Listen to article 2 minutes This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any feedback.
Diving overview:
Virginia Tech and AEC firm Procon Consulting have teamed up to create the Procon Innovation Center, a new facility for the university’s construction students, Procon announced in an Oct. 3 news release. The center, located in the new Hitt Hall on the school’s main campus in Blacksburg, is a state-of-the-art facility designed to support large-scale student-led projects and experiential learning, according to a release. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art resources such as robotics and 3D concrete printers. Students from the university’s Myers Lawson School of Construction will partner with the AEC industry to develop new technology-driven solutions and approaches, according to a release.
Dive Insight:
Mark Ilitch and Qiu Zhong, who graduated from Virginia Tech and founded a technology-focused construction management consulting firm based in McLean, Virginia, are spearheading the effort. Procon will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025.
Ilich and Jung got their start through a contract with the General Services Administration to launch a web-based project management tool. According to the announcement, both founders want to provide students with the same opportunities.
“I saw an opportunity to build on and repurpose the business plan I developed in my graduate school classes to solve industry challenges with emerging technologies,” Jung said in the release. “We want to give our students the same opportunity to innovate and disrupt the industry and champion the construction technologies of the future.”
Procon and Virginia Tech established the center as the school continues to build and expand its construction education and research opportunities. In September, the university announced a new construction safety leadership program, the Bachelor of Science program.
Additionally, researchers at Virginia Tech’s Helmet Lab will evaluate and study construction helmets to protect workers’ heads at construction sites.
