International Conference to be hosted by the McWhorter School

The McWhorter School of Building Science will host the 33rd annual International Symposium for Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC) from July 18 to 21, 2016, at Auburn University. The theme for the 2016 conference is “Collaboration between Academia and Industry.”

ISARC, which started in 1984 in Pittsburgh, serves as the annual meeting for the members of the International Association in Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC). IAARC is a global community with specific concern for all fields of construction including civil and building engineering, machine automation, robotics applications to construction, IT technologies, planning, logistics, etc.

ISARCs have been hosted in several countries worldwide and have yielded diverse refereed papers that have been published in proceedings and the journal ‘Automation in Construction.’ “The academic journal ‘Automation in Construction’ is the highest ranked global publication for researchers on the subject,” said Dr. Anoop Sattineni, Bob Aderholdt Professor in the McWhorter School. “As such, it can be unequivocally stated that most of the advances in the area of automation in construction have been shaped by the research published in this prestigious journal. Together, the proceedings and the journal, form a compelling illustration of how developments in Automation & Robotics in Construction continue to march towards the market place. Contributions from all continents at ISARCs provide the major platform for delegates to exchange views and ideas and discuss how they might work together on new projects.”

Auburn University won the bid to host the conference over fellow bidders from Taipei and Moscow, in 2014, at the Sydney meeting. More than 200 researchers from over 30 countries are expected to attend the conference. The ISARC organizing committee invited researchers from Auburn University to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations.

“This is an excellent opportunity for Auburn University to showcase many of the research endeavors undertaken by its faculty and students,” according to Dr. Sattineni. “Construction companies are active participants in a variety of roles within academic institutions throughout the U.S. Researchers and practitioners will be able to interact and share their ideas regarding the future of technology in the construction industry.”