what is project management research paper

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3 The Evolution of Project Management Research: The Evidence from the Journals

Rodney Turner is Professor of Project Management at the SKEMA Business School, Lille, France. He is Visiting Professor at Henley Business School, the Kemmy Business School, Limerick, and the University of Technology Sydney. Rodney is the author or editor of sixteen books, and is editor of The International Journal of Project Management. He is Vice President, Honorary Fellow, and former chairman of the UK's Association for Project Management.

Jeffrey K. Pinto holds the Andrew Morrow and Elizabeth Lee Black Chair in the Management of Technology at Penn State University. He is the author or editor of 23 books and over 120 scientific papers. Dr. Pinto is a two-time recipient of the Distinguished Contribution Award from the Project Management Institute (1997, 2001) for outstanding service to the project management profession. He received PMI's Research Achievement Award in 2009.

Christophe Bredillet is Dean and Provost at SKEMA Business School, Lille, France. He is Professor of Strategy, Programme, and Project Management and Director of Postgraduate Studies. He is editor of the Project Management Journal. His interests and research activities cover principles and theories of project management and business dynamics.

• Published: 02 May 2011
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This article seeks to address the question of the current state of project management research through an analysis of the domain's advance over time, as evidenced in the pages of its principal academic research outlets. While there are many ways in which theoreticians and researchers have sought to examine the evolving nature of the project management research field, the attempt here involves a more forensic approach, based on a critical review of some of the published literature. Over the past twenty years there has been a substantial improvement in the quality and rigor of project management research, as evidenced by the standard of papers being published in three leading academic research journals that focus on project management research. This article represents the collective thoughts and reflections of the three journals' editors at the time of writing on the evolution of the project management research field.

Introduction

This chapter seeks to address the question of the current state of project management research through an analysis of the domain's advance over time, as evidenced in the pages of its principal academic research outlets. While there are many ways in which theoreticians and researchers have sought to examine the evolving nature of the project management research field, our attempt here involves a more forensic approach, based on a critical review of some of the published literature. Over the past twenty years there has been a substantial improvement in the quality and rigor of project management research, as evidenced by the standard of papers being published in three leading academic research journals that focus on project management research:

The International Journal of Project Management , published by Elsevier (IJPM)

The Project Management Journal , published by Wiley (PMJ)

The IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE-TEM), published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Technology Management Council (formerly IEEE Engineering Management Society)

This chapter represents the collective thoughts and reflections of the three journals' editors at the time of writing on the evolution of the project management research field.

In the 1970s, most “research” writing in project management was dominated by practitioners, who set the research agenda and research style (Turner et al. 2010 ). In the 1980s it became heavily influenced also by the professional associations, the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the International Project Management Association (IPMA), the Association for Project Management (APM), and the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). During this phase, there was a concerted push on the part of these associations to establish the domains' knowledge base through its “body of knowledge,” of which several variants appeared (Project Management Institute 1987 , 2008 ; International Project Management Association 2006 ; Association for Project Management 2006 ; Australian Institute of Project Management 2004 ). Ultimately, as in the 1970s, much of the research in Project Management at this time could be characterized as very practitioner oriented. This tended to mean:

it was narrow in scope, in the worst cases just focusing on improving optimization tools such as critical path analysis;

it lacked rigor because it typically was not based on sound research methodologies;

it often employed single case studies, including “war stories,” which, while offering practical guidance to practitioners, were often hard to generalize for the wider purpose of developing theory;

it often did not draw from nor make reference to the literature, often lacking citations.

As a result, project management came to be seen in many academic institutions as something of a “quasi-discipline,” with little agreement as to roots or heritage (“Is it decision sciences? Organization Theory? Operations Research?”). Fundamentally, project management research was an outcropping of other fields and many of its early researchers made their academic “homes” in allied but separate disciplines, including construction, engineering, and management science.

However, since the early 1990s there has been a substantial improvement in the quality and rigor of research in project management, as can be seen in the three research journals. Specifically:

the papers cover a wider range of topics, showing that project management is a richer, more diverse field, and people are recognizing that a much wider range of methods are available for the successful delivery of projects;

the research on which the papers are based uses more rigorous methodologies, with the result that the research is sounder and can contribute to theory development;

there are an increasing number of citations to recent journal articles, with the result that the research is soundly based on recent theory development;

there are citations to a much wider range of journals outside the field, showing that project management is drawing on and contributing to a wider range of other domains, making the research richer, and ensuring it is backed by theory development elsewhere; and

papers are being cited by articles from a wider range of journals, showing that project management research is making a wider contribution outside the field.

The purpose of our analysis here is to present evidence to support the above contentions, through an evaluation of project management research as it has been published in the three leading academic project management journals.

Our analysis examined three distinct aspects of this published work:

Topics—we refer to “topics” as the specific project management issues or subjects addressed in the paper itself. Analyzing topic content allowed us to make some observations about the range of issues these papers addressed. In identifying the range of topics that we classified for this chapter, we relied on the previous work of Morris ( 2001 ) and Kwak and Anbari ( 2009 ) who developed such classification schemes.

Methodologies employed—we also wanted to understand the types of analytic techniques used within the publications. Methodologies ranged from the highly conceptual and qualitative to the more quantitative and statistically rigorous techniques. There were a total of twenty-one possible methodologies that we identified as being used in project management research.

Citation patterns—we examined the citations that these papers referred to; that is, we wanted to ascertain the types of journals or other outlets that authors used as references for their published work. We were interested in determining the degree to which these papers made reference to other project management literatures, business, engineering, psychology, or other sources. In short, what were the sources of inspiration for these papers? A total of thirty-six possible outlets can be identified for IJPM for example as citation sources for project management publications (Table 3.1 ), ranging from academic journals, to conference proceedings, and most recently to web sources. Further, it is interesting to note the trends for these citations. As you will see from the tables, much of the early project management work had, as its key sources, reference to a relatively limited set of disciplinary journals. Over the past twenty years, this set has dramatically broadened. The list of key sources for project management publication citations now includes the fields shown in Table 3.2 .

In the next sections we will examine each of the three journals' publication patterns in detail, using the above three criteria.

International Journal of Project Management (IJPM)

IJPM was founded in 1983 by the UK's Association for Project Management on behalf of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). In March 2009, IJPM was admitted to the Social Science Citation Index (Thomson World of Science), reinforcing the substantial improvement in the quality and rigor of project management research.

To demonstrate the improvement in the quality and rigor of articles published in IJPM, we compared articles published at ten-year intervals, 1987, 1997, and 2007. We chose those years, rather than a year later, because there will not yet, at the time of writing, be many citations of articles published in 2008. In 1987 IJPM was publishing just four issues per year. The number of issues had grown to six in 1997 and the current eight in 2007. Also the number of papers per issue has grown. In 1987 and 1997 it was about eight papers per issue, giving thirty-one and forty-five papers in each of those two years. By 2007 it was almost eleven papers per issue, eighty-five in total. The increasing number of papers is indicative of the growing interest in the subject.

Topics covered

Table 3.3 shows the topics covered by papers published in the journal in the three years 1987, 1997, and 2007. The classifications used in the table are the ones that the authors used to classify their papers when submitting papers to the journal.

Total number of topics

In 1987, papers covered an average of about one and a half topics each, whereas in 1997 and 2007 they covered an average of about two topics each. In 2007 many papers covered three topics, for instance describing the application of a technique in a given industry (usually construction) in a particularly country (usually a recently developed country in the Far East). However, the increasing number of papers is largely responsible for the larger number of topics, with many topics being mentioned just once in each of the three years. But the increasing number of papers published is in itself an indication of the growing interest in project management.

Range of topics

In 1987, there was at least one paper about a topic from each of the topic areas. So the full breadth of field areas was covered. The most popular setting was within the engineering and construction industry, a quarter of papers being specifically about that industry. We will see this repeated in the number of citations of papers from construction and construction management journals. The next most popular topics were computer support, managing time, execution and control, post-commissioning operation and maintenance, and projects in newly developed countries with three mentions each (10 percent of papers).

In 1997 the most popular topic was still the engineering and construction industry, with now almost a third of papers being about the topic. The second most popular topic was now risk management, which had received only one mention in 1987, with one fifth of papers being about that topic. There was an increase in interest in computer support (13 percent), managing time (11 percent), while interest in execution and control (9 percent) and newly developed countries (7 percent) remained about the same. But in 1997 (and in 2007) there were no papers about post-commissioning operation and maintenance. Other topics being mentioned by around 10 percent of papers in 1997 were managing resources, and research and development projects. There were also three papers about program management, though two of these were more about portfolio management.

In 2007 the most popular topic was still projects in the engineering and construction industry, with now over a third of papers being about that topic. However, during the year there was a special issue on that topic, so the growth in papers in that area since 1997 can be explained by that. The second most popular topic was still risk management (13 percent) followed closely by partnering and alliancing (12 percent). However, many of the papers in the special issue were about partnering and alliancing, but even without that issue, partnering and alliancing would still have been the third most popular topic. No other topic now received a mention by more than 10 percent of papers, but several were mentioned by more than 5 percent of papers. There is no loss of interest in a topic since 1997, but the interesting appearance of two new topics is human resource management and the services industry.

Research methodologies used

Table 3.4 lists the research methodologies used by papers in IJPM in the three years taken for this analysis.

Papers with a methodology section

In 1987 there was just one paper having a section describing the research methodology employed. In 1997 there were thirteen, about a quarter; in 2007 about three quarters of papers had a methodology section (sixty-one). This is an indication of a growing concern for rigor.

Total number of methods used

The papers in 1987 used just one method each. In 1997 and 2007 about 20 percent of papers were using mixed methods. It was quite common to combine a literature search with another method, perhaps a survey, case study, or the development of a new technique. But other techniques would also be combined, such as the development of a new technique and a case study to illustrate it, or a survey with semi-structured interviews.

Range of methods used

In 1987 there was a very narrow range of methods used, and they illustrate the then practitioner focus of the journal. The methods used in 1987 were predominantly citing examples of existing techniques or introducing new ideas, comparison of techniques, conceptual papers, literature reviews, and case studies. Many of these were aimed at illustrating the application of project management for practitioners. The greatest number of papers (29 percent) were conceptual papers. These are papers that give a perspective on an element of theory. In 1997 and 2007, no papers gave an illustration of an existing technique, showing a move away from a practitioner focus. In 1997, there were fifteen conceptual papers (33 percent). However these were often outlining concepts for academic researchers. In 2007, the percentage of conceptual papers fell to 12 percent.

In 1997 and 2007, it was clear that the methods used in the papers had broadened out significantly, as a range of new methods approaches were employed. After conceptual papers, survey is the next most popular technique, 24 percent of papers. By 2007, this was the most popular technique overall, appearing in 26 percent of papers. The percentage for this technique was not much changed from 1997, but conceptual papers were now not so common. Overall, it is clear that the two years (1997 and 2007) showed evidence that: (1) there has been a shift away from practitioner-based techniques and the adoption of more rigorous methods, and (2) a much wider range of research and analytical techniques is being used.

Number of citations by papers published in the journal

Table 3.1 shows the number of citations by papers published in IJPM in each of the three years 1987, 1997, and 2007. These citation patterns are intended to show the source of referencing done by authors published in IJPM to identify the types of journals from which they are drawing their citations.

In 1987, more than half the papers (58 percent) have no citations at all. This was not a once-off. There were a similar number without citations in 1988. In 1997, four papers still had no citations. Papers from 1987 which have citations typically have around ten, though the record was over fifty. Papers from 1997 typically have around 20 citations, and from 2007 around 40 (though the record was over 100). The average number of citations of journal articles from 1987 was 1.5. If we ignore the papers without citations, the average rises to 3.5. By 1997 that had doubled to 7.0; articles are making twice as many citations. By 2007, the average number of citations of journal articles had almost trebled again, to almost nineteen. That is over twelve times more than the average number of citations in 1987.

Over the years, there has been very little change in the number of citations of conference papers, running at just under 1.5 throughout the twenty years. The change is that people are now citing the new research conferences, and whereas citations of the PMI practitioner conferences have remained fairly stable, citations of IPMA's practitioner conference have almost disappeared. However, in 2007 a very large number of the citations of the PMI practitioner conferences were from just two papers and one was self-citations.

The new arrival is the citation of web pages. The average for 2007 was 0.8 citations of a web page per paper. While most papers still cite none, some make web pages the main source of literature.

Sources of papers being cited by papers in IJPM

Table 3.1 shows where the papers being cited by papers in IJPM were themselves published. Over the twenty years, self-citations in IJPM have increased almost twentyfold, compared to the twelvefold overall increase of citations by papers in the journal. Citations of papers in PMJ have increased about twelvefold, in line with the overall increase. Over the years, papers in the journal have been citing papers from an increasing number of fields.

The most significant number of citations is of construction journals, with an average of almost 3.5 citations per paper in 2007. There is also a strong interest in engineering and engineering management, with an average of about 0.8 citations per paper in 2007. Over the years there is a growing interest in management topics. By 2007, general management, business, and strategy receive an average of about 2.7 citations per paper, decisions sciences about 1.3, and Human Resources and Organizational Behavior about 2.1.

Cited articles about ICT are primarily about computers' role in the construction design and execution processes. In 1997 there was only one article cited about managing ICT projects, and none in 2007. Many of the articles are generic and apply to all industries. But if people write about a specific industry it is primarily about construction. There has been increasing interest in research, looking at research projects, research in construction, and the research process itself.

The absence of papers on procurement in 1987 and 1997 is surprising. There was an article on contract management in the very first issue of IJPM. There has recently been a growing interest in forms of contract, particularly BOT and PPP/PFI. Articles on contract management appear in journals on Construction Management, Procurement, Law, or Project Management. Governance and the Environment are popular issues at the moment.

Project Management Journal (PMJ)

The Project Management Journal (PMJ) was founded in 1970 by the Project Management Institute. Until 2007 it was an in-house journal distributed only to members of PMI. However in 2007 management of the journal transferred to Wiley.

This review has only had access to copies from 1997 and 2007, so we review developments over that ten-year period. (See, however, Morris 2001 for a review of all papers and topics covered between 1990 and 2000.) Also PMJ does not appear in the leading citation indexes, and so it is not possible to determine how many times papers in PMJ have been cited. PMI has wanted to maintain the journal at its original size. So it is still only running to four issues a year, with approximately six papers per issue. In 1997 there were twenty-three papers and in 2007 thirty-one.

Table 3.5 shows the topics covered by papers in PMJ in 1997 and 2007. In 1997, the average number of topics per paper is just under two, whereas in 2007 it is about two and a quarter. Thus there was a slight increase in the number of topics per paper in those years, whereas IJPM was static at two. But the differences may not be very significant. Thus PMJ had roughly the same number of topics per paper as IJPM, but because there are very much fewer papers the total number of topics covered is less.

With many of the topics being mentioned only once per year in each journal, it is difficult to draw comparisons between the two journals. But there are some areas of interest. Whereas in IJPM every topic area was covered in all years, in PMJ in 1997 there were no papers on the project life cycle, or on financial issues. There were papers on life cycle in 2007, but still none on financial issues. As with IJPM, execution and control was one of the most popular topics in PMJ in 2007 (not having been mentioned in 1997). In 1997, the most popular topic in PMJ was projects in the construction industry, with slightly over a third of papers being about that topic, similar to IJPM. However, by 2007 there was only one paper on that topic. Perhaps this reflects a change of focus of PMI itself towards other industries. In 1997 and 2007 there were three papers on research and development projects (13 percent). This was also the only other type of project receiving more than one mention in IJPM. The second most popular type of project in PMJ in 2007 was IT projects with two mentions (6 percent). Unlike IJPM, in PMJ there was quite a change in the topics receiving the most mentions between 1997 and 2007. In 1997 the popular topics (receiving three or more mentions) were: managing quality, managing time, and decision-making. Managing time was popular in IJPM but the other two were not. In 2007 the popular topics in PMJ were: success and strategy, research into project management, project organization, execution and control, organizational capability, teams, leadership, culture, decision-making, and old world countries; almost a complete change on focus. Only decision-making is common to the two years. Two differences from IJPM are interesting. First, in PMJ there is little interest in risk (though this is not the case in the Morris ( 2001 ) survey of PMJ). Secondly, whereas in PMJ there were two papers on the topic of systems thinking, there were none in IJPM.

Table 3.6 shows the research methodologies used by PMJ. In 1997 about half the papers had a methodology section, about twice the ratio for IJPM for the same year. In 2007 about three quarters of papers had a methods section, almost the same as IJPM.

In 1997 the average number of methods per paper was about 1.1, meaning that about 10 percent of papers were using mixed methods. But by 2007 the average number was about 1.5, meaning about half the papers were using mixed methods. This compares to 1.2 in IJPM in both years.

Because of the smaller number of papers published in PMJ, even though there are more methods on average per paper in 2007, there is a much smaller range of actual methods used when compared to IJPM. In PMJ in 1997, the most popular method is already surveys (35 percent), though conceptual papers is a close second (26 percent). However, there are still several papers developing a new technique (17 percent). By 2007 the most popular method was literature search (39 percent). Survey was a close second (32 percent). In 2007 a quarter of papers used a case-study method and around 16 percent were conceptual papers. These are similar figures to IJPM.

Number and sources of citations by papers published in PMJ

Table 3.7 shows the number of citations by papers published in PMJ in 1997 and 2007. The table shows citations of articles in other journals and of conference papers. (We did not collect the data for web pages.) There are several points of interest.

There are five papers with no citations: four from 1997 and one from 2007. These papers did in fact cite books, but no journal articles. There is very little interest in construction and construction management, but there is a similar interest in engineering and engineering management to IJPM. There is a much stronger interest in research and research management than is the case for IJPM. There is a similar interest in general management, strategy, and business, a slightly stronger interest in decision sciences, but a slightly weaker interest in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. Otherwise the spread of citations is very similar to IJPM. There are one or two fields that receive a small number of citations in IJPM but none in PMJ, but this may merely reflect the smaller number of articles published.

In 1997 the citation of conference papers is much smaller than in IJPM, but the conferences cited are only the PMI practitioner conference and conferences outside the field of project management. In 2007, papers in PMI cite about twice as many conference papers as IJPM, with the PMI Research Conference, the PMI practitioner conferences, and IRNOP the most popular.

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE-TEM)

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE-TEM) is a publication of the IEEE Technology Management Council (formerly IEEE Engineering Management Society) and is a research-based, refereed journal in engineering management that has been published quarterly since 1954. Its worldwide subscription base is approximately 10,000. Unlike the International Journal of Project Management and the Project Management Journal , IEEE-TEM is not exclusively focused on the publication of project management research, but pursues a broader purpose, including the publication of leading-edge research articles and technical notes in engineering, technology, and innovation management. It is thus composed of seven departments, including: People and Organizations, Information Technology, R&D and Engineering Projects, e-Business, Models and Methodologies, Technology and Innovation Management, and Manufacturing Systems. As a result, the number of actual “project management” articles published in each issue of IEEE-TEM varies, depending upon submissions relative to those manuscripts submitted to other departments. IEEE-TEM is listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index.

Following the methodology applied to the analysis of IJPM's citation patterns, we developed a similar table for project management articles published in IEEE-TEM for each of the years 1988, 1997, and 2007. We selected 1988 as it was the earliest year for which IEEE-TEM was listed in full online text format. Of the twenty-eight refereed articles published in 1988, six (21 percent) were project oriented. In 1997, a total of five (14 percent) of the thirty-six articles published in IEEE-TEM focused on project issues. Finally, in 2007, a total of fifty-five articles were published, of which six (11 percent) were project management papers. Using the “citations by articles” classification scheme from Table 3.9 , several interesting patterns emerged.

Table 3.8 shows the topics covered in the published articles from the journal for the dates 1988, 1997, and 2007. In 1988 and 1997, the average number of topics per paper is nearly 2.5, increasing in 2007 to 4.3. Thus there was an increase in the number of topics per paper in those years, similar to PMJ and IJPM counts for the earlier years but showing a strong increase in the most recent data.

Because of the smaller number of actual articles, it is important not to “over-read” the data. Nevertheless, there are some interesting changes in topic patterns from the early years of the analysis, when the most popular topics were those of managing time/schedule, managing resources, and project execution and control. These results are consonant with the earlier observations that IEEE-TEM tended to promote more “technical” papers with a background in decision sciences and operations research, aimed at optimization. Most recently, however, issues such as individual competence, managing teams, and organizational behavior point to a broadening of the traditional themes, similar to patterns observed in the other journals.

Perhaps the most intriguing finding for research methods used (see Table 3.9 ) was the movement toward large-scale field survey methods, coupled with more sophisticated data analysis employing ANOVA and multiple regression methods. A technique that was essentially unused in IEEE-TEM in its early days became the most popular research method in project management articles published in 2007. Modeling remains a popular research technique and, given the readership and philosophy of the journal, is likely to continue apace. Nevertheless, the intriguing results here suggest that greater emphasis and acceptance of social science research methods is an emerging theme.

Number and sources of citations by papers published in the journal

Using the “citations by articles” classification scheme from Table 3.10 , several interesting patterns emerged.

The total number of papers published in IEEE-TEM has continued to increase at a strong rate, from twenty-eight total papers published in 1988 to fifty-five published in 2007. This trend (a near doubling of the number of published papers in the past twenty years) reflects a significant increase in the popularity of the journal and the breadth of papers it receives as submissions. Papers directly related to project management (that is, those that are assigned to the department editor for R&D and Engineering Projects) continue to remain relatively steady at approximately 14 percent of papers published in each issue. Thus, it is common for one or two papers each issue to deal with project management themes.

The average number of citations per project management article has steadily increased over the past twenty years. In 1988, the average paper had 18.5 citations, though the high was 41. In 1997, the average paper had nearly 37 citations (36.6) with a high of 76. Finally, in 2007, the average paper had over 63 citations, with a high of 88.

Trends in citations showed some interesting patterns. In 1987, the preponderance of cited work came from the decision science journals. In fact, half of the total average citations for this year were either decision science or research journals. Project management journals, including IJPM, PMJ, and IEEE, received a steadily increasing number of average citations across the twenty-year timeframe, reinforcing an earlier point that SSCI reappraisal of the standing of IJPM appears to have prompted higher citation patterns in other journals. Other classes of journals that were increasingly cited were those for “General Management,” “HRM, OB, Education and Learning, Health,” “Marketing,” and “Strategy.” In all these cases, the average citations per article showed dramatic increases over time—General Management increased from an average of less than one citation per article in 1988 to 5.2 average citations in 1997 and 7.17 citations in 2007. The HRM class increased from zero average citations in 1988 to 6.83 in 2007. Marketing and Strategy showed equally significant increases.

Conference paper citations showed a relatively steady increase from 1988 to 2007, though few were from Project Management-focused conferences (e.g. PMI or IPMA conferences).

The analysis of research methods (Table 3.9 ) offers some preliminary information on the alternative methods for conducting research and analyzing results. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of survey methods for large-sample research, coupled with regression and ANOVA statistical techniques. Though the actual sample size is limited, the trends point to a stronger inclination to adopt field research, literature reviews, and modeling techniques as primary research methods.

Some Emergent Themes from the Review of the Three Journals

In analyzing, from an editor's perspective, the current state of project management literature, some interesting trends appear to be operating.

The research and literature base is growing

An analysis of the citation patterns demonstrates the strong increase in the numbers of cited works from other journals and disciplinary sources. In 1988, the average number of IEEE citations per article for example was 18.5. That figured doubled by 1997 and nearly doubled again by 2007, to an average of 63.17 citations per article. This increase in citation activity suggests the emergence of a large body of work from which to draw these citations. The fact that the average article could, in 2007, cite over 63 other sources demonstrates the growth of the literature base for project management research. Kwak and Anbari's ( 2009 ) recent analysis of publishing patterns of 8 “allied disciplines” across 18 top management journals over the past 50 years found a total of nearly 1,000 articles published on project management with nearly 80 percent appearing in print since 1980.

The literature is becoming increasingly diverse

The data reflects a dramatic ramping-up of research work being conducted in the domain of project management. Early work in project-based subjects within IEEE-TEM, for example, was often centered on the themes of research policy or optimization techniques from operations research/management science. The changing citation patterns suggest a broadening of topics. This trend is mirrored in an analysis by Morris ( 2001 ) who undertook an analysis of research trends during the decade of the 1990s, examining the output of the Project Management Journal, Project Management Network (PMN), and the International Journal of Project Management .

Other work, best characterized by Söderlund ( 2004 a and 2004b ), has examined publication patterns of project-based work and noted an important cross-fertilization between work that appears in traditional project management journals and that which is being done within other management domains, noting, “traditional project management researchers become increasingly more interested in issues related to traditional management, organization and inter-firm cooperation. Another trend is that researchers in other disciplines show greater awareness of the importance of projects in understanding the functioning of markets and firms” ( 2004a : 656). Thus, one aspect of this issue of increasing diversity relates to the authors themselves and the work they conduct, reflecting their acknowledgement that project management research (and the examination of project-based firms) does not represent a “special case” or setting, but concerns the practical realities of modern work environments.

More recent analyses have provided some further evidence of this trend; for example, the huge increase in the average number of citations from general management journals or those relating to Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, or Education themes. Indeed, both of these categories have now supplanted Decision Science journals as the top classes for citations in IEEE-TEM, suggesting that not only is the literature becoming increasingly diverse, but the academics and researchers conducting work and publishing in the journal are either themselves from a number of allied disciplines or are able to tap into these journal outlets. Further, the fact that these categories contain the largest average number of citations suggests that the topics in project management have become increasingly diverse and often of a “business-oriented” nature.

Project research methods are diverse and evolving

The various research methodologies employed in conducting project management work are showing increasing sophistication and methodological rigor. As we noted at the beginning of the chapter, many of the original works in the major journals were anecdotal, single-case analyses, or “war stories” aimed at addressing means for improving some specific project management tool or technique. Increasingly, the methods and research approaches have become more varied and grounded in rigorous methods, including field research, surveys, and modeling, with commensurately rigorous evaluation approaches (multivariate statistical techniques). The overall effect of this advance in research methods has been to develop a knowledge base that is more generalizable and valuable to practitioners and researchers alike.

Research themes continue to evolve within the field

Research trend analysis demonstrated that certain themes grew in importance over the twenty-year timeframe, as evidenced both by the topics selected and the citation patterns within those journals. For example, there has been a significant increase in papers related to the themes of risk, HR management, partnering and alliances, and project-based firms. These trends are supported by the work of Crawford, Pollack, and England ( 2006 ) and Anbari, Bredillet, and Turner ( 2010 ) who noted the emergence of certain themes through a meta-analytic, longitudinal study of project research. Among their findings was the notion that some themes (for example, Strategic Alignment) are growing topics in the field while others, such as Quality Management, appear to be of decreasing significance. The larger question, of course, is whether these trends reflect opportunities for research to “fill in the gaps,” as some authors suggest (cf. Morris 2001 ; Themistocleous and Wearne 2000 ) or if they in fact reflect a de-emphasis due to the sense of over-saturation or the failure for new dimensions of these themes to be shown as relevant for project-based work.

It is, of course, common for research trends to evolve; in fact, one could cogently argue that such evolution demonstrates the overall vibrancy of the field as more work is done along broader themes or academics from other disciplines seek to understand project-based firms from alternative perspectives. In better understanding the evolving nature of research in project-based firms, future work would be well served to move beyond the analysis of the trends themselves and perhaps attempt a harder, but more intriguing study of the question of “why” such trends evolve; that is, what are the identifiable forces that influence these changing project research themes?

Conclusions

As we have noted, the field of project management, as a research and academic discipline, has seen a significant increase in trend analysis in recent years. Trends, as they pertain to the evolution of topics, research methods, publication outlets, number of topical papers published, and comparisons in these trends across the top project management outlets, have all been explored with increasing frequency. Through the subsequent half century, project management research has shown dramatic evidence of expansion, both in breadth of topics covered as well as the sheer volume of papers produced on different aspects of the field. This interest in better understanding and reconceptualizing the field of project management from an output perspective (knowledge creation and dissemination) bespeaks a positive attitude toward the future of project management research.

It is interesting to consider future directions for project management research. This chapter, as well as the recent work of Morris ( 2001 ) and Kwak and Anbari ( 2009 ), has analyzed publication patterns both as a means to determine how the field has progressed (as evidenced by the topics covered and methods employed) over time as well as to identify obvious “holes” that bear research investigation. This latter theme is illustrated by Morris ( 2001 ) who compared his research findings with the current bodies of knowledge to ascertain those topics that were being researched versus those that offered opportunities for investigation.

Alternatively, an intriguing strategy would be to approach the study of project management research from the academics' perspective. Work to date has employed the journals as the means for information regarding research trends; however, a counter-argument could be made for addressing the “source” of project management research. That is, it would be interesting to identify and sample fifty of the leading project management researchers to understand their agendas, perspectives on strong research opportunities, and perceived future opportunities. Comparing their perspectives with an equal sample of mid- to high-level practitioners and executives would allow for some triangulation in pinpointing current needs and subsequent gaps in the literature.

But we should not get carried away too quickly. As Bredillet ( 2009 : 2) has noted, “the evolution of project management models does not necessarily represent the incremental sophistication of project management methods.” That is, the manner in which we change our perceptions of project management, including the theoretical models we use to describe it, does not presume that older project management methods were wrong, per se. Our work seeks to broaden theory rather than substitute one theory for another. Project research more and more represents this broadening of methods, recognizing the contingency effects of industries and project classes that make the discipline both exciting and unique.

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Project management: Recent developments and research opportunities

• Published: 16 June 2012
• Volume 21 , pages 129–143, ( 2012 )

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• Nicholas G. Hall 1  

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This paper studies the business process known as project management. This process has exhibited a remarkable growth in business interest over the last 15 years, as demonstrated by a 1000% increase in membership in the Project Management Institute since 1996. This growth is largely attributable to the emergence of many new diverse business applications that can be successfully managed as projects. The new applications for project management include IT implementations, research and development, new product and service development, corporate change management, and software development. The characteristics of modern projects are typically very different from those of traditional projects such as construction and engineering, which necessitates the development of new project management techniques. We discuss these recent practical developments. The history of project management methodology is reviewed, from CPM and PERT to the influential modern directions of critical chain project management and agile methods. We identify one important application area for future methodological change as new product and service development. A list of specific research topics within project management is discussed. The conclusions suggest the existence of significant research opportunities within project management.

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Nicholas G. Hall is Professor of Management Sciences in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. He holds B.A., M.A. degrees in economics from the University of Cambridge, a professional qualification in accounting, and a Ph.D. (1986) from the University of California at Berkeley. His main research interests are in tactical operations issues, especially project management, scheduling and pricing, public policy and sports management problems. He is the author of over 70 refereed publications, and has given over 260 academic presentations, including 88 invited presentations in 20 countries, 6 conference keynote presentations and 6 INFORMS tutorials. A 2008 citation study ranked him 13th among 1,376 scholars in the operations management field. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Decision Making under Uncertainty of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He won the Faculty Outstanding Research Award of the Fisher College of Business in 1998 and 2005.

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Hall, N.G. Project management: Recent developments and research opportunities. J. Syst. Sci. Syst. Eng. 21 , 129–143 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-012-5190-5

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Published : 16 June 2012

Issue Date : June 2012

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-012-5190-5

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Top Project Management Research Topics of 2024

Table of Content 

How to Write a Project Management Research Paper?

Project management research topics - selection tips, impact of reward system on boosting productivity, examining the causes of project delays and the ways global construction companies are coping with it, analyzing the impact of strategic roles in project management office on business ecosystems, examining causes and effects of poor communication in the construction industry, cost-benefit analysis project management related research topics, agile project management in it industries, checking the impact of psychosocial stressors on project manager performance. , team conflict dynamic model & project success written by ruskin bond.

The process of managing projects is of preparing and coordinating, carrying out, and completing a particular job, occasion, or other specific goal employing a variety of processes and skills, as well as knowledge and expertise. Are you currently required to write a project management thesis? Are you in search of outstanding research topics in project management and suggestions? If yes, this blog is specially for you. Read on and you will discover some great options for your research on project management. Additionally, you can learn how to compose a good project-managing research essay or a thesis.

The management of projects is based on specific information, tools methods, strategies, and abilities to provide something useful to individuals. There are various types of projects that are typically carried out to have an impact on the society.

Most projects are designed to make the world or our society better. They are typically efforts to produce value through the creation of an item or product that was not previously available.

This article outlines the top project research topics that will impact the field of project management in 2023, and significantly.

Do you want to write an outstanding research paper on project management? If you still have no idea, review these steps. Following these steps in a sequential manner will allow you to come up with a great research paper on project management.

• First, read and comprehend first. Then, you must understand your research paper's topic and guidelines for writing, and any other requirements, such as the deadline and format, word count and so on.
• Second, match your needs to find the perfect research topic in project management.
• The third step is to conduct some preliminary research on your subject and collect your points of discussion by referring to reliable sources like journals, books or sites which are relevant to your subject.
• Fourthly, write an argument that is sufficient to clearly define the objective and purpose of your paper.
• Fifthly, with your collected ideas, create an outline to write your dissertation.
• Then, develop the outline and write an extensive project management research paper that includes proper citations in accordance with the guidelines. The paper should support the thesis assertion with solid arguments or examples.
• After you have finished writing your research paper ensure that you proofread and revise. The academic essay ready to be submitted must be perfect and free of plagiarism.

When you choose a subject for your research paper on project management Keep these suggestions in your head.

• Pick a subject you know about.
• Pick a subject that will interest each of your viewers.
• Select a subject that is open to your study.
• Select a subject with lots of information as well as a number of trustworthy sources.
• Choose a topic that is neither too specific nor broad.
• If the subject is too broad, you can break it down into subtopics that are specific to the topic.
• Select the most unique and lesser-known subject first.
• You must confirm the topic only if it is in line with the guidelines of your university or supervisor.

Also Read : Risk Management Strategies

Effect of Change Mobilization on Companies

Here are the main points addressed by this paper on "Effects on Mobilizing Change within Companies: What It Takes and Strategies," including the Importance of Change Mobilization, Strategies, Impact on Organizational Performance and Challenges/Barriers to Change Mobilization.

Overcoming Challenges and Accelerating Change Mobilization

"The "Effect from Change Mobilization in Companies" research paper examines the effect of change mobilization on organizational efficiency and employee engagement levels. The investigation explored many methods and strategies employed by organizations to successfully implement and monitor initiatives to make changes, with results showing an effective correlation between mobilization of change and increased productivity, innovation, satisfaction levels, leadership participation as well and employee communication to facilitate organizational transformation."

These are the main aspects of this research report "Impact of the reward system on improving productivity".

• This paper studies the effects that a system of reward improving productivity in various scenarios.
• Importance of Rewards in Motivation.
• Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Reward Systems.
• Types of Rewards
• Case Studies and Empirical Evidence.
• Challenges and Limitations.
• The paper also states that reward systems with a good design can have a positive effect on productivity, by motivating people and creating a sense of satisfaction and purpose.

The study examines the impact of the implementation of a reward system on the productivity of an organization. The research examines how rewards and incentives can positively impact the motivation of employee engagement, motivation, and overall performance.

The project management research topics reveal the crucial effect of a reward system in increasing the productivity of an organization. It provides HR professionals with important information and suggestions that can be utilized to increase motivation for employees and performance, which will result in greater productivity and success for the organization.

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Research Goal: The main aim of the study will be focused on identify the main factors and causes of delays in projects and how they impact the life-cycle of a project. The second phase of the research will focus on the way that global construction companies have developed various strategies to address this problem.

Research Objective: The study will analyze seven project management office tasks that contribute to strategic planning within large public sector companies in the UK. The proposed research will make use of an online survey to gather data from managers of projects in public sector organizations with project management offices (PMO) divisions. The data gathered will be analysed with multiple regression.

Research Objective: The research will investigate the causes and consequences that can lead to inadequate communication in the construction industry in the UK. The research will employ mixed methods in order to analyze the current and previous aspects that can lead to poor communication throughout the timeline for a construction project.

Also Read : What is Productivity Management

It is essential to conduct an analysis of cost-benefit to determine what the project you'd like to pursue is feasible. In the absence of this, it's not worth it. Here are a few of the top topics can be started with.

• Cost and benefits of prescription drugs.
• A cost-benefit study of switching to renewable energy for homes.
• Cost and benefits of restrictions on fishing.
• The costs and benefits of using speed cameras for controlling the flow of traffic in towns.
• Cost-benefit analysis for marijuana legalization.
• Cost-benefit analysis of the state-level alcohol tax.
• Find out the costs and benefits of investing money in space exploration
• Cost-benefit analysis of the business regulatory environment.
• The main steps of the analysis are cost and benefit.
• The most important issues and the solutions to cost-benefit strategies.
• Cost-benefit analysis for project management.
• The most important cost concern in the management of projects.
• E-commerce is a key component of the business.
• The software for smart health prediction using data mining.
• The importance of budgeting tools while managing tech projects.
• Future of Remote Teams.
• Modern advancements cause shifts in remote workplaces.

These topics aren't too difficult. It's just a matter of staying up-to-date on the latest developments in technology so that you have as much knowledge as you can.

• Big Data Analysis Application within the eCommerce industry.
• Study the Google algorithm for search engines.
• Cloud storage is a popular option within the banking industry.
• Does 5G wireless technology represent an exciting future for IT?
• The potential risk of cryptocurrency for banks that are based on traditional methods.
• How has cloud technology changed the storage of data?
• Does virtual reality replace real reality?
• What was the way Steve Jobs changed the world?
• The most up-to-date IT technology is employed to manage projects.
• The software is used for NASA to monitor spacecraft.
• The most well-known software utilized in the field of project management.

Research Objective: Using research models that examines the impact of psychological stressors (health and well-being ), work-related interfaces, work environments, etc.).) is evaluated based on the performance of the project manager performing indicators. Project managers must complete an assessment that serves as the basis for evaluating performance. It forms the basis for collecting data empirically. The data will then be analyzed with Smart PLS.

Research Objective: The research will utilize the model of team conflict dynamics to analyze different types of conflict and conflict patterns of teams to come up with resolutions that will enhance or even lead to the success of a project.

Examining the Impact of Cost Salience and Information Asymmetry on Incentive Contract and Project Manager's Profit

Research Objective: This study will examine the impact on subjective assessments of salience to cost and uncertainties within an approach that is derived from uncertainty theory and principal agency theories. In addition, this study will study the impact of these evaluations on the earnings of project managers by employing a case research method in particular by studying cases where contractors are compensated according to incentive contracts that have deadlines to complete two tasks simultaneously.

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The year 2024 promises exciting opportunities for exploration and innovation in project management. Whether you're a seasoned project manager looking to enhance your skills or someone considering a PMP certification, the research topics highlighted in this blog offer a glimpse into the future of project management From the transformative potential of AI and automation to the intricate world of agile project management, these topics offer a wealth of possibilities for research, discussion, and application. The pursuit of a PMP certification, coupled with ongoing education and training, is a powerful tool for making a career in the field.

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CEGE Spring Graduation Celebration and Order of the Engineer

Forty-seven graduates of the undergraduate and grad student programs (pictured above) in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering took part in the Order of the Engineer on graduation day. Distinguished Speakers at this departmental event included Katrina Kessler (MS EnvE 2021), Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and student Brian Balquist. Following this event, students participated in the college-wide Commencement Ceremony at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

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The University of Minnesota’s Crookston, Duluth, and Rochester campuses have been awarded the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, joining the Twin Cities (2006, 2015) and Morris campuses (2015), and making the U of M the country’s first and only university system at which every individual campus has received this selective designation. Only 368 from nearly 4,000 qualifying U.S. universities and colleges have been granted this designation.

CEGE contributed strongly to the College of Science and Engineering’s efforts toward sustainability research. CEGE researchers are bringing in over $35 million in funded research to study carbon mineralization, nature and urban areas, circularity of water resources, and global snowfall patterns. This news was highlighted in the Fall 2023 issue of  Inventing Tomorrow  (pages 10-11). https://issuu.com/inventingtomorrow/docs/fall_2023_inventing_tomorrow-web

CEGE’s new program for a one-year master’s degree in structural engineering is now accepting applicants for Fall 2024. We owe a big thanks to DAN MURPHY and LAURA AMUNDSON for their volunteer work to help curate the program with Professor JIA-LIANG LE and EBRAHIM SHEMSHADIAN, the program director. Potential students and companies interested in hosting a summer intern can contact Ebrahim Shemshadian ( [email protected] ).

BERNIE BULLERT , CEGE benefactor and MN Water Research Fund founder, was profiled on the website of the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF). There you can read more about his mission to share clean water technologies with smaller communities in Minnesota. Many have joined Bullert in this mission. MWRF Recognizes their Generous 2024 Partners. Gold Partners: Bernie Bullert, Hawkins, Inc., Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and SL-serco. Silver Partners: ISG, Karl and Pam Streed, Kasco, Kelly Lange-Haider and Mark Haider, ME Simpson, Naeem Qureshi, Dr. Paul H. Boening, TKDA, and Waterous. Bronze Partners: Bruce R. Bullert; Brenda Lenz, Ph.D., APRN FNP-C, CNE; CDM Smith; Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA MN); Heidi and Steve Hamilton; Jim “Bulldog” Sadler; Lisa and Del Cerney; Magney Construction; Sambatek; Shannon and John Wolkerstorfer; Stantec; and Tenon Systems.

After retiring from Baker-Tilly,  NICK DRAGISICH  (BCE 1977) has taken on a new role: City Council member in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. After earning his BCE from the University of Minnesota, Dragisich earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Dragisich retired in May from his position as managing director at Baker Tilly, where he had previously served as firm director. Prior to that, he served as assistant city manager in Spokane, Washington, was the city administrator and city engineer in Virginia, Minnesota, and was mayor of Chisholm, Minnesota—all adding up to more than 40 years of experience in local government. Dragisich was selected by a unanimous vote. His current term expires in December 2024.

PAUL F. GNIRK  (Ph.D. 1966) passed away January 29, 2024, at the age of 86. A memorial service was held Saturday, February 24, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T), where he started and ended his teaching career, though he had many other positions, professional and voluntary. In 2018 Paul was inducted into the SDSM&T Hardrocker Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, joining his mother Adeline S. Gnirk, who had been inducted in 1987 for her work authoring nine books on the history of south central South Dakota.

ROGER M. HILL  (BCE 1957) passed away on January 13, 2024, at the age of 90. His daughter, Kelly Robinson, wrote to CEGE that Roger was “a dedicated Gopher fan until the end, and we enjoyed many football games together in recent years. Thank you for everything.”

KAUSER JAHAN  (Ph.D. 1993, advised by Walter Maier), PE, is now a civil and environmental engineering professor and department head at Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Jahan was awarded a 3-year (2022- 2025), $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The grant supports her project, “WaterWorks: Developing the New Generation of Workforce for Water/Wastewater Utilities,” for the development of educational tools that will expose and prepare today’s students for careers in water and wastewater utilities.

SAURA JOST  (BCE 2010, advised by Timothy LaPara) was elected to the St. Paul City Council for Ward 3. She is part of the historic group of women that make up the nation’s first all-female city council in a large city.

The 2024 ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium combines several competitions for students involved in ASCE. CEGE sent a large contingent of competitors to Chicago. Each of the competition groups won awards: Ethics Paper 1st place Hans Lagerquist; Sustainable Solutions team 1st place overall in (qualifying them for the National competition in Utah in June); GeoWall 2nd place overall; Men’s Sprint for Concrete Canoe with rowers Sakthi Sundaram Saravanan and Owen McDonald 2nd place; Product Prototype for Concrete Canoe 2nd place; Steel Bridge (200 lb bridge weight) 2nd place in lightness; Scavenger Hunt 3rd place; and Aesthetics and Structural Efficiency for Steel Bridge 4th place.

Students competing on the Minnesota Environmental Engineers, Scientists, and Enthusiasts (MEESE) team earned second place in the Conference on the Environment undergraduate student design competition in November 2023. Erin Surdo is the MEESE Faculty Adviser. Pictured are NIKO DESHPANDE, ANNA RETTLER, and SYDNEY OLSON.

The CEGE CLASS OF 2023 raised money to help reduce the financial barrier for fellow students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a cost of $175 per test taker. As a result of this gift, they were able to make the exam more affordable for 15 current CEGE seniors. CEGE students who take the FE exam pass the first time at a rate well above national averages, demonstrating that CEGE does a great job of teaching engineering fundamentals. In 2023, 46 of 50 students passed the challenging exam on the first try.

This winter break, four CEGE students joined 10 other students from the College of Science and Engineering for the global seminar, Design for Life: Water in Tanzania. The students visited numerous sites in Tanzania, collected water source samples, designed rural water systems, and went on safari. Read the trip blog: http://globalblogs.cse.umn.edu/search/label/Tanzania%202024

Undergraduate Honor Student  MALIK KHADAR  (advised by Dr. Paul Capel) received honorable mention for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

AKASH BHAT  (advised by William Arnold) presented his Ph.D. defense on Friday, October 27, 2023. Bhat’s thesis is “Photolysis of fluorochemicals: Tracking fluorine, use of UV-LEDs, and computational insights.” Bhat’s work investigating the degradation of fluorinated compounds will assist in the future design of fluorinated chemicals such that persistent and/or toxic byproducts are not formed in the environment.

ETHAN BOTMEN  (advised by Bill Arnold) completed his Master of Science Final Exam February 28, 2024. His research topic was Degradation of Fluorinated Compounds by Nucleophilic Attack of Organo-fluorine Functional Groups.

XIATING CHEN , Ph.D. Candidate in Water Resources Engineering at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory is the recipient of the 2023 Nels Nelson Memorial Fellowship Award. Chen (advised by Xue Feng) is researching eco-hydrological functions of urban trees and other green infrastructure at both the local and watershed scale, through combined field observations and modeling approaches.

ALICE PRATES BISSO DAMBROZ  has been a Visiting Student Researcher at the University of Minnesota since last August, on a Doctoral Dissertation Research Award from Fulbright. Her CEGE advisor is Dr. Paul Capel. Dambroz is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Soil Science at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil, where she studies with her adviser Jean Minella. Her research focuses on the hydrological monitoring of a small agricultural watershed in Southern Brazil, which is located on a transition area between volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Its topography, shallow soils, and land use make it prone to runoff and erosion processes.

Yielding to people in crosswalks should be a very pedestrian topic. Yet graduate student researchers  TIANYI LI, JOSHUA KLAVINS, TE XU, NIAZ MAHMUD ZAFRI  (Dept.of Urban and Regional Planning at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), and Professor Raphael Stern found that drivers often do not yield to pedestrians, but they are influenced by the markings around a crosswalk. Their work was picked up by the  Minnesota Reformer.

TIANYI LI  (Ph.D. student advised by Raphael Stern) also won the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation (DDET) Fellowship for the third time! Li (center) and Stern (right) are pictured at the Federal Highway Administration with Latoya Jones, the program manager for the DDET Fellowship.

The Three Minute Thesis Contest and the Minnesota Nice trophy has become an annual tradition in CEGE. 2023’s winner was  EHSANUR RAHMAN , a Ph.D. student advised by Boya Xiong.

GUANJU (WILLIAM) WEI , a Ph.D. student advised by Judy Yang, is the recipient of the 2023 Heinz G. Stefan Fellowship. He presented his research entitled Microfluidic Investigation of the Biofilm Growth under Dynamic Fluid Environments and received his award at the St. Anthony Falls Research Laboratory April 9. The results of Wei's research can be used in industrial, medical, and scientific fields to control biofilm growth.

BILL ARNOLD  stars in an award-winning video about prairie potholes. The Prairie Potholes Project film was made with the University of Delaware and highlights Arnold’s NSF research. The official winners of the 2024 Environmental Communications Awards Competition Grand Prize are Jon Cox and Ben Hemmings who produced and directed the film. Graduate student Marcia Pacheco (CFANS/LAAS) and Bill Arnold are the on-screen stars.

Four faculty from CEGE join the Center for Transportation Studies Faculty and Research Scholars for FY24–25:  SEONGJIN CHOI, KETSON ROBERTO MAXIMIANO DOS SANTOS, PEDRAM MORTAZAVI,  and  BENJAMIN WORSFOLD . CTS Scholars are drawn from diverse fields including engineering, planning, computer science, environmental studies, and public policy.

XUE FENG  is coauthor on an article in  Nature Reviews Earth and Environment . The authors evaluate global plant responses to changing rainfall regimes that are now characterized by fewer and larger rainfall events. A news release written at Univ. of Maryland can be found here: https://webhost.essic. umd.edu/april-showers-bring-mayflowers- but-with-drizzles-or-downpours/ A long-running series of U of M research projects aimed at improving stormwater quality are beginning to see practical application by stormwater specialists from the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. JOHN GULLIVER has been studying best practices for stormwater management for about 16 years. Lately, he has focused specifically on mitigating phosphorous contamination. His research was highlighted by the Center for Transportation Studies.

JIAQI LI, BILL ARNOLD,  and  RAYMOND HOZALSKI  published a paper on N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) precursors in Minnesota rivers. “Animal Feedlots and Domestic Wastewater Discharges are Likely Sources of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Precursors in Midwestern Watersheds,” Environmental Science and Technology (January 2024) doi: 10.1021/acs. est.3c09251

ALIREZA KHANI  contributed to MnDOT research on Optimizing Charging Infrastructure for Electric Trucks. Electric options for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks (e-trucks) are still largely in development. These trucks account for a substantial percentage of transportation greenhouse gas emissions. They have greater power needs and different charging needs than personal EVs. Proactively planning for e-truck charging stations will support MnDOT in helping to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. This research was featured in the webinar “Electrification of the Freight System in Minnesota,” hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies. A recording of the event is now available online.

MICHAEL LEVIN  has developed a unique course for CEGE students on Air Transportation Systems. It is the only class at UMN studying air transportation systems from an infrastructure design and management perspective. Spring 2024 saw the third offering of this course, which is offered for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

Research Professor  SOFIA (SONIA) MOGILEVSKAYA  has been developing international connections. She visited the University of Seville, Spain, November 13–26, 2023, where she taught a short course titled “Fundamentals of Homogenization in Composites.” She also met with the graduate students to discuss collaborative research with Prof. Vladislav Mantic, from the Group of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis at the University of Seville. Her visit was a part of planned activities within the DIAGONAL Consortium funded by the European Commission. CEGE UMN is a partner organization within DIAGONAL, represented by CEGE professors Mogilevskaya and Joseph Labuz. Mantic will visit CEGE summer 2024 to follow up on research developments and discuss plans for future collaboration and organization of short-term exchange visits for the graduate students from each institution. 

DAVID NEWCOMB  passed away in March. He was a professor in CEGE from 1989–99 in the area of pavement engineering. Newcomb led the research program on asphalt materials characterization. He was the technical director of Mn/ROAD pavement research facility, and he started an enduring collaboration with MnDOT that continues today. In 2000, he moved from Minnesota to become vice-president for Research and Technology at the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Later he moved to his native Texas, where he was appointed to the division head of Materials and Pavement at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a position from which he recently retired. He will be greatly missed.

PAIGE NOVAK  won Minnesota ASCE’s 2023 Distinguished Engineer of the Year Award for her contributions to society through her engineering achievements and professional experiences.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced ten inaugural (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines awards, with a potential $1.6 billion investment nationally over the next decade. Great Lakes ReNEW is led by the Chicago-based water innovation hub,  Current,  and includes a team from the University of Minnesota, including PAIGE NOVAK. Current will receive $15 mil for the first two years, and up to $160 million over ten years to develop and grow a water-focused innovation engine in the Great Lakes region. The project’s ambitious plan is to create a decarbonized circular “blue economy” to leverage the region’s extraordinary water resources to transform the upper Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Brewing one pint of beer generates seven pints of wastewater, on average. So what can you do with that wastewater?  PAIGE NOVAK  and her team are exploring the possibilities of capturing pollutants in wastewater and using bacteria to transform them into energy.

BOYA XIONG  has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 40 Under 40 Recognition Program by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. The award was presented at the 2024 AAEES Awards Ceremony, April 11, 2024, at the historic Howard University in Washington, D.C. 

JUDY Q. YANG  received a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Award. This two-year award recognizes promising assistant professors and is intended to advance the careers of individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and their scholarly fields. 

Professor Emeritus CHARLES FAIRHURST , his son CHARLES EDWARD FAIRHURST , and his daughter MARGARET FAIRHURST DURENBERGER were on campus recently to present Department Head Paige Novak with a check for $25,000 for the Charles Fairhurst Fellowship in Earth Resources Engineering in support of graduate students studying geomechanics. The life of Charles Fairhurst through a discussion with his children is featured on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki at https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Charles_Fairhurst#00:00:14_INTRODUCTION

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