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Carlos Balsas Diane Bender Prasad Boradkar Beverly Brandt
Aaron Golub Darren Petrucci John Takamura Ruth Yabes

RECENT FACULTY RESEARCH

Faculty Research Description
Sherry Ahrentzen

Strategies for Building Livable Neighborhoods in Phoenix
Organized Research, Contract
Grantor: Local Initiatives Support Corporation, $61,854.

Maryvale Affordable Housing Preservation/Rehabiltation Program
Public Service, Grant
Grantor: City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Division, $20,000.

Architectural Services for Developing Workforce Housing in Downtown Phoenix
Organized Research, Grant
Grantor: Local Initiatives Support Corporation, $20,000.

Urban-Integrated Residential Development for Special Populations
Publlic Service, Grant
Grantor: Urban Land Institute of AZ, $6,968.

Carlos Balsas
An Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety in Downtown Phoenix, Implications for Downtown Revitalization
This research project is an analysis of pedestrian and bicycle safety concerns in downtown and inner-city areas of Phoenix.
Grantor: Catholic Healthcare West, $25,000
details +
Diane Bender Design Portfolios: Moving from Traditional to Digital
Written and illustrated by Dr. Diane M. Bender, "Design Portfolios: Moving from Traditional to Digital" is a 400-page comprehensive full-color book that describes to new students of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture how to produce and disseminate both a traditional printed portfolio and a digital portfolio.
details +
Prasad Boradkar

University as Entrepreneuer
I
nstruction, Grant
Grantor: Kauffman Foundation, Ewing Marion, $108,636.

New Futures for Human Health and Enhancement: An Exploration of Nanotechnology-based Product Concepts in InnovationSpace
The grant will support the work of student teams exploring new nano-based product design and development in the areas of human health and enhancement. The goal of the project is help students realize nanotechnology's promise of generating products and services with revolutionary and positive social benefits.
Grantor: National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, $30,000.

Beverly Brandt

The Craftsman & The Critic
Brandt's book, The Craftsman & The Critic, examines in succession, a profession, a place, an organization, a group, a theory and its manifestation, a dispersal of a shared ideal, and a revival. Each chapter explores the impact of one of these topics upon definitions of usefulness and beauty, and establishes interconnections among ideas, persons, and places.
Grantor: Craft Research Fund grant, $15,000.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press, Boston + Amherst
details +

Harvey Bryan Reaching Grid Parity using BP Solar Crystalline Silieno Technology
Organized Service, Contract
Grantor: BP Solar International, Inc., $180,525.
Katherine Crewe Building Ideas: Practical Utopias from New Towns to New Urbanism
Organized Research, Grant
Grantor: Graham Foundation, $10,000
Daniel Glenn

City of Avondale Old Town Revitalization Plan
Public Service, Grant
Grantor: Silicon Valley Advisors LLC, $35,000.

Holiday Park Conceptual Design/Feasibiity Study
Public Service, Grant
Grantor: Coblake Investments Inc., $18,000.

Madison Heights
Public Service, Grant
Grantor: Maricopa County Housing Authority, $10,000.

Aaron Golub

Quality of Life Study of 7th Avenue and 7th Street
Phoenix, like many large U.S. cities, is placing renewed emphasis on the livability of its urban core. The Valley Metro Light Rail, the largest single infrastructure investment in the region, will carry thousands of commuters, students and visitors back and forth to work, school, shopping, and sports events. This research seeks to understand, in quantitative and qualitative terms, the community’s views and opinions of the current operation of 7th Avenue and 7th Street, and how it can be improved to better meet the changing community needs.
Link to report +

ADOT Research Project SPR 645; Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) For Maintenance Work Effort Tracking
Public Service, Contract
Grantor: ADOT, $20,000.

Donald Herring Increasing the Effectiveness of Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Inspections with Enhanced Communiations and Increased English Proficiency
Organized Research, Contract
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, $486,9771.
Nabil Kamel Camelback Corridor Urban Design Studio & Project
Public Service, Contract
Grantor: City of Phoenix Planning Department, $23,912.
Yoshi Kabayashi

Forum8 VR City Modeling
Grant
Grantor: Forum8, $100,000.

Francisco Lara-Valencia Sustainable Flood Management Alternatives for the city of Nogales
Organized Research, Contract
Border Environment Cooperation Commission, $74,818.
Curundu - Architecture Studio
Public Service, Contract
Oficina de Casco Antiguo, $27,200.
Darren Petrucci

16th Street Fight Back Identity & Branding Project
Organized Research, Contract
City of Phoenix, $12,100.

Herberger Theater Addition, Applied Research Collaborative Studio
Public Service, Contract
City of Phoenix, $28,430.

SolarScape Energy; Solarport, Solar-Ready Carport
Organized Research, Contract
SolarScape Energy, LLC, $71,772.

Scottsdale Urban Mapping Project
Staff Members with Scottsdale Public Art are researching opportunities for public art to be introduced into particular areas of the city as a means to reinforce the cultural presence of certain districts, landmarks, commercial developments, or public events. These staff members open the Google Earth platform and turn on the appropriate GIS layers provided and maintained by Scottsdale Planning & Development Services to aid them in the visualization and identification of these opportunities for public art.
details +

Michael Pyatok Architectural Services for Conceptual Design
Public Service, Contract
Grantor: Community Services of Arizona, $7,950.

Deborah Schneiderman

The Sustainable Workspace: Design Solutions for the General Dynamics Scottsdale Facility
The goal of this project is to enhance the workspace of General Dynamics Scottsdale location through design, thereby creating a sustainable, inspiring and functional work environment. Second year students in the Department of Interior Design will analyze the site as well as the needs of employees who work in the current facilities. Design solutions will be created to make the workspace an innovative, sustainable, accessible, safe, and invigorating place.
Funding Provided by General Dynamics in Scottsdale, 2008.
details +

The Sustainable Workstation: System Furniture Design Concepts for the General Dynamics C4 Systems Scottsdale Facility
This project generated design solutions for system furniture that reflects the dynamic work styles a new generation workforce. Key elements of the problem were to design systems that are sustainable, flexible, allow for the circulation of light and air, provide availability to views and offer a level of customization and personalization by the user.
Funding provided by General Dynamics in Scottsdale, 2007.

details +

John Takamura

DES Brand Revitalization
The goal of this project is to revitalize the Department of Economic Security brand by providing a well managed blend of research and design utilizing a transdisciplinary team made up of Visual Communication, Industrial, and Interior Design undergraduate and graduate student researchers. The final deliverable for the project will be a revitalized DES brand identity and a branded facilities lobby design concept.
Grantor: Arizona Department of Economic Security
details +

High End Inverter Generator Design Proposal
Organized Reserach, Contract
Grantor: Sycamore Professional, $51,562.

Ruth Yabes Transit Oriented Development: Camelback Corridor in Phoenix
The project was a study of existing conditions and development opportunities around light rail in the Camelback Corridor in Phoenix. This study was conducted by the 2007 Introductory Urban Planning Study in the College of Design School of Planning. The project was a collaboration between the City of Phoenix, METRO light rail, the School of Planning and the Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory (PURL), and the business owners and citizens from the Corridor. The project emerged out of the City's concerns over the impacts of the light rail on the adjoining neighborhoods.
details +

Comprehensive Faculty List
faculty list