Dalhousie
Faculty of Engineering
Seminar Series in
Project Management
October 26th, 27th and 28th, 2010
The Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University is pleased to present a seminar series on project management. The speakers in this series are Prof. Lex A. van Gunsteren, Prof. Jonathan Barzilai, and Dr. Ruud Binnekamp.
Seminar 1: Prof. Lex van Gunsteren
Tuesday, October 26 11:30 a.m. MA310, Morroy Building, Sexton Campus
Title: Quality and project control
Abstract: This seminar will discuss a new concept of quality which, as offered, constitutes a powerful tool to support a stakeholders-oriented approach in project management. Appropriate application of this concept results in better quality at substantially lower costs
Seminar 2: Prof. Jonathan Barzilai
Wednesday, October 27 10:00 a.m. MA310, Morroy Building, Sexton Campus
Title: Choice-Making in Engineering Design, Economics, and Other Disciplines
Abstract: This is a review and update on foundational errors that require the attention of teachers, practitioners, and theoreticians. I will demonstrate fundamental flaws in decision theory, economic theory, game theory, and other disciplines.
For example, in economic theory, the claim that ordinal scales, where addition and multiplication are not applicable, are sufficient to derive differential optimality conditions, is based on errors. Likewise, the economic-theory concept of “cardinal utility” has no basis (have you heard about “cardinal temperature”?), and in decision theory even what is being measured is not understood.
The source of these errors will be explained and their correction outlined. For additional information see “Preference Function Modeling: The Mathematical Foundations of Decision Theory,” in Trends in Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, Matthias Ehrgott, José Rui Figueira, Salvatore Greco (Eds.), Springer, pp. 57undefined86, 2010 and the publications at http://scientificmetrics.com/publications.html.
Seminar 3: Dr. Ruud Binnekamp
Thursday, October 28 2:00 p.m. MA310, Morroy Building, Sexton Campus
Title: Project scheduling with allowance for mitigations
Abstract: All current planning models for scheduling activities of engineering projects suffer from a fundamental error: the implicit assumption that execution takes place as indicated by the planning software. In other words: that the project manager sits down and does nothing when things do not evolve as planned. The seminar offers a planning method which removes this error by incorporating allowance for mitigations on the run.
Seminar Series in Project Management
October 26th, 27th and 28th, 2010
Speakers’ Bios
Lex A. van Gunsteren (1938) is a business consultant, lecturer and innovator in marine propulsion. He graduated as a naval architect and received his PhD from Delft University of Technology, where in 1981 he was also appointed as Professor in Management of Technological Innovation. He was one of the pioneers of the Rotterdam School of Management where he taught management of innovation and crisis management. After his military service as an officer in the ship design unit of the Royal Navy, he was employed, initially as an industrial scientist and later as managing director, by several technology-based companies (Lips Propeller Works, IHC Holland) and as director of corporate planning and R&D by a leading dredging and construction corporation (Royal Boskalis Westminster Group). In the late eighties, he founded an innovation company (Van Gunsteren & Gelling Marine Propulsion Development BV) for the further development of his invention of the slotted nozzle, which ultimately led to the successful applications of the so-called wing nozzle. He served on various boards and committees for monitoring R&D subsidies, among others as vice-chairman of the board of the Dutch Foundation for Technical Sciences ‘STW’. Since 1997, he lectures in computer aided decision support in architecture and urban planning at the Faculty of Architecture of Delft University of Technology. His numerous publications include six patents and eight books. His leisure interests are music (clarinet, piano) and sports (rowing, skating).
Jonathan Barzilai, holds a B.Sc., M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. His research interests include decision theory and analysis, measurement theory, and numerical optimization. He has held positions at the University of Texas at Austin (Mathematics), York University (Business), Dalhousie University (Business), the Technical University of Nova Scotia (Computer Science) and currently Dalhousie University (Industrial Engineering).
Ruud Binnekamp (1964) holds a doctoral degree in preference-based design from Delft University of Technology. He was employed by two different consultancy firms in the construction industry. Since 2000, he is an Assistant Professor in the Chair of Computer Aided Design and Planning of the Faculty of Architecture of Delft University. Besides his position at Delft University he is, since 2009, also again employed by a consultancy firm in the construction industry.
