Faculty, Ph.D. students present research findings, creative work
The great variety of research and creative work by Texas A&M College of Architecture faculty and Ph.D. students was on full display at “Natural, Built, Virtual,” the college’s annual research symposium, Sept. 16, 2019 at the university’s Langford Architecture Center.
In addition to fast-paced TED Talk-style presentations, faculty and Ph.D. students demonstrated interactive virtual reality projects, shared their expertise in panel discussions, and much more.
After breakfast and an opening welcome by college Dean Jorge Vanegas, the symposium began with a keynote address by Ken Smith, a corporate scientist at 3M who excels in applying new technologies in innovative ways to many different product applications. Smith explored the benefits of industry/university partnerships.
Following Smith’s keynote, faculty and Ph.D. students presented their research in 5-minute sessions, followed by round robin, concurrent demonstrations of research and creative projects.
The symposium also included a brief lunchtime presentation by representatives from Jacobs, a global design, engineering, construction and technical services firm.
“Our college partners with industry as they expand the frontiers of knowledge,” said Dawn Jourdan, executive associate dean and chief symposium orchestrator. “These relationships are reciprocal as our industry partners challenge us to embrace boundary-expanding questions and we, in turn, work with industries to embrace new trends and transformative findings.”
After lunch, the symposium continued with a judging session of posters describing faculty and Ph.D. student research, more TED Talk-style presentations, panel discussions and demonstrations.
The symposium closed with a 4:50 p.m. reception in the Wright Gallery, Langford A.
Established to underscore the influence of research on teaching and practice at the college, the symposium serves as a catalyst for research-informed teaching in the college’s degree programs.
For more information, contact rnira@arch.tamu.edu or doswald@tamu.edu.
