Erika Pärn
Research Scientist
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: BSc (Hons); PGCert Research, PGCert Teaching, PhD Birmingham City University
Research Websites: S.M.A.R.T. Construction Research Group
Research Areas: Digital Twins; Twin Systems; Construction 4.0; Digital Construction Infrastructure Digital Twins; Smart Infrastructure; Smart Cities, Building Information Modelling (BIM); Information Management in the Built Environment AI in Construction; Data-Driven Design and Operations; Spatial AI Generative Design; Computational Design; Optimization in AEC Circular Construction; Steel Reuse; Sustainable Structural Design Structural Health Monitoring; Muon Tomography for Infrastructure Assessment Cybersecurity of Digital Twins; Governance of Digital Infrastructure Asset Management; Facilities Management; Operations and Maintenance Analytics
Erika A. Pärn is a Research Scientist in the S.M.A.R.T. Construction Research Group at New York University Abu Dhabi, working at the intersection of digital twins, construction, and advanced data analytics. Trained as an architectural technologist and construction/digital engineering researcher, she has built her career at the interface of academia and industry, holding research roles at the University of Cambridge and long-standing consultancy roles with leading architecture and engineering firms. She holds a PhD and has over a decade of experience leading digital transformation initiatives across construction, infrastructure, and the built environment.
Pärn's recent and ongoing scholarly work focuses on “Twin Systems” — a practical framework for designing, governing, and monetizing digital twins of assets, organizations, and cities. Pärn was a co-investigator on the successful EPSRC funded RESTOR project (approx. £1.3 Mil), which focuses on the reuse of steel in construction through generative design and digital twins, and a co-investigator on the MTABS project (approx. £1Mil), which uses muon tomography to assess ageing bridge infrastructure. More broadly, her research spans AI-enabled infrastructure digital twins, generative design for circular construction and steel reuse, and data-driven decision-making for operations and maintenance. She collaborates widely with industry partners on high-impact projects, including muon-tomography–based infrastructure assessment and large multi-partner programs on digital twins and Construction 4.0.
Pärn is the author and co-author of several books on digital twins and business models of Twin Systems, and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on digital construction, information management, and AI in the built environment. Her work has been recognized through competitive research funding, invitations to advise government and industry, and roles in high-profile networks and events, including national digital and cybersecurity initiatives and professional bodies in facilities and asset management.
Summary of Research
Our goal is to generate high-impact scholarly work while ensuring a pragmatic viewpoint to guarantee a successful integration in the way we manage the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, inspection, retrofit, and repair of the infrastructure and communities of the future.