Update: Reflecting on CIM Event, New Graduate Opportunities, and Upcoming Events
CIM Ramp-Up event presentation slides, a call for Master’s and PhD applicants in Generative AI for construction management, and an invitation to upcoming events.
Reflecting on CIM Distinguished Lecture on Ramp-Up Performance
Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting a special session at the University of Calgary featuring Dr. Terence P. McNulty on 25 Years of Commissioning and Ramp-Up Performance: McNulty Curves Revisited.
The session brought together about 100 attendees, including a strong turnout from Calgary’s downtown professional community, and it sparked a thoughtful discussion on one of the most important yet often underestimated phases of major projects: the transition from commissioning to stable operations.
The session built on Dr. McNulty’s long-standing work on ramp-up performance and the updated McNulty Curves, which continue to provide a powerful lens for understanding why some projects achieve design capacity quickly while others struggle for months or even years.
Several messages from the session stood out clearly. First, strong ramp-up performance is rarely accidental. Second, the quality of commissioning and start-up planning matters enormously. Third, technical readiness alone is not enough. As the lecture emphasized, practical judgment, or phronesis, remains essential in navigating real project conditions, leading to my personal favorite slide:
For those who would like to revisit the material, the presentation slides will be available for a limited time here:
Despite some last-minute difficulties caused by severe weather, which led to Terry’s flight being cancelled, we were still able to successfully hold the session online and ensure the event went ahead. We continued the evening with the reception dinner afterward, which gave attendees a valuable opportunity to connect, reflect on the discussion, and enjoy the evening together.
We would also like to sincerely thank the organizations that supported this event: the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum (CIM), Hatch, and the AACE Calgary Section.
Their support helped make the session possible, and we are grateful for their continued engagement with the broader engineering and project management community.
Graduate Student Opportunities in Generative AI
We are also pleased to share a new opportunity for prospective graduate students. We are inviting applications for Master’s and PhD positions connected to an emerging research program on Generative AI in construction management, with a particular focus on schedule development and related decision-support challenges.
We are looking for candidates with:
Strong academic background in engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, or related disciplines
Experience or interest in AI-based scheduling and construction planning
Experience or interest in fine-tuning, domain adaptation, and domain knowledge enhancement for generative AI models.
Click here to get to the online form, remember to send your resume and CV through by email as instructed on the form:
Please share this opportunities with interested students within your network.
A shortlist of candidates will be interviewed by our team, together with our research partners, through at least two rounds of interviews.
Upcoming Department of Civil Engineering Event
Finally, we would love you to join an upcoming event hosted by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary: Inspiring Voices: Women in Civil Engineering Leadership Dinner.
This will be taking place on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM at the Last Defense Lounge (LDL) at the University of Calgary Main Campus.
The program includes two inspiring featured talks that will bring both depth and personal reflection to the evening. Jess Theroux’s talk, Taking My Time, An Act of Rebellion, invites reflection on resilience, intention, and the power of moving through life and work at a pace that is thoughtful and self-defined.
Later, Jessica Bekker will share Personal Journey in Learning and Discovering the Blackfoot Tipi as an Indigenous Woman and Engineer, offering a deeply personal perspective on culture, identity, learning, and engineering.
Together, these talks promise to make the evening not only engaging, but also meaningful and memorable.
Looking Ahead
This has been a busy and productive year for us as we continue building the seeds of several new research initiatives. We are planning to share more of our latest research in the months ahead. Please stay tuned, and do let us know what you think. We would be very happy to hear from you and to explore how we might work together.