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2009 Keynote and Honored Speakers
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Joanne K. Glasser, Esq. Bradley University |
Welcome to central Illinois and the 2009 ICAT conference. It is Bradley University's privilege to host this esteemed group from across the nation and around the world. I am confident that Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji, Sen. Dale Risinger, and the ICAT executive board will have a stimulating and enlightening program ahead for all of you.
These gatherings are especially critical in this time of economic challenges for they provide a forum to discuss the most recent developments in the world of transportation and infrastructure. Many so-called experts believe we are embarking on an extended period of economic retrenchment in your industries and others. However, I remain optimistic in our ability to address and overcome the problems we are facing. Education and innovation -- two key elements of your conference and the core mission of Bradley University -- will be crucial to restoring economic vitality to our nation.
Lastly, I want to thank you for welcoming the many students who will be attending the conference. They are your future co-workers and our future leaders, and I am confident they will benefit greatly from the exchange of cutting-edge and entrepreneurial ideas. Welcome to Bradley and this wonderful conference.
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Mr. Milton Sees Secretary of Transportation Illinois Department of Transportation |
Mr. Sees has 40 plus years experience in a variety of roles related to the design, implementation, and funding of infrastructure projects. He began his career as an engineer technician with IDOT in 1964. Since that time, he has earned both BSCE and MPA degrees from the University of Illinois. Mr. Sees’ career has included experience in both the public and private sectors. He has worked as a government relations liaison for the construction materials industry in Springfield, Illinois and Washington, D.C., and recently operated several precast concrete manufacturing facilities in southern Illinois. January 2006 marked Mr. Sees return to IDOT when he was selected to as the Director of Highways. Mr. Sees had responsibility for the operation and maintenance of all state highways and bridges throughout Illinois. In September 2007, Mr. Sees was named Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Among his awards and recognitions are the Illinois Award and Engineer of the Year Award from the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers. Mr. Sees is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois and Virginia. Included in civic commitments are nine years of service on the Mt. Vernon, Illinois City Council, with three of those as Mayor.
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Mr. Haytham Haidar Chief Operating Officer of International Capital Trading Abu, Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
Mr. Haidar is the Chief Operating Officer of International Capital Trading. ICT is an Abu Dhabi based global private investment company that develops and manages real estate, investments and business developments. ICT’s activities are structured under two main disciplines, Real Estate and investments. In Real Estate ICT owns, develops, acquires and manages premier commercial and residential properties throughout the UAE and the world. ICT’s investments activities comprise of asset management, managing Equity investments, strategic investments, Private Equity and Real Estate investment opportunities.
Mr. Haidar is a versatile, dynamic leader known for his ability to envision and create successful results in complex engineering environments. He has over twenty years of superb experience and client collaboration. Areas of expertise include: Strategic Planning, Project Development and Finance, Multi-Faceted Program and Project Management.
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Dr. Khalad Nassar The American University in Cairo Cairo, Egypt |
Dr. Khaled Nassar is an associate professor at the Department of construction and architectural engineering at the American University in Cairo. He has had several years of teaching experience in the field of construction and construction management teaching courses on computer applications and visualization ranging from CAD to simulation and multi-media. He has served on the faculty of Bradley University, Peoria IL, the University of Maryland ES as well as being the former chair of the department of architectural engineering at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. On the scholarly side, has had several research grants in areas ranging from integrating architectural design and design optimization to multimedia and virtual reality applications. He has published over 65 refereed journal and conference papers and advised several graduate students on topics ranging from data mining applications, to simulation. In addition to being a book and paper reviewer for several journals, he has developed an add-in software to MS Project to help in scheduling linear projects. He has also provided professional training on a number of software to various design firms including Alfred Benesch, Chicago Illinois; a fortune 500 company, Illinois Department of Transportation and others.