Transcript Thrust 2: Modeling Urban Infrastructure Performance

ACSP Administrators Conference
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
November 15, 2013
Promoting Research
in a College of Architecture
Steven P. French, Ph.D., FAICP
Dean and Professor
College of Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0695
The Problem
Innovation and knowledge creation are
becoming more and more important in
universities.
Architecture and design schools do not
have a strong tradition of research and
often do not see themselves as having
a strong research mission.
The Research Imperative
Build interdisciplinary linkages
Increase our standing in the university
Support promotion and tenure
Support graduate students
Funding to engage interesting problems
Inform our teaching
GT College of Architecture
800 Students
60 Faculty, 28 Research Scientists, 35 staff
$10 million state funding, $6 million sponsored research
5 Schools
7 Research Centers
Architecture
Building Construction
City and Reg. Planning
Industrial Design
Music Technology
Digital Building Lab
Center for Quality Growth
Center for GIS
Center for Assistive Technology
Alternative Media Access Center
Construction Research Center
Center for Music Technology
Research Culture
Commitment to research varies by
discipline
Creative Activity, Scholarship and
Sponsored Research
Faculty without a PhD have little
research training
Urbanization
• This is the first urban century
• A majority of the world’s population lives in cities
• Human impact on the environment is largely
mediated through urban infrastructure systems
• China plans to move 250 million people from the
countryside into cities by 2025
6
Grand Challenges
Energy and Climate Change
Major Demographic Shifts
Information Technology Revolution
Key Areas
Green Building
Energy Efficient Buildings
Micro-Housing
Building Information Modeling
Health Care Design
Assistive Technologies
Aging in Place
Product Design
Hazard Mitigation
GIS and Remote Sensing
Possible Strategies
Incentives
Mentoring
Studio based Research
Workshops and Seminars
Research Centers
Incentives
What do faculty want?
Money
Time
Space
Prestige
Mentoring
Can work if You have someone who can and will be
a mentor
You have someone who wants a mentor
The chemistry is right
Studio Based Research
Can support initial exploratory research
Can engage potential sponsors
Sometimes difficult to mix learning
objectives with research mission
Workshops and Seminars
Workshops for proposal preparation
Workshops for identifying funding sources
Seminars for research examples
Seminars increase communication
Cannot create interesting questions
Research Centers
Provide focus on specific topics
Add capacity with research staff
Increase sponsored funding
Provide infrastructure for proposal
development
Tend to have a life of their own
Should involve a team of faculty
Conclusions
This is an opportune time to increase
research in architecture and design
schools because
New faculty are more likely to have
research skills,
Our disciplines address major societal
issues, and
Business and Engineering have
discovered design thinking