London influence for construction at Deakin

Deakin University has appointed Professor Kerry London as its Chair in Construction Management – believed to be the first time a woman has been appointed to this role in an Australian university.

Professor London comes to Deakin from the University of Newcastle in New South Wales where she was the Associate Professor of the School of Architecture and Built Environment and she is looking forward to her new role with enthusiasm.

"I think it is an exciting yet challenging time to be in academia and I am looking forward to being at Deakin'sSchool of Architecture and Building and working towards continuing to build the School's reputation for excellence both nationally and internationally.

"There is great potential in the School and in particular I would like to develop a more strategic approach to engaging our business and community partners in our research endeavours," Professor London said.

Architecture was Professor London's first career choice and she remains a registered architect. However, working as a project manager on capital works infrastructure projects and then as a senior manager in construction industry policy prompted a love of 'solving the big picture' and led her to explore the wider perspective of the role of the construction industry.

Professor London undertook her PhD studies at the University of Melbourne in construction supply chain procurement modelling and has been instrumental in defining internationally the parameters of a new field of research.

In 2002 she returned to the University of Newcastle, teaching in both the architecture and construction programs.

While at Newcastle Professor London was appointed Node Director for the Collaborative Research Centre for Construction Innovation and successfully led seven major nationally funded research projects and secured approximately $1 million in funding for the University.

She has published on various topical issues including supply chain sustainability, design management, housing affordability, eBusiness, building information modeling and ethics in construction.

In 2008 Professor London was invited by Fluor Corporation – one of the largest construction and mining companies in the US – and South Carolina's Clemson University to develop a long term partnership with their Supply Chain Excellence Research Institute.

Also in 2008, Professor London's seminal book Construction Supply Chain Economics was released by respected UK publishers Taylor and Francis and this year will see her Construction Supply Chain Management Handbook – an e-research collaboration with three colleagues from the US, Brazil and the Netherlands – launched in the US.