P
PhD in Design Program Begins 10th Year
LAR Alumni Create Wolfpack Links
A
Story and photos by Tim Peeler/GoPack.com
s the PhD in Design program enters its 10th year, it seems appropriate to cite the outcomes across its brief history. The research degree admits students from architecture and landscape architecture and is only one of four programs in the nation offering advanced study to students with backgrounds in graphic and industrial design. Since the program’s inception in fall 1999, the number of affiliate faculty has grown to 16, showing increasing College of Design interest in issues of knowledge generation and applied research. The program complements local faculty expertise with distinguished visitors from around the world. In recent years, 26 esteemed faculty and practitioners have conducted two-day seminars and public lectures on issues related to research and research education. Approximately 20 students have graduated from the program since the first became eligible in 2002 and another 22 students are currently active in coursework and dissertation research. Focusing on research in areas as diverse as design for health and well-being, sustainability, learning, technology, and the urban context, as well as design history and criticism, the following students have excelled in their positions upon graduation from the College of Design: • Dr. Daryl Carrington, Director of Sustainable Design , JDavis Architects, Philadelphia • Dr. Hyejung Chang, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of New Mexico • Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee, principal of Kaimal Chatterjee & Associates; research affiliate of the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design at the University of Colorado in Boulder; visiting faculty in the graduate departments of Urban Design and Urban Planning in the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; and the News Archive Editor for the peer-reviewed, international journal “Children, Youth and Environments” • Dr. Ryan Hargrove, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Kentucky • Dr. Jianxin Hu, Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture, College of Design, NC State University
12
DESIGN INFLUENCE / FALL 2009
• Dr. Mohammed Zakiul Islam, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology • Dr. Orcun Kepez, Instructor of Interior and Environmental Design, Kadir Has University (Turkey) • Dr. Magdy Ma, Project Manager, The International Design Opportunity, School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University • Dr. Evrim Demir Mishchenko, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Mersin University (Turkey) • Dr. Aydin Ozdemir, Instructor of Landscape Architecture, Ankara University (Turkey) • Dr. Celen Pasalar, Extension Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Director of the Downtown Studio, College of Design, NC State University • Dr. Andrew Payne, Instructor of Architecture, Savannah College of Art and Design • Dr. Dennis Puhalla, Professor of Design, University of Cincinnati • Dr. Umut Toker, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning, California Polytechnic State University • Dr. Zeynep Toker, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, California State University at Northridge • Dr. Cynthia van der Wiele, Sustainable Communities Development Director, Chatham County, North Carolina • Dr. Claudia Rebola Winegarden, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology Graduates’ success in teaching and research is matched by an impressive number of publications and projects. This broad dissemination of research by students and faculty continues to attract new students from all over the world. The current student population includes students from Chile, Iran, China, Korea, Egypt, and Turkey, as well as the United States. The College of Design looks forward to continued leadership in research education and contributions to the knowledge of design.
F
or Erik Larsen and Brandon Johnson, designing and overseeing the construction of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course was more than just another assignment for the Arnold Palmer Design Company. It was a way to give back to the school where they both received their college educations. Larsen, who earned a degree in landscape architecture and horticulture in 1977, has helped the King of Golf design and build more than 100 golf courses since joining Palmer’s company in 1983. But none means more to him than this one. “When I first heard that NC State wanted to build a golf course on Centennial Campus, I walked into Claude McKinney’s office and asked about being part of the project,” Larsen said. “That was in 1989. A lot has happened since then, but now we have a great golf course here.” The Audubon-certified course, which means it was built and will be maintained in an environmentally friendly manner, is the first Palmer has ever built on a college campus.
Brandon Johnson (BLA 1997), Legendary Golfer Arnold Palmer and Erik Larsen (BLAR/Hort. 1977) attended the opening of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, which they designed.
View from # 17 green of hole # 18.
For Johnson, who graduated with a degree in landscape architecture with a minor in music performance in 1997, assisting in the construction of the long-awaited NC State course fulfills several dreams. He remembers writing a research paper on Palmer when he was a senior at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte. It wasn’t very good, Johnson admits, but remembering it makes him smile after working for Palmer since 2006. “This project couldn’t have been better for me,” Johnson said. “I got to build a golf course for my alma mater and for my boss and one of my biggest influences. This is really a dream come true.” Johnson and Larsen were on site every couple of weeks throughout the 25-month construction process (Palmer, on the other hand, toured the site three times.) They were heavily involved in every phase of construction of the 7,358-yard, par-71 course, which was carved out of 200 pristine acres of hardwoods and evergreens. All three were on hand on July 31, when Palmer officially declared the $11.6 million project open for the public. FEATURE ARTICLE
13