Professor Fletcher “Bud” Griffis is Professor Emeritus of Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering....
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Bud Griffis
Co-Principal Investigator
Professor Fletcher “Bud” Griffis is Professor Emeritus of Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering. He was also Director of the NYS Resiliency Institute for Storms and Emergencies. He recently completed an assignment as the Class of 1953 Distinguished Chair in Civil Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Until July 2006, he was Provost, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Polytechnic University. He joined the faculty of the Department of Civil Engineering as a tenured professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Center for Construction Management Innovation in January 2000. He was also in charge of all capital construction for Polytechnic University. Professor Griffis is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University, having taught there from July 1984 to December 1999. He was the head of the Construction Engineering Program and the Director of the Center for Infrastructure Studies. In addition, he is an Executive Vice President in the firm of Robbins, Pope, and Griffis Engineers, P.C. of New York.
His academic specialty is the application of operation research and systems analysis principles to construction planning, operations, and management. He has performed research in stochastic processes, risk analysis, and the application of 3D computer models to the management of construction and has authored numerous papers in the field. He is an authority on the concepts of partnering, construction dispute resolution, construction safety, and leadership. His current research concentrates on the application of Building Information Models to the management of construction. He teaches courses in construction engineering, management, leadership, planning, capital budgeting, and risk management. During the past ten years, he has been heavily involved in research into the second generation Magnetic Levitation Vehicle and their guideways.
He retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1986 after serving as Commander and District Engineer of the New York District. In that position, he was responsible for all Army and Air Force construction from Southern New Jersey to Maine and included Greenland and Labrador. He was responsible for water resource development and regulation in the Northeast. Prior to coming to New York, he was Area Engineer, Construction Manager, and Contracting Officer for the Ramon Airbase construction in Israel. For the 20 years preceding his Israeli assignment he commanded Corps of Engineers Construction and Combat Units in the U.S., Korea, Viet Nam and Germany.
Bud Griffis has specialized in organizing and managing large projects. He is currently working on plans to improve the design and construction of facilities at ground zero in NYC. He was the Mediator on the MTA East Side Access Program ($12.0 Billion) for 11 years and was CM on the Renovation of the Brotherhood Synagogue in Manhattan.. He had Program Management oversight of the JFK Redevelopment Program ($3.44 Billion). He was District Engineer and Contracting Officer for the design and procurement of Fort Drum ($1.0 Billion). He was District Engineer and Contracting Officer for the design and rehabilitation of Thule Airforce Base Greenland Power Plant ($150 Million). He was Area Engineer and Contracting Officer for Ramon Air Base in Israel (the largest cost-plus contract awarded in the history of the Corps of Engineers, $500 Million). He was the Program Manager for the Corps of Engineers Dredged Material Research Program ($30 Million).
He holds a B.S. degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, two Masters degrees (one in Construction Engineering and one in Operations Research) and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Construction) from Oklahoma State University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.
He is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of New York and Oklahoma. He is a Fellow and was a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a Director and Past President of the Metropolitan Section, Past Chairman of the Committee on Professional Publications and Past Chairman of the Construction Division, ASCE. He is a member of the National Committee for Infrastructure Research and Policy as well as the Committee for Implementation of Vision 2025. He is Past President and a Director of the Society of American Military Engineers, N.Y. Post, a National SAME Director, and is President of the NY City Post SAME Scholarship Fund, Inc. He is a member of the New York Building Congress and was elected to the National Academy of Construction. He is a past Governor on the Board of the New York Building Congress Foundation. He is a member of Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi Engineering honorary fraternities. In 2007, he received the Golden Eagle Award from the Society of American Military Engineers.
He is the author of two textbooks: New York City Infrastructure: A Policymakers’ Guide, NICEST, 1996 and Construction Planning For Engineers, McGraw-Hill, 2000 and numerous technical papers and reports. Textbook: Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution, is in progress.