The Project Management Institute awards grants to Stevens faculty

HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Project Management Institute (PMI) has awarded research grants to several professors and faculty members at Stevens Institute of Technology, adding to Stevens’ existing history with the organization.

Thomas Lechler, an Associate Professor at the Howe School of Technology Management, and John Byrne, an Adjunct Professor and expert in technology and strategic management, received a grant for their project, “The Gestalt of Project Opportunities Recognized and Exploited During Implementation.” The award marks the third time PMI has given a grant to Lechler.

PMI also awarded a grant to Dr. Peerasit Patanakul, Dr. Audrey Curtis and Brian Koppel for their project, “Key Determinants of Effectiveness in Project Portfolio Management: A Context-Specific Perspective.” Patanakul serves as an Associate Professor at the Howe School. Curtis is Distinguished Professor and Executive Director Graduate Programs in Telecomm & Project Management.

"Project management research at Stevens is focused on advancing the state-of-the-art in the planning and execution of projects,” said Curtis. “Projects increasingly form the basis for the delivery of value to industry and organizations; large and small, entrepreneurial and well established. With that, the methodologies for effective project management must be responsive to the wide variation in deliverables, project expectations, organizational context and strategic alignment. The scope of our research agenda is targeted at providing conceptual frameworks, measurement techniques, as well as methodologies applicable to the breadth of applications in today’s world.”

In addition, the PMI Research Advisory Board recently asked Curtis to serve on the board, making her the first person from Stevens to receive such an honor.

The PMI review committee, in its report, acknowledged the ever-increasing quality of the applications, and the fact that PMI received excellent research proposals this year. The fact that Stevens was chosen for two separate grants shows that the university is committed to and is among the leading academic institutions in the field of project management.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts.  Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world.  Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.