Funded Projects

  • $15,550, Sponsored Project, Avery County, North Carolina “Avery County Fair Visioning Plan” Principal Investigator. (2017)

The overarching goal of this research and exploration is to engage Avery County’s citizens, and stakeholders in the creation of a conceptual vision plan to guide development of the current fair site in priorities and planning. The process will emphasize the inclusion of environmentally friendly strategies for the study area, with a focus on establishing a healthy, stable, and engaged community. The concept plan will aim to increase the vitality of Avery County and its surrounding areas through increased opportunities to host events, meetings, and conventions.

  • $5,000, Appalachian Energy Summit “LEED Lab Interdisciplinary Course” (2017)

The NCSU School of Architecture’s LEED Lab course will be hosted in partnership with the University Sustainability Office and the University Facilities Division, with hands-on experiences for interdisciplinary students, as well as actionable benefits for operations of NC State’s campus. The overarching goals are to: (1) help NC State’s campus move toward greater efficiency in operations and maintenance; (2) provide generalizable efficiency strategies that can be implemented across the University’s building portfolio and possibly the region; and (3) engage interdisciplinary student teams in meaningful hands-on applications to explore and solve real-world problems. These goals have a dual focus to enrich campus operations while supporting students interested in entering built environment fields with skills, knowledge and expertise to be effective critical thinkers, engaged leaders, and team players.

  • $249,180, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation “Exploring participation in community health efforts through private multifamily and financial services lenses: Investments, returns, and targeted impacts” Principal Investigator. (2017)

While connections between housing and health have long been recognized, there is a need for empirical evidence to inform private investment decisions within the real estate industry. This case study approach will use qualitative and quantitative data to inform the business case for leaders in multifamily real estate to invest in a culture of health across geographic markets.

  • $7,500, UNC University Research Council Junior Faculty Development “Design Thinking in Health Professions Education: Understanding the State of the Field and Opportunities for UNC” Partner. (2016)

The small but growing relationship between the disciplines of healthcare and design provides a timely opportunity to assess the current state of the field and identify opportunities for creating and advancing collaborative partnerships in design and health locally, nationally, and globally. Specifically, this proposal addresses aims that will serve as the foundation for conceptual interdisciplinary explorations between design and health professions education by reviewing established partnerships and crafting a design thinking model applicable to pharmacy education.

  • $10,000, Dominion Foundation “Building Energy Toolkits Aiding STEM Education in Northeastern North Carolina” Principal Investigator. (2014)

The Building Energy Toolkit Program engages rural middle school students under-represented in STEM majors and careers in investigations related to energy use and their building environments. The Building Energy (BE) Toolkit Program delivers building science equipment, concepts, and engineering practices to high poverty middle school classrooms, followed by Science & Engineering Fairs in six middle schools.

  • $24,472, NCSU Research Innovation Seed Funding “The NCSU Sustainable Cities Consortium: Addressing Grand Challenges in the Urban Environment” Principal Investigator. (2014)

Capitalizing on NCSU’s present strengths in the College of Design, the College of Natural Resources, the College of Engineering, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, this Sustainable Cities Consortium allows the scattered expertise and interest at NCSU to become more relevant and powerful, solidifying NCSU’s position as a leader to address the growing emphasis on both opportunities and challenges in urbanized and rapidly urbanizing areas.

  • $10,000, NCSU Extension, Engagement, & Economic Development Seed Grant “Establishing an Economic Infrastructure for Eastern North Carolina: Capitalizing on Workforce Training, Research, and Emerging Markets in Lenoir County” Principal Investigator. (2014)

Lenoir County, located approximately half way between the capital city of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Atlantic Coast, is poised to launch a regional revitalization effort based on the existing, underutilized Kinston Global Transpark facility. This effort has the ultimate goal of job creation for both North Carolina citizens and returning military troops to nearby Fort Bragg. NCSU’s College of Design will collaborate with Lenoir County, surrounding counties, partners and stakeholders to strategically plan to increase capacity for tech training and manufacturing.

  • $10,000, NCSU Extension, Engagement, & Economic Development Seed Grant “GrowingChange.Org: Embracing Sustainability and Economic Development through Re-purposing the Decommissioned Sites in Rural Communities” Co-Principal Investigator. (2014)

This project, focused on the re-purposing of a decommissioned prison, addresses several tough challenges that exist in many rural communities of North Carolina, such as an increasing number of youth who fall into the justice system; lack of job opportunities for returning veterans; lack of opportunities for workforce training; limited access to sustainably grown local food; increasing number of underutilized brownfield properties; and an increasing number of health concerns.

  • $10,000, NCSU Extension, Engagement, & Economic Development Seed Grant (with $10,000 Community sponsor match) “Placemaking at the Crossroads: Facilitating Economic Development, Community Health and Environmental Stewardship through Design Engagement at I-40 and I-95” Principal Investigator. (2014)

The Town of Benson was interested in capitalizing on the site’s existing buildings and grounds, with the long-term goal of establishing a meaningful place to grow their community in three focus areas: community health, environmental health, and the Benson economy. This project successfully addressed these goals while simultaneously fostering ownership and pride within the community, helping to bolster economic growth.

  • $10,000, NCSU Extension, Engagement, & Economic Development Seed Grant “Brock Mill Visioning Plan” Principal Investigator. (2013)

This project addressed an underutilized mill building and associated pond in a small rural town on the path to the North Carolina coast. The goal was to create a vision for the town to increase community engagement, tourism, and economic development.

  • $10,000, NCSU Extension, Engagement, & Economic Development Seed Grant “Rejuvenating Rural North Carolina: Establishing a Healthy Community through Farmers Market and Arboretum Planning” Principal Investigator. (2012)

This project highlighted environmental stewardship within a rural community, engaging the local community with workshops, and improving health and well-being of the broader community. Ultimately it developed a local Farmers Market and Arboretum concept plan to serve as a template for similar underutilized sites regionally.