About the Speakers

Henry Nutt is a Preconstruction Executive at Southland Industries, where his primary role is to develop business for the company. Additionally, Henry advises owners and construction leaders on how to effectively use lean tools to work more efficiently to reduce waste. He’s been in the industry for over 35 years, starting as a union sheet metal worker for Local 104 before rising to the general superintendent. He was the 2018 recipient of the LCI’s Pioneer Award. He’s the author of Seven Principles: Creating Success in the Construction Industry.

Thais Alves, PhD, is currently the AGC – Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management at San Diego State University. Her work is focused on the use of lean production to improve the performance of delivery systems, and improving Engineering education through the use of serious games and initiatives to broaden access and diversity in Engineering. For over 15 years, she has been teaching, mentoring students, researching and collaborating with construction companies towards the dissemination and implementation of lean. She has been part of San Diego LCI core group since 2010.

Min Liu, PhD, is the Abdallah H. Yabroudi Endowed Professor and serves as the Director of the Syracuse University Infrastructure Institute at Syracuse University. Her research field is developing innovative approaches and generating knowledge on how to integrate the Human and Engineering aspects of construction planning to improve productivity and project performance. She has been actively teaching and conducting research in Lean Construction and Productivity Improvement for over 20 years. In 2009, she co-founded the Carolinas Lean Community of Practice. Her research on using the Information Theory approach to quantify information exchange effectiveness in construction planning won the 2021 ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland award. She was the Chair of ASCE Construction Research Council from 2020 to 2021.