Teaching and Technology Transfer
I am a teacher at heart. Learning is fun, research is rewarding, but there
is no greater joy than that which comes when a student understands something
that they did not understand before, and one has been able to participate
in that bit of enlightenment.
At USC there are large classes in environmental controls, where we discuss
the effects of design decisions in the environmental sense. Each building
effects the occupant's life by becoming part of their environment. Each
building also uses resources and conveys an image which effect the environment
of society at large, even on a global scale. Every energy wasting building
built in the developed world steals energy from those who cannot compete
in purchasing it. We all have a tremendous responsibility and an outstanding
opportunity to initiate positive change.
That is true only if we convince students that it is important (easily done)
and then teach them how to do it. Too often, we find faculty doing one or
the other, but rarely both. This is a small tragedy.
To that end, I have devoted my time and effort. My greatest joy is in the
students who have graduated from my classes, who understand the discipline
of intellectual investigation tuned to a positive change in the way we understand
and build buildings. Even much of the research that I have done relates
to that technology transfer.
Most recently, a student of mine, Shweta Japee, and I put together the teaching
resource package on Interior Illuminance, Daylight Control and Occupant
Response which was part of the Vital
Signs Project orchestrated by Cris Benton and Gail Brager at UC Berkeley.
Previous projects with students include tutorial programs for IBM such as
Solaris, Solshad and SolCube which teach solar paths,
shadow patterns on a site and internal shadows within buildings and cubes,
and for Mac such as Passive Solar Systems and Passive Cooling
Systems. For further information, see the USC Master of Building Science
program.