Matthew R. Hallowell

About

Matthew R. Hallowell is a Professor, Founder, and Executive Director at the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) within the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University, obtained in 2004 and 2005 respectively, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University, earned in 2008. His research interests include construction safety, risk management, predictive analytics, experimental research in construction, experimental psychology, and construction engineering. Hallowell has received numerous honors and distinctions, including the Textbook Award from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder in 2025, the President’s Teaching Scholar lifetime appointment, and the Construction Industry Institute Outstanding Researcher Award. He has also been recognized with awards from the University of Colorado College of Engineering and Applied Science, as well as from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, for excellence in teaching, advising, and research. His professional affiliations include memberships with ASCE, ASSE, and CII. His work focuses on advancing construction safety and engineering through innovative research and education.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering
• Data science
• Business
• Risk analysis (engineering)
• Psychology
• Political Science
• Machine Learning

Selected publications

• Identifying and Controlling Biases in Expert-Opinion Research: Guidelines for Variations of Delphi, Nominal Group Technique, and Focus Groups

  Journal of Management in Engineering · 2021 · 61 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  In construction engineering and management (CEM) research, conducting field studies often is infeasible because of resource constraints, limited access to sites, practicality, confounding factors, and ethical limitations. Thus, researchers rely on the collection and analysis of expert opinions as an alternative method. Delphi, the nominal group technique, and focus groups often are used to solicit opinions through different processes and controls. Controls implemented during data collection and…

  DOI

• Influence of safety climate on risk tolerance and risk-taking behavior: A cross-cultural examination

  Safety Science · 2021 · 48 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Practical Assessment of Potential Predictors of Serious Injuries and Fatalities in Construction

  Journal of Construction Engineering and Management · 2021 · 33 citations

  Serious injuries and fatalities (SIF) continue to be an enigmatic problem in the construction industry. Researchers have begun to explore new ways of preventing these incidents by developing and testing leading indicators, precursor analysis, and risk assessment supported by data analytics. These recent themes suggest a new paradigm in safety prediction. Aligned with this trajectory, the objectives of this study were to (1) identify a comprehensive list of potential predictors of SIFs in constru…

  DOI

• Formal evaluation of construction safety performance metrics and a case for a balanced approach

  Journal of Safety Research · 2023-04-27 · 20 citations

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• What is safety? contemporary definitions and interpretations across North America

  Safety Science · 2025-01-25 · 13 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  • Contemporary definitions of safety are analyzed, compared, and discussed using empirical insights. • The case is made that there is a lack of a common definition for safety. • Prior research has centered on theoretical approaches,often adding new definitions instead of fostering consensus on one.. • The lack of agreed definitions necessary to create strong scientific foundations is the first hurdle to overcome. Definitions form the foundation of every scientific discipline. Lack of precise def…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Predictive Modeling of Construction Injuries in Complex Environments - An Integrated Research, Teaching and Outreach Plan

  NSF · $400k · 2013–2018

• Collaborative Research: Measuring, Predicting, and Improving Construction Safety by Improving Hazard Signal Detection with Augmented Virtual Environments

  NSF · $210k · 2014–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Siddharth Bhandari

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln

  41 shared

• John Gambatese

  Oregon State University

  33 shared

• Ulises Techera

  University of Colorado Boulder

  17 shared

• Antoine J.‐P. Tixier

  École Polytechnique

  16 shared

• Ray Littlejohn

  Lockheed Martin (United States)

  16 shared

• Balaji Rajagopalan

  15 shared

• Alex Albert

  Florida Gulf Coast University

  14 shared

• Nathan Stambaugh

  University of Colorado Boulder

  13 shared

Education

• B.S., Civil Engineering

  Bucknell University

  2004

• M.S., Civil Engineering

  Bucknell University

  2005

Awards & honors

• Textbook Award, College of Engineering and Applied Science,…
• President’s Teaching Scholar, lifetime appointment
• Construction Industry Institute Outstanding Researcher Award
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award
• Engineering News Record (ENR) Top 20 Under 40

Similar researchers at University of Colorado Boulder

• Michael Gooseffh-59
• Gregor P. Henzeh-46
• Mark Hernandezh-43