Project Mentors

Prof. Paul Olomolaiye

Paul Olomolaiye, Professor of Construction Engineering and Management, is currently the Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Wolverhampton.

He graduated in Building Technology and holds a Masters degree in Construction Management. His PhD in Civil Engineering is from Loughborough University, United Kingdom and gained his Chair Professorship in 1999.

He worked briefly on a World Bank Project on completion of his PhD; and progressed to academia at the University of Wolverhampton where as an Executive Dean, since 2001, he has achieved significant year on year business growth through a vision driven and motivating leadership. Paul’s faculty leads the regeneration drive for Northern Birmingham through the Wolverhampton – Telford Technology Corridor – which aims at advancing products and business practices of more than 3000 Engineering and Construction Companies through Clusters supported by more than £10 million pounds of Private Sector, Government and EU funds.

Building on this, Paul’s School recently secured more funds to set up the West Midlands Centre for Construction Excellence (WMCCE) to enable responsive and competitive construction firms engage with regeneration activities across the region. With well published and on-going research and active knowledge transfer initiatives, Paul has developed specific expertise in Productivity and Performance enhancement strategies to the benefit of a number of Governments, Agencies, Companies and Institutions worldwide who consult him.

Dr. David Heesom

Prior to joining the University of Wolverhampton, David Heesom worked for WS Atkins Consulting Engineers as an Infrastructure Engineer. He worked on various projects including a large infrastructure project in Dublin, eventually becoming a 3D computer-modelling engineer for a large infrastructure project in the North West of England. David joined the School of Engineering and the Built Environment in 2000 as a Research Fellow undertaking a collaborative EPSRC funded project entitled ‘The Virtual Construction Site’ in conjunction with University College London, UMIST and Teesside University.

David is actively involved with research and development within the School of Engineering and the Built Environment and has published in the field of visualisation and visual simulation for the construction industry. He has presented work at various international events including Germany, Eire, Canada, China and the USA. He has also worked with various regional and national companies including local authorities to implement advanced technologies and visualisation for improving their business.

David holds a BEng (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University and an MSc (with distinction) degree in Computer Aided Design in Construction from the University of Wolverhampton. He completed his PhD at the University of Wolverhampton in 2004, which developed a suite of software tools to allow more effective planning on construction sites by utilising ‘4D’ virtual reality techniques.

Prof. David Proverbs

David Proverbs, Professor of Construction Management, BSc(Hons), PhD, MCIOB, PG.Cert. Ed. is presently Head of the Construction and Infrastructure Department in the School of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. His academic career began in 1994 as a Research Assistant, this following ten years of industrial and managerial experience in the UK construction sector. He became a Lecturer in Building Technology in 1995; followed by promotion to Senior Research Fellow in 1998 and then to Academic Section Leader (Principal Lecturer) in 2000. He is now Vice-Chair of the Council of Heads of the Built Environment (CHOBE) in the UK and a member of the CIOB Educational Committee. He has undertaken numerous research projects, both for industry and the government. Research funding has been secured from the research councils, and various public and private sponsors. Areas of research specialism include international benchmarking; construction productivity; contractor performance; flood damage assessment and flood repair; and satisfaction issues. The products of his extensive research activities have been comprehensively disseminated through: over 150 refereed academic journal / conference papers; text books, research seminars and workshops; articles and features in the construction press; and by the publication of numerous reports and working papers. He acts as a reviewer to twenty international refereed journals, several book publishers, the EPSRC and the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme. He sits on the technical committees of many international high profile research conferences and has provided consultation to a range of organisations including the UK and Australian Governments, a number of leading insurance companies (including Axa, Lloyds TSB, Norwich Union, Royal Sun Alliance) and many construction companies.