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Michael J. Garvin

Professor and Program Coordinator

Michael J. Garvin

Michael J. Garvin, Professor and Program Coordinator

116 Patton
Blacksburg, VA, USA 24061
Mail Code: (0105)



Program Area : Construction Engineering and Management
Professional Registration : Professional Engineer (Georgia)

Areas of Interest

Infrastructure/Real Asset Management
Infrastructure/Real Asset Investment & Finance Decisions
Project Delivery & Procurement Systems

  • B.S. in Civil Engineering, United States Military Academy, 1989
  • M.S. in Civil Engineering, MIT, 1995
  • Ph.D. in Construction Engineering & Management, MIT, 2001
  • Professor, Virginia Tech, 2020 to Present
  • Associate Professor, Virginia Tech, 2008 to 2020
  • Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech, 2005 to 2008
  • Assistant Professor, Columbia University, 2001-2005
  • Graduate Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant, MIT, 1998-2001
  • Project Engineer, Stantec, Inc. (formerly Tribble & Richardson, Inc.), 1995-1998
  • Graduate Research Assistant, MIT, 1993-1995
  • First Lieutenant (P), US Army Corps of Engineers, 3rd Engineer Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, 1989-1993
  • 2018 Best Paper Award, Journal of Construction Engineering & Management
  • 2015 Certificate of Teaching Excellence, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • 2013 Leadership & Service Award, Myers-Lawson School of Construction
  • 2012 Distinguished Service Award, Engineering Project Organization Society
  • 2011 Virginia Tech, Executive Development Institute Scholar
  • 2007 Virginia Tech, College of Engineering Faculty Fellow
  • 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
  • CEE 3014: Construction Management
  • CEE 4014: Estimating, Production and Cost Engineering
  • CEE 5014: Facility Delivery & Financing
  • CEE 5024: Contract Administration and Claims Resolutions
  • 2018-2019 "Toolset for Evaluation of Alternative Contracting Methods", Federal Highway Administration
  • 2013-2017 "Collaborative Research: Toward an Integrated, Lifecycle Governance Framework for Delivering Civil Infrastructure Systems", NSF
  • 2014-2015 "Improving Stakeholder Awareness of Issues and Tradeoffs of Tolling and Alternative Payment Mechanisms in Virginia's PPTA Program and Projects", VDOT
  • 2012-2015 "Creating an International Program for Sustainable Infrastructure Development", Obama-Singh 21st Century Initiative
  • 2012-2013 "Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Fiscal-Support Mechanisms for Non-Self-Funding PPPs", Arup Global Research Challenge
  • 2009-2010 "EAGER: A New Approach to Provide Effective Public Health Infrastructure in Resource Poor Settings", NSF
  • 2008-2011 "Sustainability and Capital Projects: Modeling the Emergent Property of Total Cost of Ownership", NSF
  • 2010-2011 "Economic Modeling & Risk Analysis Tools for PPTA Highway Projects", VDOT
  • 2004-2009 "Development & Application of New Tools for Infrastructure Programming Decisions", NSF
  • 2004-05 "Valuing Flexibility in Infrastructure Projects: Development & Assessment of Real Option Models", NSF
  • 2002-2003 "Attracting and Retaining Undergraduates to Engineer the Built Environment through Instructional & Technological Innovation", NSF
  • Dewulf, G. and Garvin, M. J. (2019). "Responsive Governance in PPP Projects to Manage Uncertainty," Construction Management and Economics, DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2019.1618478
  • Nguyen, D. A. and Garvin, M. J. (2019). "Life-Cycle Contract Management Strategies in US Highway Public-Private Partnerships: Public Control or Concessionaire Empowerment," Journal of Management in Engineering, 35 (4), DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000687
  • Nguyen, D. A., Garvin, M. J. and Gonzalez, E. E. (2018). "Risk Allocation in US Public-Private Partnership Highway Project Contracts," Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 144 (5), 04018017, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001465
  • Antillon, E. I., Garvin, M. J., Molenaar, K. R. and Javernick-Will, A. (2018). "Influence of Interorganizational Coordination on Lifecyle Design Decision Making: Comparative Case Study of Public-Private Partnership Highway Projects," Journal of Management in Engineering, 34 (5), 05018007, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000623
  • An, Y., Garvin, M. J. and Hall, R. P. (2017). "Pathways to Better Project Delivery: the Link between Capacity Factors and Urban Infrastructure Projects in India," World Development, 94, 393-405. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.004
  • Liu, T., Bennon, M., Garvin, M. J. and Wang, S. (2017). "Sharing the Big Risk:An Assessment Framework for Revenue Risk Sharing Mechanisms in Transportation Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 143 (12), 04017086. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001397
  • Guevara, J., Garvin, M. J. and Ghaffarzadegan, N. (2017). "Capability Trap of the US Highway System: Policy and Management Implications," Journal of Management in Engineering, 33 (4), 04017004. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000512
  • Garvin, M. J. and Ford, D. N. (2012). "Real Options in Infrastructure Projects: Theory, Practice and Prospects," Engineering Project Organization Journal, Special Issue on Fundamentals of Social and Management Science for Engineering Project Organizations, 2 (1-2), 97-108.
  • Garvin, M. J. (2010). "Enabling Development of the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Market in the United States", Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 136 (4), 402-411.
  • Garvin, M. J. and Bosso, D. J. (2008). "Assessing the Effectiveness of Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Programs and Projects", Public Works Management & Policy, 13 (2), 162-178.
  • Chiara, N. and Garvin, M. J. (2008). "Variance Models for Project Financial Risk Analysis with Applications to Greenfield BOT Highway Projects", Construction Management & Economics, 26 (9), 925-939.
  • Garvin, M. J. (2005). "Rethinking Mega-Project Development Strategies: A Case Study of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project", Structure & Infrastructure Engineering, 3 (2), 147-157.
  • Garvin, M. J. (2005). “Real Options Analysis: Can It Improve Infrastructure Development Decisions?” In: Tommelein, I. ed., Proceedings of the 2005 Construction Research Congress, San Diego, CA, April 5-7, 2005.
  • Garvin, M. J. and Cheah, Y. J. (2004). “Valuation Techniques for Infrastructure Investment Decisions”, Construction Management & Economics, 22 (5), 373-383.