Research Statement
I have always had a deep sense of responsibility to apply my knowledge and skills to address critical health, social, and environmental issues affecting humans worldwide. My joint appointment in the University of Arizona’s School of Architecture (SoA) and the Institute on Place, Wellbeing, and Performance (IPWP) provides me with the ideal setting to create an impact in these areas. IPWP is a formal partnership between the UA Center for Integrative Medicine, the UA College of Medicine, and the UA College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture, with affiliate members across UA departments. This unique, interdisciplinary position allows me to research issues related to health and the built environment via partnerships with scholars, academic institutions, and practitioners in the design and health industries. As the faculty architect of the Institute, I have the opportunity to translate research findings into design outcomes, and through scholarship, teaching, service, and outreach, not only influence practice and policy related to the built environment, but also share this knowledge with local and international communities.
My research explores technological innovations in building performance and measures the former’s physiological and psycho-social impacts on building occupants to achieve better individual health and wellbeing outcomes. I study the influence of built environments on individual job performance, health and wellbeing through use of human wearable and environmental sensors for measuring stress, activity, sleep, and light, and design interventions of different scales.
Productivity, performance, and wellbeing in workplaces: I am the Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) in a multi-year study under the Multimodal Objective Sensing to Assess Individuals with Context (MOSAIC) program run by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), a federal agency under the Director of National Intelligence. As part of MOSAIC, IPWP partnered with Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories to develop the Rapid Automatic & Adaptive Model of Performance Prediction (RAAMP2) system, a multi-modal automated tool that reliably predicts human work performance with unobtrusive wearable and environmental sensors. RAAMP2 utilizes data provided by these sensors in a workplace environment, and 300 office workers measured continuously, in real-time over a period of two months. The final phase of this research program revealed exciting possibilities to define individuals’ health, wellbeing, and performance by linking real-time human physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses to real-time environmental measures. We are currently working on manuscripts to publish these findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Indoor air quality and health: I am a Principal-Investigator (PI) and Co-PI in two pilot studies that measure the influence of personal and ambient CO2 levels in a room on sleep and cognition of people belonging to different age groups. Both these pilot studies, funded by CAPLA and UA Research, Discovery and Innovation (RDI) seed grants, are crucial components of competitive proposals that I, along with my team of collaborators in IPWP and across UArizona, submitted to NASA in January 2020. We also plan to submit another grant proposal to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in October 2020 and other agencies thereafter, for funding large interdisciplinary research projects. These collaborative studies will position our team as a leading expert on future-oriented built environment interventions for health and wellness.
Hunan comfort in museum environments: I have advanced my own independent research agenda outside of my work with IPWP by leading a co-authored book manuscript titled Measuring the Impact of the Built Environment on Health, Wellbeing and Performance: Techniques, Methods, and Implications for Design Research to be published by Routledge in Summer 2020. This publication includes my work that uses state-of-the-art mobile technology and non-invasive wearable sensors to measure individual health outcomes and performance in different types of built environment. I also was lead author of the book Shedding new light on art museum additions: Front stage and back stage experiences, published by Routledge in Fall 2017. This book includes post-occupation evaluations of four internationally and nationally renowned art museums in terms of design strategies connected to employee and visitor comfort, health, and wellbeing, with a special focus on daylight exposure. I have presented on the influence of daylighting on environmental behavior research, and social and behavioral issues in design as an active participant at conferences such as the Environmental Design Research Association Conference (EDRA) over the years.
I am currently using a similar research methodology to study local museums in Tucson. The study analyzes relationships between design strategies for different indoor and outdoor museum spaces, walkability, green cover, and access to public transportation, visitor feedback, attendance, and demographics. My goal is to use this information to create an optimal environmental design model for museums located in hot arid conditions that would help attract and retain visitors throughout the year. To fund the first phase of this study, I have applied for a UA internal seed grant which will lay the foundation to apply for larger grants.
Healthy aging: My research on health in the built environment also explores other areas of increasing attention such as design for aging populations across the globe. I published some of these research findings as lead author of an article in the journal Gerontology. This publication was used as an exemplar for a strategic planning initiative of UA Health Sciences (UAHS) that focuses on research for aging. I am now actively working with the group on proposals for designing smart, adaptive, and responsive environments that promote healthy aging. My non-profit work in designing housing solutions for displaced individuals and families provided me with the experience and expertise required to create healthy, equitable environments for populations with special needs.
Equitable housing solutions: Of greatest applicability worldwide is my work on a housing prototype called “Hex House” that was showcased on the campus of Augsburg University in Minnesota in September 2017. This project marked the culmination of a two-year effort by Architects For Society (AFS), a non-profit organization I co-founded with other colleagues to develop equitable and rapidly deployable housing solutions for populations affected by man-made and natural disasters. I presented our work at a panel Shelter with Dignity at the 2017 AIA-Minnesota convention, and in my keynote speech, Equitable, and resilient built environments: Making an impact on health and wellbeing for all, at the 2019 International Congress of Architecture: Resilient Communities conference held at the Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), Hermosillo, Mexico in October 2019. At this conference, UNISON faculty invited me to collaborate with them in partnership with 10 universities across Mexico on a large research proposal to the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT). This three-year study aims to investigate and improve low-income, public housing in Mexico from the perspective of energy efficiency, sustainability, comfort, and health. This proposal is currently under review and I look forward to partnering with the group on more such interdisciplinary research studies.
Future Goals: Over the next three years I will continue to build a strong research and teaching agenda in health and the built environment. I am deeply invested in collaborative research projects that will generate new ideas to impact practice and policy in design and health. My hope is this research will generate funding opportunities for students as well as faculty and contribute to the growth of the MS. Arch HBE program. I envision an innovation lab in which faculty and students will work together on research projects funded by industry partnerships, government agencies, and grants. This will create opportunities for students to learn how to translate research into practice, get real-world experience and increase the university’s profile in the field of health and the built environment..
I have always had a deep sense of responsibility to apply my knowledge and skills to address critical health, social, and environmental issues affecting humans worldwide. My joint appointment in the University of Arizona’s School of Architecture (SoA) and the Institute on Place, Wellbeing, and Performance (IPWP) provides me with the ideal setting to create an impact in these areas. IPWP is a formal partnership between the UA Center for Integrative Medicine, the UA College of Medicine, and the UA College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture, with affiliate members across UA departments. This unique, interdisciplinary position allows me to research issues related to health and the built environment via partnerships with scholars, academic institutions, and practitioners in the design and health industries. As the faculty architect of the Institute, I have the opportunity to translate research findings into design outcomes, and through scholarship, teaching, service, and outreach, not only influence practice and policy related to the built environment, but also share this knowledge with local and international communities.
My research explores technological innovations in building performance and measures the former’s physiological and psycho-social impacts on building occupants to achieve better individual health and wellbeing outcomes. I study the influence of built environments on individual job performance, health and wellbeing through use of human wearable and environmental sensors for measuring stress, activity, sleep, and light, and design interventions of different scales.
Productivity, performance, and wellbeing in workplaces: I am the Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) in a multi-year study under the Multimodal Objective Sensing to Assess Individuals with Context (MOSAIC) program run by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), a federal agency under the Director of National Intelligence. As part of MOSAIC, IPWP partnered with Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories to develop the Rapid Automatic & Adaptive Model of Performance Prediction (RAAMP2) system, a multi-modal automated tool that reliably predicts human work performance with unobtrusive wearable and environmental sensors. RAAMP2 utilizes data provided by these sensors in a workplace environment, and 300 office workers measured continuously, in real-time over a period of two months. The final phase of this research program revealed exciting possibilities to define individuals’ health, wellbeing, and performance by linking real-time human physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses to real-time environmental measures. We are currently working on manuscripts to publish these findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Indoor air quality and health: I am a Principal-Investigator (PI) and Co-PI in two pilot studies that measure the influence of personal and ambient CO2 levels in a room on sleep and cognition of people belonging to different age groups. Both these pilot studies, funded by CAPLA and UA Research, Discovery and Innovation (RDI) seed grants, are crucial components of competitive proposals that I, along with my team of collaborators in IPWP and across UArizona, submitted to NASA in January 2020. We also plan to submit another grant proposal to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in October 2020 and other agencies thereafter, for funding large interdisciplinary research projects. These collaborative studies will position our team as a leading expert on future-oriented built environment interventions for health and wellness.
Hunan comfort in museum environments: I have advanced my own independent research agenda outside of my work with IPWP by leading a co-authored book manuscript titled Measuring the Impact of the Built Environment on Health, Wellbeing and Performance: Techniques, Methods, and Implications for Design Research to be published by Routledge in Summer 2020. This publication includes my work that uses state-of-the-art mobile technology and non-invasive wearable sensors to measure individual health outcomes and performance in different types of built environment. I also was lead author of the book Shedding new light on art museum additions: Front stage and back stage experiences, published by Routledge in Fall 2017. This book includes post-occupation evaluations of four internationally and nationally renowned art museums in terms of design strategies connected to employee and visitor comfort, health, and wellbeing, with a special focus on daylight exposure. I have presented on the influence of daylighting on environmental behavior research, and social and behavioral issues in design as an active participant at conferences such as the Environmental Design Research Association Conference (EDRA) over the years.
I am currently using a similar research methodology to study local museums in Tucson. The study analyzes relationships between design strategies for different indoor and outdoor museum spaces, walkability, green cover, and access to public transportation, visitor feedback, attendance, and demographics. My goal is to use this information to create an optimal environmental design model for museums located in hot arid conditions that would help attract and retain visitors throughout the year. To fund the first phase of this study, I have applied for a UA internal seed grant which will lay the foundation to apply for larger grants.
Healthy aging: My research on health in the built environment also explores other areas of increasing attention such as design for aging populations across the globe. I published some of these research findings as lead author of an article in the journal Gerontology. This publication was used as an exemplar for a strategic planning initiative of UA Health Sciences (UAHS) that focuses on research for aging. I am now actively working with the group on proposals for designing smart, adaptive, and responsive environments that promote healthy aging. My non-profit work in designing housing solutions for displaced individuals and families provided me with the experience and expertise required to create healthy, equitable environments for populations with special needs.
Equitable housing solutions: Of greatest applicability worldwide is my work on a housing prototype called “Hex House” that was showcased on the campus of Augsburg University in Minnesota in September 2017. This project marked the culmination of a two-year effort by Architects For Society (AFS), a non-profit organization I co-founded with other colleagues to develop equitable and rapidly deployable housing solutions for populations affected by man-made and natural disasters. I presented our work at a panel Shelter with Dignity at the 2017 AIA-Minnesota convention, and in my keynote speech, Equitable, and resilient built environments: Making an impact on health and wellbeing for all, at the 2019 International Congress of Architecture: Resilient Communities conference held at the Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), Hermosillo, Mexico in October 2019. At this conference, UNISON faculty invited me to collaborate with them in partnership with 10 universities across Mexico on a large research proposal to the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT). This three-year study aims to investigate and improve low-income, public housing in Mexico from the perspective of energy efficiency, sustainability, comfort, and health. This proposal is currently under review and I look forward to partnering with the group on more such interdisciplinary research studies.
Future Goals: Over the next three years I will continue to build a strong research and teaching agenda in health and the built environment. I am deeply invested in collaborative research projects that will generate new ideas to impact practice and policy in design and health. My hope is this research will generate funding opportunities for students as well as faculty and contribute to the growth of the MS. Arch HBE program. I envision an innovation lab in which faculty and students will work together on research projects funded by industry partnerships, government agencies, and grants. This will create opportunities for students to learn how to translate research into practice, get real-world experience and increase the university’s profile in the field of health and the built environment..