Ashit Harode

Role and Background

Ashit Harode joined Virginia Tech in 2026 as an assistant professor in the building construction program within the Virginia Tech Myers-Lawson School of Construction.

Dr. Harode’s research focuses on advancing automation in the construction industry through machine learning, information management, and emerging digital technologies. His work is grounded in understanding existing construction practices, their limitations, and the practical challenges that influence the adoption of new technologies. Through this industry-centered perspective, his research seeks to develop solutions that either enhance existing practices to make them more automation-ready or introduce novel automation approaches that are better aligned with the realities of construction and facility operations.

His research spans several areas of construction automation and digitalization. This includes the use of supervised-reinforcement learning for automating trade clash resolution; development of system architectures for digital twins of healthcare facilities; application of knowledge graphs to improve the organization and retrieval of as-built information for facility maintenance and management; and investigation of how widely used business intelligence platforms support the visualization and integration of static and real-time facility data.

Dr. Harode also serves as the academic advisor for the Construction Industry Institute’s Information Management Community for Business Advancement, where he contributes to industry-academic efforts focused on improving information management practices across the capital projects and construction sectors.

At Virginia Tech, Dr. Harode teaches BC 2004: Construction Surveying, a course that introduces students to the art and science of surveying within the context of construction. The course integrates classroom instruction with hands-on laboratory experiences.

Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, Dr. Harode worked as a BIM Specialist on the LaGuardia Airport Redevelopment Project in New York and served as a postdoctoral associate at both the University of Colorado Boulder and Virginia Tech. These experiences continue to inform his research approach, which emphasizes the development of practical, industry-relevant solutions at the intersection of construction, information, and automation.

Education

Dr. Harode holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech, a Master’s degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Virginia Tech, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India.