Dr Subarna Sivashanmugam is a research associate at the School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, UK. She is working on a Horizon Europe – UKRI-based research project titled ‘RECONSTRUCT – A Territorial Construction System for a Circular Low-Carbon Built Environment’. Drawing from a diverse educational background in Civil Engineering, Construction Project Management, and Building Information Modelling (BIM), she brings an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the research. Her doctoral work at Teesside University focused on developing an ontological framework that supports designers in quantifying and optimising construction waste generation and its sustainability impact levels from the early design stages of the building projects. This innovative work focused on integrating the strengths of technological developments and process changes within the sustainable built environment. The specialised skills obtained by incorporating BIM, Semantic Web Technologies, Circular Economy principles, and Whole Life Cycle Assessment into construction waste management equipped her to bring unique ideas to enhance sustainability with cutting-edge technologies. One of the research papers published as part of her doctoral work has been awarded a ‘Bill Curtin Medal’ from the Institution of Civil Engineers for being the best paper on research innovation in Civil Engineering and having substantial real-world impacts. 

Dr Subarna Sivashanmugam contributed to the scholarly community as a reviewer for prestigious journals such as ‘Smart and Sustainable Built Environment’, ‘Proceeding of Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering’, and ‘Automation in Construction’. With a diverse academic background, extensive research experience, and passion for a sustainable built environment, Dr Subarna Sivashanmugam continues to be one of the valuable researchers shaping the future of the built environment through a blend of advanced digital technologies and innovative sustainable practices. 

• Building Information Modelling
• Whole Life Cycle Assessment
• Circular Economy
• Construction Waste Management
• Digital and Information Management in Construction
• Semantic Web Technologies

• Bill Curtin Medal for my PhD research, published as a journal article titled 'Maximising the construction waste reduction potential - barriers and catalysts', Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK, October 2024, https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/ice-publishing-awards.
• Highly Commended for integrating 'Collaborative Working' principles in my PhD research, published as a poster titled 'BWT – A BIM-integrated Digital Tool for Early-stage Construction Waste Quantification and Optimisation', RISE Awards, International Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) Conference, UK, September 2024.