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)

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

Collaborating Partners:

• Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)
• WRTP | BIG STEP

Geographic Scope: Wisconsin, with national application

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