Site menu:
Faculty
The Faculty in the Master of Building Science program are among the very best in the world. Participating faculty outnumber the students (there are currently 17 faculty members directly involved in teaching courses and directing thesis projects, and we currently have 12 students in the program.). The School of Architecture has more than 60 faculty, and all are available for helping with independent projects, thesis projects, or coursework. A few faculty members who are most closely associated with the program are listed below. For a full list, write us an email and we will send a full catalog.
Karen Kensek
M.Arch., University of California Berkeley; S.B. Art + Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Karen Kensek has previously taught computer seminars and assisted with computer aided design studios at the University of California, Berkeley where she was also the recipient of numerous grants and donations of computer hardware and software. Her work in application of computers in architecture is focused on design and home automation, but also includes applications in presentation graphics, landscape design, photographic manipulation, energy, lighting, animation and video. She is a member of the steering committee of ACADIA (Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture) and co-editor of the ACADIA Quarterly, and was technical co-chair for ACADIA's National Conference, 1992.
Douglas Noble, FAIA, Ph.D.
Ph.D. + M.Arch., University of California Berkeley B.Arch. + B.S.Arch., California State Polytechnic University
Douglas Noble teaches design and computer studies. Prior to joining the faculty at USC, he had been teaching design, design theory, and architectural computing at the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, he coordinated the computer facilities and obtained significant industry support for instruction and research in architecture. He is a practicing architect and has been in professional practice with several firms since 1977. His research interests are in computer supported design and design science. He is particularly concerned with the transference of knowledge in these areas to the architectural profession. With Karen Kensek, he established the Center for Architectural Technology, which publishes information on computers and design. Current projects of the center include a software guide for architects, a survey guidebook to the use of computers in architectural practice, and many technical guides to specific software application. He is co-editor for the ACADIA Quarterly of the Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture and was technical co-chair for the 1992 ACADIA National Conference. He has written for several publications, including conference proceedings.
G. Goetz Schierle, FAIA, Ph.D.
Ph.D. + M.Arch., University of California Berkeley; Dipl.-Ing. (Arch. / Eng.) Stuttgart, Germany
Goetz Schierle, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is founding director of USC's Master of Building Science Program and a professional architect. He has been teaching at UC Berkeley and Stanford University before coming to USC where he teaches structures and architectural design. He received research and equipment grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and private industry. His research on seismic design, computer aided design, and light-weight structures was published in 23 articles, book chapters, and papers. He is reviewer for the National Science Foundation, evaluating research proposals; was invited to a NSF workshop on research policy planning; chaired the California Architectural License Commissions on Long-span Structures and General Structures; and was invited to lecture at leading universities in the United States and abroad. His private practice includes major architecture and planning projects in China, Germany, Italy, and the United States.
Marc Schiler, IESNA, LC
M.Arch. Science, Cornell University; B.S.Arch.University ofSouthern California
Marc Schiler teaches design and environmental control systems with particular emphasis on energy conservation and on lighting and perception in buildings. His research interests include glare definition and reduction, computer simulation, natural lighting in buildings and landscape design that saves energy. He has chaired technical sessions at major national and international symposia on natural lighting and energy conservation and is frequently consulting on lighting design and energy simulation. He has done research on environmentally responsive buildings in the Middle East through the Fulbright commission and on day lighting in buildings through the Eidgenossische Prufungs and Versuchs Anstallt in Zurich, Switzerland. He received grants from the US Department of Energy, the California Institute of Energy Efficiency, and other agencies; and authored papers on lighting and energy topics. He wrote 4 books: Simulating Daylight with Architectural Models (editor); Mechanical Electrical Plumbing and Life Safety Systems (author); Simplified Design of Building Lighting (author); Landscape Design That Saves Energy (co-author) and Energy Efficient and Environmental Landscaping.
Thomas Spiegelhalter, R.A., ISES, LEED
Master/Diploma for 3d-Design, Diploma for Architecture and Town Planning, University of the Arts, Berlin, and Bremen.,Germany
Thomas Spiegelhalter was a professor of the School of Architecture, Center of Building Performance and Diagnostics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a tenured, full-time university professor at University of Hanover and at University of Applied Science, Leipzig, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Kaiserslautern, all in Germany. Spiegelhalter's extensive research and realized projects in solar, zero-fossil-energy, passive and low-energy buildings; sustainable urban re-development, and experimental solar architecture brings considerable expertise to the University of Southern California's research and teaching efforts and positions the School of Architecture as a significant center for green architecture. Over the last 15 years Thomas Spiegelhalter has received 22 prizes and ten awards in open European design competitions in collaboration with landscape architects and since 2000 he has actively been involved in the International Solar City Program toward Sustainable Urban Development. Many of his built projects have been published in International anthologies of European Architecture. He lectured and contributed at international conferences, design charettes and workshops about Architecture and Environmental Design in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherland, GB and Wales, Australia, Canada, USA, Mexico and Costa Rica. He is developing a Sustainability Lab and teaching design studio, thesis and seminar courses emphasizing Sustainable Materials and Methods of Construction Systems Integration.
School of Architecture Faculty Listing