About the Author DR. FRED MOAVENZADEH is the George Macomber Professor of Construction Engineering and Management and Director of the Center for Construction Research and Education at M.I.T. His professional field of interest is construction engineering and management, with a primary focus on international construction, construction finance, and strategic management. He has taught the basic courses in construction, facility design, and engineering and management of infrastructures, both in the Department of Civil Engineering at M.I.T. and at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Moavenzadeh has directed a series of research programs relating to construction engineering and management, both in the U.S. and in developing countries. These include: international construction finance; merger and acquisition in the construction industry; nature and organization of construction in the U.S.; and comparative studies of U.S. construction with that of Europe, Japan, and Korea. Most recently, he conducted a major study on the globalization of construction firms and the need for restructuring of the construction industry in light of recent changes in the global market and new developments in the information and communication fields. Currently, Dr. Moavenzadeh is the Principal Investigator of the Research Consortium on Global Environment and the Construction Industry. The Consortium is concerned with identifying market opportunities in the environmental field for engineering and construction companies. In addition, the Consortium is concerned with identifying technological developments for environmental remediation and source control.