A Hensel Phelps Company
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A Hensel Phelps Company
Thai Nguyen is pioneering a new approach to sourcing, evaluating and deploying disruptive solutions for the construction industry. With over 20 years of virtual design and construction experience, Thai’s vision is to leverage technology and collaboration to empower the AEC industry and build the future.
Following his graduation from Illinois Institute of Technology and team athlete tenure for The North Face, Thai hung up his skis and mountain bike and joined Hensel Phelps in 2006 as an engineer. As technology opportunities started to grow within the construction industry, Thai rose to the challenge, leading a team of virtual design and construction (VDC) engineers on one of the largest semi-conductor projects in the United States.
No stranger to adventure and uncharted territory, Thai was tasked with developing and managing Hensel Phelps’ VDC program which quickly grew into an eighty-person-strong department. As the Director of Virtual Design and Construction, Thai drove innovation for Hensel Phelps, creating new technology systems, tools and processes for one of the largest employee-owned general contracting firms in the nation. Today, Thai oversees the operations and development of Diverge, a Hensel Phelps’ innovation entity, where he discovers and fosters new technology within the construction industry.
When Thai isn’t developing advanced solutions and nurturing a technology incubator, Thai enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, mountain biking and attempting to relive his extreme sport adventure days.
With a long-standing passion for technology within the AEC industry, Siavash Mohseni covers industry relationship management, investment opportunity evaluation, strategic innovation planning and more.
With over 18 years of industry experience, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University and a second Master’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona, Siavash has a substantial background in technology and innovation.
Once part of Hensel Phelps’ Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) department, Siavash provided his expertise and guidance to bring the right innovation to many notable projects including those in the high-tech, healthcare and aviation vertical markets. He also served on many different tech-based committees across the company and had a major hand in pioneering groundbreaking advanced technology workflow solutions for Hensel Phelps’ teams.
For 12 years, Siavash played professional basketball and, in his spare time, enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.
With over 30 years of experience in architecture and construction, Richard Lopez is no stranger to innovation and technology within the industry. A key player on the Diverge team, he will assist with the implementation of emerging technologies on various project sites, help to guide industry relationship management, evaluate and develop emerging technologies and more.
Early on in his professional career, Richard completed several courses in technology, architecture and construction while establishing his own startup company that specialized in providing internet access. Once joining Hensel Phelps in 2011, Richard pioneered groundbreaking advanced technology for our projects. Starting several technology-based programs within the company, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) department, becoming the very first Senior VDC Manager within Hensel Phelps.
In 2019, Hensel Phelps became the first general contractor with approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to safely fly parachute-equipped sUAS (small Unmanned Aircraft Systems or drones) over people, including populated construction sites. This achievement, led by Richard Lopez, evolved our safety program and created an even safer work environment for our project teams.
When Richard isn’t working, he spends as much time as he can with his family outdoors including pheasant hunting, hiking, camping and small aircraft flying. A natural adrenaline junkie, Richard also has a passion for motorcycles, including race track and drag strip racing.
Mihir Somalwar started his career in the automotive industry with Involute Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a gearbox manufacturing company started in India by his family. Mihir helped set up processes to automate gearbox assembly and improve manufacturing processes.
After moving to the United States to pursue his master’s degree in robotics engineering at Santa Clara University, Mihir worked at Tesla Inc. to help design and improve the Model 3 robotic production line.
Following Tesla, Mihir worked as a senior robotics engineer at SafeAI Inc., an autonomous heavy equipment startup in the San Francisco Bay Area. His scope of work included end-to-end workflow of the autonomous technology, including hardware and software, to deploy the solutions to customers on mining and construction sites. He helped ink customer contracts and design a universal drive-by-wire-interface. Geared with a strong understanding of the challenges faced and the opportunities in the robotics construction industry, Mihir joined Diverge with a passion to bring the power of robotics and automation to the construction industry.
In his spare time, Mihir enjoys flying Cessnas as a private pilot.
