Why you should consider using construction digital twin tech, according to this Houston expert

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The benefits of construction digital twins, such as improved planning and design, streamlined collaboration, and effective risk management, are transforming how projects are executed. Photo via Getty Images

The construction industry is no stranger to embracing technological advancements, and one of the latest breakthroughs is the advent of construction digital twin technology.

Blending the virtual and physical worlds, construction digital twins offer immense potential for enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving decision-making in construction projects.

It is a fascinating and ever-changing world of technology in construction digital twin technology and the following information explores its key components, benefits, and real-world applications in the construction sector.

What is a construction digital twin?

A construction digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset, process, or system that integrates real-time data from various sources to provide a holistic and dynamic representation. It encompasses a portion of the entire lifecycle of the project, potentially starting from planning and design into construction, commissioning, and data collection for ongoing maintenance.

The key components of a construction digital twin include the physical asset, sensors, data acquisition systems, connectivity infrastructure, cloud platforms, and advanced analytics. Various tools or platforms can be used at different stages of a project.

Skanska, a construction and development company, has created an internal hybrid approach combining a digital twin model with a custom analytics dashboard. The process allows for tracking production control during construction. What is used is a less-is-more approach to manual data entry into models and link to automated external data sources, which are combined and analyzed together in a separate dashboard. These color-coded models are combined with external data for schedule, cost, and man hour data for predictive analysis and production rates.

Improved planning and design

Digital twins allow design and construction professionals to simulate and optimize designs with a virtual model of the building before physically implementing them. This capability enables early detection and resolution of design flaws, reducing rework and costly delays. Adjacent building and city data can inform early design decisions. By leveraging the existing data from a digital twin, renovation projects can streamline processes, reduce risks, improve efficiency, and make informed design decisions, ultimately resulting in more successful and cost-effective renovations.

Enhanced construction processes

A construction digital twin allows stakeholders to visualize and simulate the project, analyze potential issues, optimize workflows, and make informed decisions. Key data sources include: installation, schedule, man hours, and cost. Additional real-time data from sensors embedded in physical assets can be fed into construction digital twins, enabling real-time monitoring and analysis. Project teams can enhance collaboration, improve efficiency, maintain schedule, reduce costs, and minimize risks throughout the construction process.

Effective risk management

Digital twins enable construction companies to simulate and analyze potential risks, such as structural weaknesses and environmental or safety hazards. Builders and their clients are at an advantage since they can address these risks in the virtual environment and significantly reduce the occurrence of accidents and associated liabilities.

Streamlined collaboration

Construction digital twins act as a shared platform for all stakeholders involved in a construction project, including architects, engineers, contractors, and facility managers. This flow of information fosters seamless collaboration, improves communication, and results in better decision-making through a data-driven environment. Solutions vary per stage and parties involved.

Real-world applications

Construction digital twin technology is already finding practical application in the construction industry, including locally at 1550 on The Green, Skanska’s state-of-the art, sustainable office building bringing the outdoors in.

Smart building construction

By creating a digital twin of a smart building, companies can optimize energy efficiency, HVAC systems, and space. The real-time monitoring of energy consumption and occupancy patterns combined with as-built BIM and systems data allows for predictive maintenance. Automations and AI assisted controls are also on the horizon.

Bringing it all together

Construction digital twin technology is poised to revolutionize the construction industry. By merging the virtual and physical realms, it enables construction professionals to make more informed decisions, enhance efficiency, and minimize risks.

The benefits of construction digital twins, such as improved planning and design, streamlined collaboration, and effective risk management, are transforming how projects are executed. As this technology continues to evolve, there are bound to be greater advancements in construction practices, ultimately leading to safer, smarter, and more sustainable built environments. Key data points and use cases vary per phase and stakeholder, and digital twins are a great asset throughout the project lifecycle.

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Edwin Bailey is senior preconstruction technologist at Skanska, a leading multi-national project development and construction group, in Houston.

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UH med school granted $2M gift to offer student scholarships

scholarship gift

A new scholarship endowment aims to support students in the University of Houston’s recently established medical school.

The University of Houston’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine received a planned estate gift commitment estimated at $2.1 million to establish the Bob Diehl and Teresa Evans Diehl Scholarship Endowment. The scholarship will assist full-time medical students who demonstrate financial need and meet academic standards.

“Endowed scholarships like this do more than ease the burden of tuition—they empower our students to focus on learning, leadership and compassionate care,” Jonathan McCullers, UH vice president of health affairs and dean of the Fertitta College of Medicine, said in a news release. “We are deeply grateful to the Diehls for their vision and commitment to expanding access to health care through education.”

The endowment aims to provide annual scholarship support for students enrolled in the Fertitta College of Medicine. The gift also aligns with the university's fundraising initiative focused on expanding opportunities for students, known as Can’t Stop Houston: The Centennial Campaign, which works to expand research ahead of UH’s 100th anniversary next year.

The Diehls are both graduates from UH, and Bob Diehl spent 38 years working at UPS.

“It brings me happiness to know that my endowment will make a difference in young people's lives and in the communities that will need those future doctors,” he said in the release.

The Fertitta College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 30 students in 2020 and expects classes to grow to 120 students in the coming years, according to UH. The university believes scholarship opportunities will be crucial for students to pursue medical education despite financial challenges.

“The Diehl family’s generosity will open doors for talented future physicians who are called to serve our communities but may otherwise face financial barriers to pursuing a medical education,” McCullers added.

9 Houston universities boast best grad programs of 2026, per U.S. News

making the grade

Nine Houston-area universities are earning new national acclaim in a report of the best graduate schools in the U.S. for 2026.

U.S. News & World Report annually publishes its national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings in early April, which comprehensively rank graduate programs across business, education, engineering, law, health, and many others.

New for the 2026 edition, the publication updated its rankings across 12 health disciplines — only physician assistant and social work were excluded — and "the first full refresh" of doctoral science programs since 2022. U.S. News also revived its Master's in Fine Arts rankings for the first time since 2020.

"We know a graduate degree is a major commitment,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor of Education at U.S. News. “That is why we are dedicated to methodologies that thoroughly examine a wide range of factors, from research excellence to career success. These rankings are a powerful tool for prospective students, offering clarity and confidence as they approach their most critical educational choice."

This is how the nine local schools ranked, statewide and nationally, and how they compared with last year's national ranking:

Rice University

  • Brown School of Engineering – No. 3 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 25 nationally (up from No. 26 last year)
  • Jones Graduate School of Business – No. 3 best business school in Texas; No. 29 nationally (unchanged)

Several of Rice’s doctoral science programs were among the 30 best in the country, including earth sciences (No. 20), chemistry (No. 22), biostatistics (No. 25), mathematics (No. 26), statistics (No. 27), and physics (No. 28). The Ph.D. biological sciences program tied as 55th best nationwide. Rice’s public affairs program tied for No. 107 nationally.

University of Houston

  • Cullen College of Engineering – No. 5 best graduate engineering school in Texas; tied for No. 71 nationally (up from No. 72 last year)
  • College of Education – No. 5 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 95 nationally (down from No. 81 last year)
  • UH Law Center – No. 5 best law school in Texas; No. 54 nationally (up from No. 63 last year)

The University of Houston has the 31st best pharmacy program in the country, its speech-language pathology program tied for No. 54 nationally, and the clinical psychology program tied as 65th best in the U.S. In the doctoral sciences rankings, UH’s earth sciences program ranked No. 80 nationally, the physics program tied for No. 81, the chemistry program ranked 84th, and the mathematics program ranked No. 87. The Ph.D. biological sciences program ranked as the 104th best in the nation. UH’s public affairs program tied as 80th best nationally. The university also has the 106th best fine arts program in the nation.

University of Houston, Clear Lake

  • College of Education – No. 12 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 164 nationally (up from No. 166 last year)

University of Texas Health Science Center (UT Health Houston)

  • Cizik School of Nursing – No. 2 best master’s in nursing program in Texas; No. 32 nationally (up from No. 41 last year)
  • McGovern Medical School – Tier 2 best research medical school in the U.S.

UT Health Houston’s public health program tied for No. 31 nationwide, and the health care management program tied for No. 47. The Cizik School of Nursing’s nurse anesthesia program tied as 49th best in the country. In the doctoral sciences rankings, the university’s biostatistics program tied as the 25th best nationwide.

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

  • Sealy School of Medicine – Tier 2 best medical research school in the U.S.

UT Medical Branch’s occupational therapy program tied for No. 41 nationally, the physical therapy program tied for No. 57, and the university tied for the 60th best nurse anesthesia program in the U.S. The public health program tied for No. 89 nationally. In the doctoral sciences rankings, the university’s biostatistics program tied for No. 70 nationally.

Prairie View A&M University

  • College of Nursing – No. 5 best master’s in nursing program in Texas; No. 104 nationally (unchanged)

South Texas College of Law Houston

  • No. 7 best law school in Texas; No. 128 nationally (up from No. 138 last year)

Texas Southern University

  • College of Education – No. 17 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 219 nationally (down from No. 178-195 last year)

TSU’s pharmacy program tied for No. 120 nationally.

University of Texas MD Anderson
UT MD Anderson’s doctoral biostatistics program tied as the 17th best nationally, and the doctoral biological sciences program tied for No. 50.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston medtech firm secures $30M for neurosurgical robot

stroke surgery

Robotic neurosurgery is an exciting new frontier in medicine, and Houston-based medtech firm XCath is leading the charge with its revolutionary Iris robotic system. The company announced in March that it had secured $30 million in Series C funding to continue developing systems to tackle blood clots in the human brain.

“We are grateful to our investors for their conviction in our shared mission to improve clinical outcomes for patients impacted by endovascular diseases,” Eduardo Fonseca, CEO of XCath, said in a news release. “In 2025, the XCath team advanced the frontiers of endovascular robotics. This funding accelerates our commitment to expanding access to life-saving care so that where a patient lives no longer determines whether they live.”

XCath–which also has campuses in Pangyo, South Korea–has already achieved a number of remarkable firsts in robotic neurosurgery. The Iris is the only endovascular robotic system currently in development to perform intracranial navigation or neurointerventional treatment, and is the only robot in the world to have performed an intracranial neurovascular procedure involving the robotic manipulation of three devices.

These new Series C funds, which bring the company's total investment to $92 million, will go toward developing a clinical telerobot capable of performing a mechanical thrombectomy. This would bring unprecedented accuracy and precision to the surgical removal of brain clots, significantly reducing the risk of neurosurgery.

“Robotic surgery succeeds when innovation is paired with practical execution,” Dr. Fred Moll, chairman of the XCath board of directors, said in the release. “XCath has built a promising technology foundation, and just as importantly, a team that values rigor and appreciates perspective. I’m excited to support them as they take on the mission of globalizing access to gold-standard care for stroke patients.”

In November 2025, the Iris debuted under the control of Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira at The Panama Clinic in Panama City, alongside local Principal Investigator Dr. Anastasio Ameijeiras Sibauste. It was only the second time in human history that a robot had been used for intracranial neurovascular intervention, and it established Iris as a viable technology in the fight against stroke.

“Treatment of stroke and other neurovascular diseases represents one of the most significant financial opportunities in healthcare, supported by positive reimbursement dynamics and strong demand from health systems,” Nicholas Drysdale, CFO of XCath, added in the release. “With our continued investor support and disciplined capital deployment, XCath is positioned to build a category-leading platform in endovascular robotics”.

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