Michael J. Garvin
Professor and Program Coordinator
Areas of Interest
Infrastructure/Real Asset Management
Infrastructure/Real Asset Investment & Finance Decisions
Project Delivery & Procurement Systems
- B.S. in Civil Engineering, United States Military Academy, 1989
- M.S. in Civil Engineering, MIT, 1995
- Ph.D. in Construction Engineering & Management, MIT, 2001
- Professor, Virginia Tech, 2020 to Present
- Associate Professor, Virginia Tech, 2008 to 2020
- Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech, 2005 to 2008
- Assistant Professor, Columbia University, 2001-2005
- Graduate Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant, MIT, 1998-2001
- Project Engineer, Stantec, Inc. (formerly Tribble & Richardson, Inc.), 1995-1998
- Graduate Research Assistant, MIT, 1993-1995
- First Lieutenant (P), US Army Corps of Engineers, 3rd Engineer Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, 1989-1993
- 2021, National Academy of Construction
- 2018 Best Paper Award, Journal of Construction Engineering & Management
- 2015 Certificate of Teaching Excellence, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2013 Leadership & Service Award, Myers-Lawson School of Construction
- 2012 Distinguished Service Award, Engineering Project Organization Society
- 2011 Virginia Tech, Executive Development Institute Scholar
- 2007 Virginia Tech, College of Engineering Faculty Fellow
- 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
- CEE 3014: Construction Management
- CEE 4014: Estimating, Production and Cost Engineering
- CEE 5014: Facility Delivery & Financing
- CEE 5024: Contract Administration and Claims Resolutions
- 2022-2027 "Build America Center", US Federal Highway Administration
- 2022-2025 "Alternative Project Delivery Methods: Assessing and Allocating Risk to Increase Competition", National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP Project 23-22)
- 2023-2024 "Assessing the Provision of Engineering and Design-Related Services on a Lump Sum Basis", American Council of Engineering Companies
- 2018-2019 "Toolset for Evaluation of Alternative Contracting Methods", Federal Highway Administration
- 2013-2017 "Collaborative Research: Toward an Integrated, Lifecycle Governance Framework for Delivering Civil Infrastructure Systems", NSF
- 2014-2015 "Improving Stakeholder Awareness of Issues and Tradeoffs of Tolling and Alternative Payment Mechanisms in Virginia's PPTA Program and Projects", VDOT
- 2012-2015 "Creating an International Program for Sustainable Infrastructure Development", Obama-Singh 21st Century Initiative
- 2012-2013 "Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Fiscal-Support Mechanisms for Non-Self-Funding PPPs", Arup Global Research Challenge
- 2009-2010 "EAGER: A New Approach to Provide Effective Public Health Infrastructure in Resource Poor Settings", NSF
- 2008-2011 "Sustainability and Capital Projects: Modeling the Emergent Property of Total Cost of Ownership", NSF
- 2010-2011 "Economic Modeling & Risk Analysis Tools for PPTA Highway Projects", VDOT
- 2004-2009 "Development & Application of New Tools for Infrastructure Programming Decisions", NSF
- 2004-05 "Valuing Flexibility in Infrastructure Projects: Development & Assessment of Real Option Models", NSF
- 2002-2003 "Attracting and Retaining Undergraduates to Engineer the Built Environment through Instructional & Technological Innovation", NSF
- Levitt, R. E., Scott, W. R. and Garvin, M. J. (Eds.) (2019). Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development: Finance, Stakeholder Alignment, Governance, Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton, MA, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788973182
- Khurana, M. and Garvin, M. J. (2025). “Determining the Relational Potential of Public-Private Partnership Surface Transportation Contracts,” Journal of Management in Engineering, 41(4), 04025022, https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/10.1061/JMENEA.MEENG-637
- Khurana, M., Garvin, M. J. and Mahalingam, A. (2022). “Synthesis of Relational Practices for PPP Contracts and Their Linkage with Governance Mechanisms,” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 148(12), https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0002405
- Ahmed, M. and Garvin, M. J. (2022). “Review of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Factors (KPIs) in Performance Assessment of P3 Transportation Projects,” Journal of Management in Engineering, 38 (5), https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0001070
- Rahimi-Golkhandan, A., Garvin, M. J. and Wang, Q. (2021). “Assessing the Impact of Transportation Diversity on Postdisaster Intraurban Mobility,” Journal of Management in Engineering, 37(1), 04020106, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000872
- Guevara, J., Garvin, M.J. and Ghaffarzadegan, N. (2020). “The Forest and the Trees: A Systems Map of Governance Interdependencies in the Shaping Phase of Public-Private Partnerships,” Journal of Management in Engineering, 36 (1), 04020019 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000726
- Dewulf, G. and Garvin, M. J. (2019). "Responsive Governance in PPP Projects to Manage Uncertainty," Construction Management and Economics, DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2019.1618478
- Nguyen, D. A. and Garvin, M. J. (2019). "Life-Cycle Contract Management Strategies in US Highway Public-Private Partnerships: Public Control or Concessionaire Empowerment," Journal of Management in Engineering, 35 (4), DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000687
- Nguyen, D. A., Garvin, M. J. and Gonzalez, E. E. (2018). "Risk Allocation in US Public-Private Partnership Highway Project Contracts," Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 144 (5), 04018017, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001465
- Antillon, E. I., Garvin, M. J., Molenaar, K. R. and Javernick-Will, A. (2018). "Influence of Interorganizational Coordination on Lifecyle Design Decision Making: Comparative Case Study of Public-Private Partnership Highway Projects," Journal of Management in Engineering, 34 (5), 05018007, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000623
- An, Y., Garvin, M. J. and Hall, R. P. (2017). "Pathways to Better Project Delivery: the Link between Capacity Factors and Urban Infrastructure Projects in India," World Development, 94, 393-405. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.004
- Liu, T., Bennon, M., Garvin, M. J. and Wang, S. (2017). "Sharing the Big Risk:An Assessment Framework for Revenue Risk Sharing Mechanisms in Transportation Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 143 (12), 04017086. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001397
- Guevara, J., Garvin, M. J. and Ghaffarzadegan, N. (2017). "Capability Trap of the US Highway System: Policy and Management Implications," Journal of Management in Engineering, 33 (4), 04017004. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000512
- Garvin, M. J. and Ford, D. N. (2012). "Real Options in Infrastructure Projects: Theory, Practice and Prospects," Engineering Project Organization Journal, Special Issue on Fundamentals of Social and Management Science for Engineering Project Organizations, 2 (1-2), 97-108.
- Garvin, M. J. (2010). "Enabling Development of the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Market in the United States", Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 136 (4), 402-411.
- Garvin, M. J. and Bosso, D. J. (2008). "Assessing the Effectiveness of Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Programs and Projects", Public Works Management & Policy, 13 (2), 162-178.
- Chiara, N. and Garvin, M. J. (2008). "Variance Models for Project Financial Risk Analysis with Applications to Greenfield BOT Highway Projects", Construction Management & Economics, 26 (9), 925-939.
- Garvin, M. J. (2005). "Rethinking Mega-Project Development Strategies: A Case Study of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project", Structure & Infrastructure Engineering, 3 (2), 147-157.
- Garvin, M. J. (2005). “Real Options Analysis: Can It Improve Infrastructure Development Decisions?” In: Tommelein, I. ed., Proceedings of the 2005 Construction Research Congress, San Diego, CA, April 5-7, 2005.
- Garvin, M. J. and Cheah, Y. J. (2004). “Valuation Techniques for Infrastructure Investment Decisions”, Construction Management & Economics, 22 (5), 373-383.