ASCE has honored Keith R. Molenaar, Ph.D., M.ASCE, with the 2021 Peurifoy Construction Research Award for his groundbreaking research in project delivery mechanisms, cost-estimating, and risk engineering as well as for his significant impact on the construction engineering and management profession.
Molenaar's teaching focuses on risk and decision analysis, construction engineering, cost engineering, and project controls. His research focuses on risk analysis, alternative project delivery, and cost-estimating for infrastructure projects. He is the primary author of more than 150 technical reports and articles, and has performed project delivery and risk-related work for the California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington State Departments of Transportation. Molenaar has been a member of numerous technical review committees for projects, including the Columbia River Bridge in Oregon and Washington, the SR520 Floating Bridge in Washington State, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in California, the Panama Canal Expansion project in Panama, and the ITER Fusion Generator project in France.
Molenaar is an active member of ASCE, the Transportation Research Board, the Construction Management Association of America, and the Design-Build Institute of America. He has been recognized by Public Works Magazine as a top 50 "Trendsetter" for his work in alternative contracting in the public sector. He has also received the SAME Toulmin Medal, the ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland Award, and the DBIA Academic Leadership Award. Molenaar was inducted into the Pan-American Academy of Engineering for his leadership in civil engineering throughout the Americas and into the National Academy of Construction for his contributions to the industry in the areas of risk management, cost modeling, and design/build contracting.
In summary, Molenaar's scholarly work in CEM has had a significant impact on professional practice, research, and education. His research has been making significant positive influences in defining the current and future direction of innovation in CEM. He has excelled in all facets of scholarship in the CEM field. Molenaar is a knowledgeable and passionate scholar whose mission has been the creation and proliferation of new knowledge in CEM, and its application in professional practice.
The Peurifoy Construction Research Award is made to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of construction engineering through research and development of new technology, principles, or practice.
