Research

The Texas A&M College of Architecture’s 16th annual faculty research symposium, “Natural, Built, Virtual,” took place Oct. 27, 2014 at the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M College Station campus.

Elementary school children are performing fun tasks designed to stoke their interest in science, technology, engineering and math and perhaps place them on a technology-oriented career path as part of a study led by Francis Quek, professor of visualization.

Many futurists envision a world where computing isn’t limited to desktops and mobile devices but rather a ubiquitous function of everyday items — appliances, cars, coffee mugs, clothing, sprinkler systems — all networked into an “Internet of everything.”

Design concepts for portable, rapidly deployable Ebola virus treatment clinics created by Texas A&M Master of Architecture students received worldwide media attention after they were unveiled Sept. 24, 2014 in the Langford Architecture Center.

As a leader of numerous projects undertaken in politically charged situations, Pliny Fisk, Texas A&M architecture professor emeritus, continues the legacy of 1960s progressive idealism, asserts Sarah Deyong, associate professor of architecture.

To contend with the rapidly escalating threat of coastal flooding, government agencies need to adopt a new, fundamentally different strategy focused on flood prevention rather than recovery, according to a recent National Research Council report.

Age, income and race are primary factors effecting the vulnerability of populations in coastal regions to climate-related natural disasters, according to a recent study by researchers at Texas A&M’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center.

A model for measuring electricity savings and air quality improvements resulting from building code changes, developed by researchers at the Texas A&M Energy Systems Laboratory, was recently cited in a Harvard Law School Environmental Policy Initiative paper.

Toxic waste pits along the San Jacinto River in far east Harris County containing dioxin and other hazardous substances are a “loaded gun” threatening human health and the environment, said Sam Brody, professor of urban planning at Texas A&M University.

Cooler weather will soon greet the assortment of greenery atop building A of Texas A&M’s Langford Architecture Center as a research project begun in 2012 to learn what plants will thrive on green roofs and green walls in Texas’ often hostile climate continues.

A new book aiding clinicians tasked with planning new pediatric and neonatal intensive care environments, authored by Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, director of Texas A&M’s Center for Health Systems and Design, is receiving favorable reviews.

A Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center team is investigating how recovery from a man-made disaster differs from a natural disaster as part of a National Science Foundation study focusing on the Texas towns of West and Granbury, which were hit, respectively, by a chemical plant explosion and a tornado.

A video touting how communities can avoid flood losses, available on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website, features Sam Brody, professor of urban planning at Texas A&M.

Creating dynamic architectural spaces from hulking, abandoned industrial buildings helps preserve a city’s industrial heritage said Gabriela Campagnol, assistant professor of architecture at Texas A&M, in an essay published in the January issue of ja+u.

An application for mobile devices to help emergency responders identify key structures in a video feed from a remote-controlled drone is being developed by Danielle Crowley, an undergraduate visualization student at Texas A&M.