Dr Dragana Nikolić
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(0) 118 378 6039
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Associate Professor in the Digital Built Environment
- Co-Director of Diversity and Inclusion
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Programme Director for MSc Digital Design and Construction
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IT liaison and manager for the Visualization Laboratory
Office
131Building location
Chancellor's BuildingAreas of interest
- Visualization and simulation tools for decision-making
- Building information modelling and management
- Digital twins for asset operation and management
- Simulation games for engineering education
- Sustainable design and innovation
Postgraduate supervision
Jiajing Feng - Understanding interactions between users and minor building adaptations in changing use scenarios.
Jane Bennett - Sensory navigation: reading the sensescape of a city.
Ekpo Ekpenyong - Exploring the value and use of digital twins for the built environment.
Katie McCausland, EngD - The design, development and evaluation of GIS applications as decision support tools for ecologically aware infrastructure design.
Jacob Ofori-Darko, Ph.D. - Team interactions in digitally mediated design review meetings.
Rosalie Callway, Ph.D. - Sustainable neighborhood masterplans: an analysis of the role of BREEAM Communities in green infrastructure evaluation.
Victoria Fillingham, EngD - Assessing information management as a tool for the ongoing maintenance of built assets.
Teaching
Convenorship:
CEM242 Advanced visualization and interactive technologies
CEM110 Collaboration, Practice and Innovation
CE3CDT Digital technologies in design and construction
Contributing to:
CEM210 People, Information and Technology
CEM243 New Technology, Management and Change
CEM10B Dissertation Supervision (MSc)
AA2DS3 Skills in Architectural Design
CE2BES Building Environment Systems
CE1CPR Projects
CE3CCD Dissertation Supervision (UG)
Research centres and groups
Research projects
Carbon Artifacts: a socio-material approach to low and net zero carbon building design from concept to handover; University of Reading and University of Strathclyde.
Improving interdisciplinary design reviews using collaborative virtual reality, CrossRail Innovation18 Programme, University of Reading and Imperial College London.
Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS) Game for construction engineering education, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University.
Background
Dr. Nikolić’s research addresses questions about how advanced digital and visualisation technologies can support and improve decision making processes in design and construction. Specifically, her research interests centre on how evolving digital practices transform the project delivery in the built environment from the technical, strategic, procedural and human perspectives. In educational context, this work raises questions about the strategies for using (inter)active and problem based learning to foster analytical and decision-making skills in the contexts of increased uncertainty and ambiguity. Collaborations with Skanska, Crossrail and Mott MacDonald among other, informed the exploration of issues such as visualization in virtual reality for training and design reviews, project collaboration, simulation, building information modelling, and digital fabrication, straddling the use of digital technologies in design practice and engineering education.
Academic qualifications
PhD, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, US, 2011
MArch, Department of Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University, US, 2006
Dipl.Eng. in Architecture, Department of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Serbia, 2003
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Advisory Board Member for the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Digital Workstream
- Member of the EC3 Human-Data Interaction (HDI) Technical Committee, European Council for Computing in Construction
- Member of the Constructing Excellence Digital Construction Theme Group
- Associate Member of the ASCE Visualization, Information Modeling and Simulation (VIMS) Technical Committee
- Fellow of the Higher Education Association
Publications
- Mastrolembo Ventura, S. , Castronovo, F. , Nikolić, D. , Ciribini, A. (2022) Implementation of virtual reality in construction education: a content-analysis based literature review. Journal of Information Technology in Construction , 27 pp. 705-731. ISSN: 1874-4753 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2022.035
- Ayerra, I. , Castronovo, F. , Mastrolembo Ventura, S. , Nikolic, D. (2021) Next steps in BIM execution planning: a review of guides in the USA. pp. 277-284. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.35490/EC3.2021.150
- Nikolic, D. and Whyte, J. (2021) Visualizing a new sustainable world: toward the next generation of virtual reality in the built environment. Buildings , 11 (11). ISSN: 2075-5309 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110546
- Nikolic, D. , Castronovo, F. , Leicht, R. (2021) Teaching BIM as a collaborative information management process through a continuous improvement assessment lens: a case study. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management ISSN: 0969-9988 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-11-2020-1000
- Kandi, V. , Castronovo, F. , Brittle, P. , Mastrolembo Ventura, S. , Nikolic, D. (2020) Assessing the impact of a construction virtual reality game on design review skills of construction student. Journal of Architectural Engineering , 26 (4). ISSN: 1943-5568 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000434
- Mastrolembo Ventura, S. , Castronovo, F. , Nikolic, D. , Ciribini, A. (2019) A framework of procedural considerations for implementing virtual reality in design review. pp. 442-451. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.35490/EC3.2019.160
- Nikolic, D. and Windess, B. (2019) Evaluating immersive and non-immersive VR for spatial understanding in undergraduate construction education. pp. 1013-1021.
- Nikolic, D. , Maftei, L. , Whyte, J. (2019) Becoming familiar: how infrastructure engineers begin to use collaborative virtual reality in their interdisciplinary practice. Journal of Information Technology in Construction , 24 pp. 489-508. ISSN: 1874-4753 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2019.026
- Castronovo, F. , Nikolic, D. , Mastrolembo, V. , Shroff, V. , Nguyen, A. , Nguyen, H. , Yilmaz, S. , Akhavian, R. , Gaedicke, C. (2019) Design and development of a virtual reality educational game for architectural and construction reviews.
- Callway, R. , Dixon, T. , Nikolic, D. (2019) Lost in transition? Examining green infrastructure evaluation in neighbourhood master planning. Town and Country Planning pp. 185-191. ISSN: 0040-9960
- Callway, R. , Dixon, T. , Nikolic, D. (2019) Embedding green infrastructure evaluation in neighbourhood masterplans – does BREEAM Communities change anything?. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management , 62 (14). pp. 2478-2505. ISSN: 0964-0568 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2018.1563371
- Ofori-Darko, J. , Nikolic, D. , Harty, C. (2018) Team interactions in digitally-mediated design meetings. pp. 247-254.
- Maftei, L. , Nikolic, D. , Whyte, J. (2018) Challenges around integrating collaborative immersive technologies into a large infrastructure engineering project. Proceedings CIB W78 2018 pp. 315-321. (ISBN 9783030002206)
- Nikolic, D. and Leicht, R. (2018) Teaching effective collaborative information delivery and management. pp. 841-849. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00220-6_101
- Whyte, J. and Nikolić, D. (2018) Virtual Reality and the Built Environment. 2nd edition. Routledge , Abingdon. pp 152. ISBN: 9781138668768
- Callway, R. , Dixon, T. , Nikolic, D. (2016) BREEAM communities: challenges for sustainable neighbourhood evaluation.
- Heeramun, P. , Nikolic, D. , Harty, C. (2015) Technology-enabled collaborative spaces for design and construction reviews.
- Fillingham, V. , Gulliver, S. , Nikolic, D. (2015) Building information Modelling for the optimisation of facilities management: a case study review.
- Nikolic, D. , Lee, S. , Zappe, S. , Messner, J. (2015) Integrating simulation games into construction curricula: the VCS3 case study. International Journal of Engineering Education , 31 (6). pp. 1661-1677. ISSN: 0949-149X
- Castronovo, F. , Nikolic, D. , Zappe, S. , Leicht, R. , Messner, J. (2014) Enhancement of learning objectives in construction engineering education: a step towards simulation assessment. pp. 339-348. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784413517.035
- Lee, S. , Nikolic, D. , Messner, J. (2014) Framework of the Virtual Construction Simulator 3 for construction planning and management education. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering , 29 (2). ISSN: 1943-5487 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000388
- Castronovo, F. , Nikolic, D. , Zappe, S. , Leicht, R. , Messner, J. (2014) Enhancement of learning objectives in construction engineering education: a step toward simulation assessment. Construction Research Congress, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784413517.035
- Castronovo, F. , Nikolic, D. , Liu, Y. , Messner, J. (2013) An evaluation of virtual reality systems for design reviews. pp. 22-29.
- Nikolic, D. , Jaruhar, S. , Messner, J. (2012) An educational simulation in construction: the virtual construction simulator. pp. 64-72.
- Nikolic, D. , Jaruhar, S. , Messner, J. (2012) Closure to 'educational simulation in construction: virtual construction simulator'. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering , 26 (6). pp. 805-806. ISSN: 0887-3801 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000231
- Nikolic, D. and Messner, J. (2012) Measuring the value of “all play and no work”: can rigorous assessment of simulation games drive innovative teaching in construction?. Construction Research Congress pp. 2101-2110. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784412329.211
- Lee, S. , Nikolic, D. , Messner, J. , Anumba, C. (2011) The development of the Virtual Construction Simulator 3: an interactive simulation environment for construction management education. International Workshop on Computing in Civil Engineering pp. 454-461. | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/41182(416)56
- Nikolic, D. , Jaruhar, S. , Messner, J. (2011) Educational simulation in construction: the virtual construction simulator. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering , 25 (6). pp. 421-429. ISSN: 0887-3801 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000098
- Nikolic, D. , Messner, J. , Lee, S. , Anumba, C. (2010) The Virtual Construction Simulator: development of an educational simulation game. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering 2010, Nottingham, UK
- Nikolic, D. , Lee, S. , Messner, J. , Anumba, C. (2010) The virtual construction simulator–evaluating an educational simulation application for teaching construction management concepts. Applications of IT in the AEC Industry: Proceeding of the 27th International Conference - CIB W78
- Balakrishnan, B. , Nikolic, D. , Zikic, N. (2007) "Where am I?" Impact of display and content variables on spatial presence and comprehension in virtual environments. Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA
- Kalisperis, L. , Muramoto, K. , Balakrishnan, B. , Nikolic, D. , Zikic, N. (2006) Evaluating relative impact of virtual reality system variables on architectural design comprehension and presence - A variable-centered approach using fractional factorial experiment. Communicating Space(s) - 24th eCAADe Conference Proceedings, Volos, Greece pp. 66-73.