Global skylines, CEE roots

Xavier Hairston-Khan (CEE’10) grew up in New York City, surrounded by feats of structural engineering in the buildings and skyscrapers around him. But, it took stumbling across a picture from the other side of the world that sparked his interest in his future profession.

“My uncle was a computer science engineer and he introduced me to a website that explained each of the engineering disciplines from A to Z. Civil engineering was shown with a picture of the Egyptian pyramids,” Hairston-Khan recalls. “I was really drawn to the idea of building something with a legacy that lasts for hundreds or thousands of years.”

While earning his Bachelor’s degree, Hairston-Khan participated in an undergraduate exchange program where he first visited Carnegie Mellon’s campus, sat in on graduate classes, and met with faculty. Attracted to the Global Sustainable Construction path and the department's commitment to student success, he later enrolled in Carnegie Mellon’s master of science in civil and environmental engineering program.

 

It's a state-of-the-art education that taught me skills I still apply to my job today, 14 years later.

Xavier Hairston-Khan, Senior Technical Manager, Turner Technical Services

During his graduate studies, Hairston-Khan took a course on International Construction Management where students simulated constructing the same building in three different countries. Partnering with schools from Brazil and Turkey, they analyzed and adapted to the varying conditions that were presented in each region to build the same structure in the same timeframe. Looking back, Hairston-Khan sees the course as a prequel to what he would pursue in his future work at Turner Construction Company.

“In 2014, I found myself working on the construction of the second tallest tower in the world, Merdeka 118. The design team was in Australia, consultants were in Singapore, and my team was in Malaysia. I thought back to what I learned in that International Construction Management class,” he said. “The coursework continues to be relevant to what I do at now.”

 

Hairston-Khan began working at Turner Construction Company while pursuing his Master’s degree at CMU. After graduating, his work brought him around the world to countries like India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia and on exciting projects like Madison Square Garden, India’s Statue of Unity, SOFI Stadium, and the Bangalore International Airport. Today, he is back in New York overseeing Turner Technical Services, a consulting arm of the company that he helped build in 2016. Heavily impacted by the need for remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner Technical Services specializes in virtual construction and design and remote project engineering. 

Throughout his time at Turner, Hairston-Khan repeatedly returned to the critical thinking and problem-solving skills the civil engineering program taught him.

“It's a state-of-the-art education that taught me skills I still apply to my job today, 14 years later,” he said. “I'm really grateful for everyone I’ve connected with over the years and everything that Carnegie Mellon has done for me.”