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WKU SEAS Faculty

Roy Lan
Roy Lan
- Assistant Professor, Construction Management
Education
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • M.S., Construction Management, University of Lagos (Distinction)
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Covenant University
Research Interests

Construction safety and health; automation and robotics; innovation and technology integration in construction; artificial intelligence and computer vision in construction; ergonomic risk assessment; UAV-enabled construction monitoring; human factors in high-risk work environments

Biography
Dr. Roy Lan is an Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences at Western Kentucky University. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at San Antonio, an M.S. in Construction Management from the University of Lagos (Distinction), and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Covenant University.
 
Before joining WKU, Dr. Lan gained industry experience in construction engineering, project coordination, structural design support, safety management, and project management across building, infrastructure, and industrial project environments. His professional background informs his applied approach to construction education and his interest in preparing students for field-relevant problem solving.
 
Dr. Lan’s research is broadly situated in construction safety and health, automation and robotics, and innovation and technology integration in construction. His work includes AI-enabled safety analytics, computer vision, ergonomic risk assessment, UAV-enabled site monitoring, and intelligent decision-support systems for high-risk construction and industrial environments. His research has received recognition at major construction and engineering venues, including the CIB World Building Congress, the Associated Schools of Construction International Conference among others. His work aims to translate emerging technologies into practical methods for improving safety performance, worker well-being, and construction decision-making.
Publications, Honors and Recognitions
Selected Publications
  • Lan, R., and Awolusi, I. (2026). “The Elevated Construction Ergonomic Risk Index: Contextualizing REBA for Height-Exposed Tasks.” Journal of Safety Research. 97, 509-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2026.04.014
  • Lan, R., Awolusi, I., and Cai, J. (2024). “Computer Vision for Safety Management in the Steel Industry.” AI, 5(3), 1192-1215. https://doi.org/10.3390/ai5030058
  • Lan, R., Adenuga, O., and Awolusi, I. (2025). “Professionals’ Perspectives on the Factors Causing Construction Project Failures in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Lagos Metropolis.” International Journal of Construction Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2025.2528451
  • Lan, R., Adenuga, O., and Awolusi, I. (2025). “Impact of Construction Project Failure on Key Project Stakeholders: Assessing the Perspectives of Professionals in Lagos Metropolis.” Construction Economics and Building, 25(3/4), 90-120. https://doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v25i3/4.9124
  • Lan, R., and Awolusi, I. (2025). “UAV-DL-Based Computer Vision Framework for Construction Worker Pose Estimation.” CIB World Building Congress 2025. Best Paper Award.
  • Lan, R., Awolusi, I., and Cai, J. (2023). “Computer Vision for Pipeline Monitoring Using UAVs and Deep Learning.” Pipelines 2023, 181-191.
  • Lan, R., and Sulbaran, T. (2023). “A Review of Computer Vision-Based Progress Monitoring for Effective Decision Making.” Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR 2023), 856-864.
  • Lan, R., and Awolusi, I. (2026). “Information-Theoretic Uncertainty Quantification for Vision-Based Construction Ergonomic Assessment.” Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2026). Conference paper.
  • Lan, R., and Awolusi, I. (2026). “Contextual Ergonomic Risk Amplification Framework: A Novel Approach for Height-Exposed Construction Tasks.” Construction Research Congress 2026. 
 
Selected Honors and Recognitions
  • Best Paper Award, CIB World Building Congress
  • Best Poster Award, Associated Schools of Construction International Conference
  • Best Graduating Student, M.S. Construction Management, University of Lagos
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 Last Modified 8/7/25