Emeritus Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

David Carmichael is Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, former Head of the Department of Engineering Construction and Management and the Construction Innovation and Research Initiative (CIRI), and a member of the Centre for Infrastructure, Engineering and Safety (CIES) at UNSW.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a trained arbitrator and mediator.

Professor Carmichael publishes, teaches, and consults widely in most aspects of project management, construction management, systems engineering, and problem solving.  He is the author and editor of twenty-three books and over two hundred papers in structural and construction engineering and construction and project management and has provided expert reports and expert witness in cases involving structural failures, construction accidents and safety, and contractual and liability matters. His major consultancy work has included the structural design and analysis of civil and building structures; the planning and programming of engineering projects; the administration and control/replanning of civil engineering projects and contracts; and various construction and building related work.  

With an international reputation for excellence, Professor Carmichael is known for his adeptness at balancing big picture thinking with a keen eye for detail, producing landmark, seminal texts on project and risk management (Project Management Framework, A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 2004), project planning (Project Planning and Control, Taylor and Francis, London, 2006), problem solving (Problem Solving for Engineers, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis, London, 2013), and infrastructure investment (Infrastructure Investment: An Engineering Perspective, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis, London, 2014). With risk management and problem solving among his expertise, it should come as no surprise that in the classroom Professor Carmichael is constantly challenging his students to apply their learning, weigh up their options, test their limits and when necessary shift the goal posts in an effort to create industry leaders who are innovative thinkers.

Education

PhD, University of Canterbury
MEngSc, University of Sydney
BE(Hons), University of Sydney

Teaching

CVEN4101 Problem Solving and Decision Making

CVEN4106 Construction Practicum

CVEN2101 Engineering Construction

CVEN4103 Engineering Contracts

Research Interests

Professor Carmichael's expertise and research interests include:

• Problem solving, decision making, systems
• Contracts and disputes
• Project delivery
• Construction operations, management
• Project management and management functional areas including risk, economics, finances, and planning
• Project and investment feasibility, investment
• Systems, problem solving
• Contracts, contracting and project delivery
• Sustainability in construction
• Climate change and carbon impact on projects
• Engineering operations

Grants

Awards

• Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence, UNSW Australia, 2014
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Highly Commended Paper Award, 2015
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Outstanding Journal Paper Award, 2014
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Highly Commended Paper Award, 2013
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Highly Commended Paper Award, 2012

Outreach

Professional Affiliations/Organisations

• Royal Society of New South Wales, Fellow
• The Institution of Engineers, Australia, Fellow
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Life Member
• Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators, Australia, former graded arbitrator/mediator
• Editorial Boards/Reviewer – numerous journals