Reachsak Ly
Assistant Professor | Ph.D. | Applied AI/ML Researcher
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.
Research Interest
- Edge AI with Small Language Model
- Vision-Language Models (VLMs), and Large Language Models (LLMs)
- Smart Buildings and Smart Cities
- Human-Computer Interaction and Mixed Reality (MR)
- Human-Building Interaction
- Construction Robotics
- Blockchain Technologies and Cybersecurity
Find out more about my research at BUILT Lab
Education & Appointments
Eastern Illinois University
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Construction Management —
School of Technology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Ph.D., Myers-Lawson School of Construction
Zhejiang University
B.Eng. Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering specialization
Undergraduate Research Assistant — deep learning for structural
health monitoring
Research Funding
2026 · Grant
Redden Grant · Eastern Illinois University
Generative AI-Powered Human-Robot Collaboration Demonstration for
Construction Technology Education · Award: $2,500
Intellectual Property
2025 · Approved
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei — Virginia Tech IP Disclosure ·
Invention ID: INV2025-123
2025 · Approved
Reachsak Ly, Alireza Shojaei — Virginia Tech IP Disclosure ·
Invention ID: INV2025-121
Project and Publications
Journal Articles
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations in Built Environments:
Applications, Potentials and Limitations
Information Systems and eBusiness Management Journal ·
DOI:10.1007/s10257-025-00699-1
Autonomous Building Cyber-Physical Systems Using Decentralized
Autonomous Organizations, Digital Twins, and Large Language Models
Under Review
Automation in Construction (Revision Submitted) · Preprint:
arXiv:2410.19262
SmartHomeSecure: Automated Detection and Repair of Smart Home
Configuration Errors Using Large Language Models
Under Review
Journal of Building Engineering · Preprint: arXiv:2607.06748
Public and Private Blockchain for Decentralized Digital Building
Twins and Building Automation Systems
Under Review
Information Systems and eBusiness Management (Submitted) ·
Preprint: arXiv:2604.16534
Data-Driven and Distributed Governance of Building Facilities
Management Using DAO, Digital Twin, and LLMs
Under Review
Frontiers of Engineering Management (Submitted) · Preprint:
arXiv:2605.16298
DAO and Blockchain-Based Incentivization Framework for
Community-Based Facilities Management
Under Review
Information Systems Frontiers (Submitted) · Preprint:
arXiv:2605.18773
Faculty Development Program to Enhance Teaching Quality in
Construction
International Journal of Construction Management ·
DOI:10.1080/15623599.2024.2304475
Autonomous Construction Safety Incentive Mechanism Using
Blockchain-Enabled Tokens and Vision-Based Techniques
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
Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon) ·
DOI:10.36680/j.itcon.2023.036
Conference Proceedings
Smart Building Operations and Virtual Assistants Using LLM
33rd ACM Symposium on Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE
2025), Trondheim, Norway · DOI:10.1145/3696630.3728706
AVATAR: AI-Assisted Virtual Assistant and Augmented Twin for
Advanced Real-Time Smart Building Facilities Management
Accepted
2026 ATMAE Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA · Oral Presentation
· Submission ID 32
Edge AI for Human-Building Interaction and Smart Building
Operations with Small Language Models
Accepted
2026 ATMAE Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA · Poster
Presentation · Submission ID 33.0
DT-DAO: Digital Twin and Blockchain-Based DAO Integration
Framework for Smart Building Facility Management
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
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
Inter-Noise 2024, Nantes, France · DOI:10.3397/IN_2024_4264
Continual-Learning-Based Framework for Structural Damage
Recognition
10th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of
Intelligent Infrastructure, Porto, Portugal
Image-Based Structural Damage Recognition Using Deep Convolutional
Neural Networks
fib Symposium 2020 — Concrete Structures for Resilient Society,
Shanghai, China
Ongoing Project
Multimodal AI Assistant and Extended Reality (XR) Applications
Ongoing Project
Vision Language Model for Construction Site Progress and Safety Monitoring
Ongoing Project
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Chatbot for Construction Safety
Ongoing Project
Generative AI-Powered Human-Robot Collaboration Demonstration for Construction Technology Education
Ongoing Project
Research Reports
Investigation of Gender and Racial Diversity in U.S. Construction
Higher Education
Research Report
Industry Perspectives on the Role of Education Programs in
Supporting Construction Diversity and Inclusion in U.S.
Construction
Under Review
Innovative Higher Education (Submitted)
Poster Presentations
Autonomous Building Operations and Virtual Assistants Using
Generative AI
2025 Paul E. Torgersen Graduate Student Research Excellence Award,
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Teaching
Eastern Illinois University
- CMG 1000 – Introduction to Construction Management
- CMG 2223 – Print Reading and Introduction to Building Information Management (BIM)
- CMG 3833 – Sustainable Buildings
- CMG 4223 – Construction Cost Estimating
- CMG 4243 – Construction Project Management Capstone
- EGT 3063 – 3D Modeling
- TEC 5143 – Research in Technology