Rate My Professor Vivian Tam

Distinguished Professor Vivian Tam is a Professor of Quantity Surveying in the School of Built Environment & Design at Western Sydney University, where she also serves as Associate Dean (Research and HDR) and Director of the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Building and Construction at City University of Hong Kong (2001-2005) and a B.Sc (Hons) in Construction Economics and Management, First Class Honour, from the Department of Building and Real Estate at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (1999-2001). Her career began as a Lecturer at Griffith University (2005-2009), followed by joining Western Sydney University as Senior Lecturer in 2009. She advanced to Associate Professor (2014-2017), Professor (2018-present), and was appointed Distinguished Professor. Previously, she held roles such as Director of Research Quality and Innovation and Associate Dean (International).

Professor Tam's research specializations include sustainable construction technology, net zero carbon buildings, low-carbon concrete, carbon utilization in carbonated steel slag and recycled concrete, shrinkage deformation in cement mortars, 3D printed concrete, and digital technologies for reducing carbon emissions. She is co-inventor of CO2 Concrete, a patented process injecting CO2 into recycled aggregates to produce high-strength concrete with 50% fewer emissions and 10% cost reduction. Key publications encompass books such as Sustainable Construction Technologies: Life-Cycle Assessment (2019, co-authored with K.N. Le) and Handbook of Recycled Concrete and Demolition Waste (2013, editor), and articles including 'A review for recycled concrete applications (2000-2017)' in Construction and Building Materials (2018), 'Carbon-conditioned recycled aggregate in concrete production' in Journal of Cleaner Production (2016), and recent works like 'A systematic review of stakeholder's interest towards achieving net zero carbon building' in International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation (2026). She has authored 480 articles, 71 conference papers, 52 chapters, and 6 books. Awards include the NSW Premier's Science and Engineering Prize (2025), ARC Future Fellowship, Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (2023), Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Awards (2020), and multiple Best Paper Awards (e.g., 2018, 2017, 2014). She has graduated 10 HDR students and 55 Honours students, leads field trials with 10 industry partners, and ranks among the world's top 2% scientists.