Biography
Dr. Zijian Wang (王资健) is a Post-doc researcher at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, where he works at VClab with Prof. Rafael Sacks. He obtained his PhD degree from Technion Israel Institute of Technion as a Marie-Curie early-stage researcher in the CBIM project receiving funding from EU Horizon 2020 (November 2020 – January 2024). Before that, he obtained his master’s degree in computer and machine vision from Cranfield University (2019 - 2020) and the second master’s degree in civil engineering from Central South University. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (underground and tunnel engineering) from Chongqing Jiaotong University (2014 - 2018). He also visited the University of Cambridge, Technical University of Munich, Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan and Thammasat University in Thailand.
As an interdisciplinary researcher, he has strong background in both civil engineering and machine learning, and desires to promote the digitalization of construction industry by applying advanced computer science techniques.
Research Interests
Building Information Graphs (BIG)
The fragmented nature of the construction industry necessitates close collaboration among design disciplines and requires extensive information exchange without data loss. Despite advances in BIM technology, design teams still rely on a sequential file-based process for sharing information during design, resulting in issues like clashes, and lack of intelligence.
We have proposed and validated a novel method to enhance BIM design collaboration by compiling and linking building information in graph format. The instantiation of object relationships enables numerous intelligent BIM applications, such as consistency maintenance, object-level version control, and easing interoperability.
Moreover, graphs offer a machine-readable format for understanding design information, making it suitable for learning applications. We are delving into the basics of building information graphs to enable computers to learn from design patterns and facilitate more intelligent applications.
Selected Publications
Wang, Z.*, Ouyang, B. and Sacks, R., 2023. Graph-based inter-domain consistency maintenance for BIM models. Automation in Construction, 154, p.104979. Paper link
Sacks, R.*, Wang, Z., Ouyang, B., Utkucu, D., Chen, S., 2022. Toward artificially intelligent cloud-based building information modelling for collaborative multidisciplinary design. Advanced Engineering Informatics, p. 101711. Paper link, Data
Wang, Z.*, Sacks, R., Ouyang, B., Ying, H. and Borrmann, A., 2024. A Framework for Generic Semantic Enrichment of BIM Models. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 38(1), p.04023038. Paper link
Wang, Z.*, Sacks, R. and Yeung, T., 2021. Exploring graph neural networks for semantic enrichment: Room type classification. Automation in Construction, p.104039. Awarded Thrope Medal, Paper link, Source code
Wang, Z., Cai, Z. and Wu, Y.*, 2023. An improved YOLOX approach for low-light and small object detection: PPE on tunnel construction sites. Journal of Computational Design and Engineering, 10(3), pp.1158-1175. Paper link
News
Jan. 9, 2024: Successfully defended my PhD – I am Dr. Wang now!
Oct. 1, 2023: Started to visit Trimble Finland to conduct CBIM cloud collaboration prototypes, and participated in Trimble Live Collaboration project.
Sept. 26, 2023: Delivered the second PhD seminar at Technion about Graph Representation of Building Information Models video
July. 12, 2023: Received Thorpe Medal from EC3. Visit the awarded paper which applies GNN to enrich BIM graphs Paper link
Oct. 8, 2022: Started to visit CMS chair led by Prof. André Borrmann at Technical University of Munich
Aug. 20, 2022: Published our first CBIM position paper. We systematically describe what’s the future of BIM collaboration
April 10, 2022: Started to visit CIT lab at the University of Cambridge
Dec. 1, 2021: Published our first GNN in BIM paper at Automation in Construction
Nov. 17, 2021: Defensed my PhD research proposal successfully. Became a Ph.D. candidate at the Technion
Oct. 14, 2021: Obtained the Eastman Best Ph.D. Paper at the LDAC-CIB W78 2021 Conference (paper)
Sept. 5, 2021: Delivered a seminar about my Ph.D. research proposal at the Technion (recording)
Nov. 5, 2020: Became a Marie-Curie researcher in CBIM project and a Ph.D. student at the Technion