I am currently serving as an
Assistant Professor of Construction Management at
Eastern Illinois University's School of Technology. I received my Ph.D.
from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's Myers-Lawson
School of Construction.
My dissertation research explores the application of generative AI,
blockchain, and decentralized governance in smart building facilities
management — examining how decentralized decision-making within
facilities management operations works in building cyber-physical
systems, and how physical space can be owned and operated in the future
using generative AI and web3 technology.
My current research focuses on data analytics, digital innovation, and
the application of emerging technologies in the built environment. My
primary research interests are human–AI interaction, mixed reality
technology, blockchain, generative AI (large language models and
vision-language models), human–robot interaction, digital twins and
smart cities, smart and autonomous buildings, machine learning, and the
Internet of Things.
Background
Education & Appointments
EIU
Assistant Professor, Construction Management
School of Technology, Eastern Illinois University
VT
Ph.D., Myers-Lawson School of Construction
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
ZJU
B.Eng. Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering specialization
Zhejiang University · Undergraduate Research Assistant, deep
learning for structural health monitoring
Funding & IP
Research Funding & Intellectual Property
2026 · Grant
Redden Grant · Eastern Illinois University
Generative AI-Powered Human-Robot Collaboration Demonstration for
Construction Technology Education · Award: $2,500
2025 · Approved
Decentralized Autonomous Building Cyber-Physical System (DAB-CPS)
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei — Virginia Tech IP Disclosure · Invention
ID: INV2025-123
2025 · Approved
LLM-Based Autonomous Building Operations and Virtual Assistants for
Smart Buildings
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei — Virginia Tech IP Disclosure · Invention
ID: INV2025-121
Research
Selected Publications
2025
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations in Built Environments:
Applications, Potentials and Limitations
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei
Information Systems and eBusiness Management Journal ·
DOI:10.1007/s10257-025-00699-1
Smart Building Operations and Virtual Assistants Using LLM
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei, Xinghua Gao
33rd ACM Symposium on Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE 2025),
Trondheim, Norway · DOI:10.1145/3696630.3728706
Autonomous Building Cyber-Physical Systems Using Decentralized
Autonomous Organizations, Digital Twins, and Large Language
ModelsUnder Review
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei, Xinghua Gao, Philip Agee, Abiola
Akanmu
Automation in Construction (Revision Submitted) · Preprint:
arXiv:2410.19262
Public and Private Blockchain for Decentralized Digital Building Twins
and Building Automation SystemsUnder Review
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei
Information Systems and eBusiness Management (Submitted)
Data-Driven and Distributed Governance of Building Facilities
Management Using DAO, Digital Twin, and LLMsUnder Review
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei, Abiola Akanmu, Xinghua Gao,
Philip Agee
Frontiers of Engineering Management (Submitted)
DAO and Blockchain-Based Incentivization Framework for Community-Based
Facilities ManagementUnder Review
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei, Xinghua Gao, Philip Agee, Abiola
Akanmu
Information Systems Frontiers (Submitted)
Industry Perspectives on the Role of Education Programs in Supporting
Construction Diversity and Inclusion in U.S. ConstructionUnder Review
MohammadHossein Heydari, Hossein Naderi, Reachsak Ly, Alireza
Shojaei
Innovative Higher Education (Submitted)
2024
Faculty Development Program to Enhance Teaching Quality in
Construction
Saeed Rokooei, Alireza Shojaei, Reachsak Ly
International Journal of Construction Management ·
DOI:10.1080/15623599.2024.2304475
DT-DAO: Digital Twin and Blockchain-Based DAO Integration Framework
for Smart Building Facility Management
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei, Hossein Naderi
Construction Research Congress 2024, ASCE, Des Moines, Iowa ·
DOI:10.1061/9780784485262.081
From Data to Value: NFT-Powered Framework for Data Exchange of Digital
Twins in the AEC Industry
Hossein Naderi, Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei
Construction Research Congress 2024, ASCE, Des Moines, Iowa ·
DOI:10.1061/9780784485262.031
Assessment of Annoyance from Traffic Noise in a School and a Hospital
Hassan Azad, Alireza Shojaei, Reachsak Ly, Saleh Naseer, Laurie
M. Heller
Inter-Noise 2024, Nantes, France · DOI:10.3397/IN_2024_4264
2023
Autonomous Construction Safety Incentive Mechanism Using
Blockchain-Enabled Tokens and Vision-Based Techniques
Hossein Naderi, Alireza Shojaei, Reachsak Ly
Automation in Construction, Vol. 153 ·
DOI:10.1016/j.autcon.2023.104959
Virtual Site Visits in Construction Management Education: A Practical
Alternative to Physical Site Visits
Alireza Shojaei, Reachsak Ly, Saeed Rokooei, Amirsamman
Mahdavian, Ahmed AlBayati
Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon) ·
DOI:10.36680/j.itcon.2023.036
2021
Continual-Learning-Based Framework for Structural Damage Recognition
Jiawei Zhang, Jiangpeng Shu, Reachsak Ly, Yiran Ji
10th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of
Intelligent Infrastructure, Porto, Portugal
2020
Image-Based Structural Damage Recognition Using Deep Convolutional
Neural Networks
Jiawei Zhang, Reachsak Ly, Weijian Zhao, Yunyi Liu
fib Symposium 2020 — Concrete Structures for Resilient Society,
Shanghai, China
Reports
Research Reports & Posters
Autonomous Building Operations and Virtual Assistants Using Generative
AI
Reachsak Ly
Poster · 2025 Paul E. Torgersen Graduate Student Research Excellence
Award, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Investigation of Gender and Racial Diversity in U.S. Construction
Higher Education
Reachsak Ly, Mohammad Hossein Heydari, Hossein Naderi, Josh
Iorio, Alireza Shojaei
Research Report, 2024
