Social Spaces in construction education. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering From China (2017) and an M.Sc. in Building Science from the University of Southern California (2020).
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2024
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
Ajit Devkota
PhD Student
Ajit is a Ph.D. student in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida. He is interested in AI and drone technologies and their applications in construction work and education. Ajit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Pokhara University in Nepal (2015) and a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand (2019).
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Expected Graduation: December 2026
Office: 340 Rinker Hall
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MSc Student
Pankaj is a graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Florida, with a specialization in Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and User Experience Design. In his most recent internship with Fidelity Investments, Pankaj took the lead in developing VR applications. His contributions resulted in the creation of immersive VR experiences that received positive feedback from users. Pankaj holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai (2019).
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2024
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David Anderson Allen
Undergraduate Student
Anderson is an undergraduate student pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Florida and is a VR expert on our team. Anderson is in his sophomore year hoping to double major in digital arts and sciences as well. He is from Jupiter, Florida, and graduated from Suncoast Community High School where he worked on virtual environments.
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2024
Undergraduate Student
Miles is currently a sophomore at the University of Florida’s Digital Worlds Institute, where he is pursuing a degree in Digital Arts and Sciences. He also plans to achieve a minor in Computer Science and Classical Studies. Miles is from Cooper City, Florida, where he graduated from Cooper City High School. In his free time, he has dedicated the last five years to self-learning Unity and virtual reality development.
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Expected Graduation: Summer 2026
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Alumni
Gilles Albeaino, Ph.D
Graduated: Summer 2023
PhD Dissertation: “Exploring Human-Robot Interaction Proxemics in Construction”
Current Position: Assistant Professor at Texas A&M
Patrick Brophy, MSc
Graduated: Summer 2022
MSc Thesis: (co-advised with Prof. Idris Jeelani) “Safety Challenges of Drone Integration in the Construction Industry: Focusing on Workers at Height”
Current Position: Assistant Reality Capture Engineer at DAVIS Construction
Eduardo Lunardini Silva Mendes, MSc
Graduated: Fall 2021
MSc Thesis: “Safety Challenges of UAVs on Construction Jobsites: Virtual Reality Training for Construction Workers on Height”
Current Position: Estimator at Coastal Construction Company
Lucas R. de Carvalho, MSc
Graduated: Fall 2021
Current Position: VDC Engineer at Holder Construction
Shrishail Zalake, MSc
Graduated: Fall 2021
MSc in Computer Science
Current Position: Software Engineer at LinkedIn