My PhD work seeks to develop deeper understanding of the processes of what I call “spatial-data sensemaking” among aspiring architects designing in the context of the climate emergency. Sensemaking is the process of constructing and refining new understandings from the chaos of information surrounding us; during sensemaking cues are extracted from an otherwise overwhelming body of varied information and attended to such that action is possible. Sensemaking is inherent to design processes, but there are substantial gaps in understanding how sense is constructed around an understanding of data relating to the climate emergency simultaneous to and in an entangled dialogue with the development of a spatial proposal. My research aims to qualitatively describe the extant processes bridging the epistemological divide between space and data; recognizing this blended mode of sensemaking during design is critical for pedagogical innovation regarding the climate emergency among aspiring architects.

Beyond my PhD, my research work lies at the intersection of the sustainable and the ecologically engaged, and has been funded by the US Department of Energy, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the US National Science Foundation. I have a persistent interest in understanding the peripheral practices within architecture; I am the co-editor of Beyond Patronage: Reconsidering Models of Practice, published in 2015 by Actar. I was the recipient of the Ginsberg Research Fellowship from the US Green Building Council, was selected as a Fellow of the Honors College at the University at Buffalo.