Kimberlee Marcellus
Graduate Student
College of Engineering – Civil, Architectural
and Environmental Department
IACLCCE 2012 - Third International
Symposium on Life Cycle-Civil Engineering,
Vienna, Austria, October 3-6
The Drexel International Travel Award
enabled me to attend a conference in
Vienna, Austria and present my research
abroad. The International Association for
Life-Cycle Engineering (IALCCE) hosts a symposium where researchers, engineers, and industry
professionals gather to examine and exchange ideas about life cycle engineering within the field of civil
engineering. This conference addressed many aspects of life cycle engineering from design phase to
end of life of many different structures, buildings, dams, roadways; stimulating conversation and
research for incorporating sustainability, safety, longer useful lives, and efficiency.
Sustainability in civil engineering is popular topic and I was able to interact and make connections with
researchers around the world. I met with Dr. Rechberger, Chair of Resource Management in the
Institute for Water Quality, Resource and Waste Management at the Vienna University of Technology
and was extended an invitation to participate in symposium for recycling construction and demolition
waste flows. We discussed his current research of quantifying materials management stocked in
existing buildings and methods to determine future waste flows. He is working with local authorities
on analyzing deconstructed buildings to better quantify and predict the material profiles of buildings in
Vienna. This work directly relates to my research of determining C&D waste flows for building in urban
environments, specifically Philadelphia and provides an avenue for exchanging ideas.
It is the support of this award that has created opportunities for me to meet with members in my field
and extend my research internationally. Over 500 abstracts from 52 countries were submitted for this
conference for poster sessions, general sessions and mini-symposia; about 60% were accepted. I was
invited to speak and presented my paper entitled: Utilizing GIS as a geospatial tool to inventory LEED
Certified Buildings and Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Flows in the United States. This
paper is in the field of recycling construction and demolition waste flows in Industrial Ecology. We
used geospatial analysis to inventory sustainable buildings in Pennsylvania and track construction
material stock. Then we incorporated material flow analysis of region-specific C&D waste stocks and
flows to understand material exchange and opportunities for recycling C&D waste. We find there are
ample resources available in C&D waste in Philadelphia, with potential to be diverted from the solid
waste landfills, thus improving material recycle efficiency. My conference paper was published with
the conference proceedings and I am presently researching and plan to expand this work and submit it
to a journal in the near future. I plan to incorporate this work into my doctoral thesis and now have
contacts that I can reach out to for more feedback in our shared topics.
The conference venue was at the Hofburg Palace and the grounds were beautifully kept with wellmanicured gardens, museums, and magnificent buildings! I also took some time to explore Vienna and
visited the Danube Tower, 170 meters high with a great view of the city and its spectacular
surroundings. St. Stephen’s Cathedral is a beautiful church, a quick walk from the city center and a
beautiful sight to see. I am very thankful for this travel award and I know this experience has enriched
my research and taken my academic career to the next level.
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