U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Training Workforce for Infrastructure Construction and Engineering (TWICE)

Training Workforce for Infrastructure Construction and Engineering (TWICE)

Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Award Amount: $1,000,000

Status: Awarded (reported May 8, 2025)

Primary Recipient: Marquette University (Dr. Yong Bai, McShane Chair and Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering)

Collaborating Partners:

Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)

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Geographic Scope: Wisconsin, with national application

Overview

A research and curriculum development grant to improve education and training for the construction and engineering workforce. The project addresses two critical challenges: aging American civil infrastructure and persistent skilled workforce shortages in construction and engineering industries.

Purpose

• Educate future workforce for infrastructure construction and engineering
• Focus on undergraduate and graduate students
• Develop educational and training materials for existing workforce
• Create STEM outreach for middle and high school students
• Address infrastructure maintenance and replacement needs in Wisconsin

Focus Areas - Five Project Tracks

Project 1: 3D Concrete Printing Technology

Address challenges with three-dimensional concrete printing

Reduce construction time, decrease labor costs, minimize material waste

Develop courses and training materials for students

Create condensed 30-minute training sessions for younger students

Project 2: Public Housing Infrastructure Resilience

Assess infrastructure resilience to natural hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding)

Develop recommendations for resilient new construction

Create professional development training on hazard risk evaluation

Create K-12 outreach modules on multi-hazard building design

Project 3: Stormwater Infrastructure Inspection and Monitoring

Apply drone and satellite remote sensing with AI and deep learning

Identify maintenance needs of stormwater infrastructure

Train workforce in traditional and remote sensing inspection methods

Create training materials for middle and high school students

Project 4: Smart Work Zones Training

Develop training materials for roadway work zones

Incorporate data and sensors from GPS and connected vehicles

Create training videos and presentations with industry partners

Develop 30-minute STEM outreach for middle/high school students

Project 5: Pavement Workforce Training Materials

Fill gap between state of knowledge and state of practice

Develop 150 minutes of training presentations

Create short segment versions with industry collaboration

Develop simplified outreach for middle and high school students

Target Population

• Undergraduate and graduate students
• Existing construction and engineering workforce
• Middle and high school students (STEM outreach)
• Underrepresented student groups

Background and Rationale

• American civil infrastructure requires significant capacity or maintenance upgrades
• Much infrastructure is reaching end of expected lifespan
• Growing crisis: skilled workforce shortage in construction and engineering
• Baby boomers and Generation X reaching retirement age
• Shortage of skilled workforce is threat to national security
• Wisconsin faces particular infrastructure challenges

Contact Information

Marquette University
• Dr. Yong Bai, Principal Investigator
• Dr. Kristina Ropella, Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering

WRTP | BIG STEP

Headquarters: 3841 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53208

Phone: (414) 342-9787

Email: milwaukee@wrtp.org