Faculty Areas of Expertise
CAPLA's innovative and award-winning faculty have a wide array of expertise as demonstrated in their research and practice.
View, filter and search faculty areas of expertise; click on the faculty member to learn more about their work and expertise:
Arlie Adkins
Associate Professor of Urban Planning
Program Chair, MS Urban Planning Program
Chair, Council of Faculty Members
Areas of Expertise
- Transportation
- Walkability
- Affordable housing
- Health and safety disparities
Jonathan Bean
Assistant Professor of Architecture, Sustainable Built Environments and Marketing
Faculty Advisor, Master in Science in Architecture Sustainable Market Transformation Concentration
CUES Distinguished Fellow
Areas of Expertise
- Building science and market transformation
- Social Science
- Home and Homebuilding
- Taste and consumer culture theory
Sandra Bernal-Cordova
Lecturer
Areas of Expertise
- Arid lands with emphasis in the built environment and health due to climate change
- Cultural implications of sustainability
- Environmental impacts of education
Brian Bidolli
Lecturer in Real Estate Development and Urban Planning
Areas of Expertise
- Real estate development
- Transportation
- Smart cities
- Business and finance
Elena Cánovas
Professor of Practice in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Contemporary urbanity and public space
- Collective urban housing and public amenity design
- Multiscale architecture and urban design
Laura Carr
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Integrated design
- Performative design
- Culturally specific design
- Sustainable design
Kelly Cederberg
Adjunct Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Design thinking
- Parks and public spaces
- Landscape design and site analysis
- Urban design
Nader Chalfoun
Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Environmental Sciences
Areas of Expertise
- Building simulation and design
- Net-Zero environmental design
- Energy code and compliance
- Outdoor thermal comfort
- Urban heat island mitigation design
Gina Chorover
Lecturer in Planning and Landscape Architecture
Chair, Heritage Conservation Certificate Program
Areas of Expertise
- Historic preservation documentation programs
- Cultural and historic landscapes
- History and sociology of public space
- Cities and placemaking
Trevor Cordivari
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architectural lighting design
- Daylighting
- Design communication
Jonathan Jae-an Crisman
Affiliated Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning
Assistant Professor of Public and Applied Humanities
Areas of Expertise
- Cultural policy
- Placemaking
- Participation
- Urban design
Courtney Crosson
Assistant Professor of Architecture
MS Arch Faculty Advisor, Urban Design Concentration
Areas of Expertise
- Urban design
- Decentralized water and energy systems
- Net zero, net positive and sustainable resource design and evaluation
- Urban infrastructure modeling and optimization
Kristina Currans
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning
Areas of Expertise
- Transportation
- Travel Behavior
- Land development
- Transportation Impact Analyses/Studies
- E-scooters
- Off-street parking
Kersu Dalal
Lecturer in Sustainable Built Environments
Areas of Expertise
- Urban design
- Regional planning
- Mixed-use development
- Campus planning
Susannah Dickinson
Associate Professor of Architecture
Faculty Advisor, MS Arch Urban Design and Independent Concentrations
Areas of Expertise
- Design studio
- Digital design methodologies
- Multiscalar biomimetics and complexity
- Contemporary architectural theory
Kirk Dimond
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Renewable energy landscapes
- Landscape performance
- Site design and construction
- Landscape grading and drainage
Christopher Domin
Associate Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Regional architectural technology
- Critical practices in architecture
- Environmentally adaptive systems
- (Meta)Physics of light
Dennis Doxtater
Professor Emeritus of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Cultural landscapes
- Mapping
- Landscape patterns
- History of ritual
Erika Ebermann Vera
Global Lecturer in Sustainable Built Environments
Areas of Expertise
- Sustainable architecture
- Interior design
- Historic preservation and restoration
- Retail development
Altaf Engineer
Assistant Professor of Architecture
Faculty Advisor, MS Arch Health and Built Environment concentration
Areas of Expertise
- Health and wellbeing in the built environment
- Daylighting
- Social and behavioral issues
- Indoor air quality
Eduardo Guerrero
Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Design
Areas of Expertise
- Urban design
- Architecture
- Affordable housing
- Neighborhood redevelopment and planning
Jay Habansky
Adjunct Lecturer in Real Estate Development
Areas of Expertise
- Land use practice and law
- Urban and regional planning
- Resiliency planning
- Transit-oriented development
Mary Hardin
University Distinguished Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Affordable housing design and delivery
- Design-build pedagogy
- Rammed earth construction
- Energy conservation strategies for affordable housing
Laura Hollengreen
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Associate Director, School of Architecture
Associate Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Ancient and medieval architecture
- History of urbanism
- History of ritual
- Theories of the visual
Aletheia Ida
Associate Professor of Architecture
Program Chair, Master of Science in Architecture
Faculty Advisor, MS Arch Emerging Building Technologies concentration
Areas of Expertise
- Building physics
- Critical material practice
- Environmentally adaptive design
- Emerging building technologies
Nicole Iroz-Elardo
Assistant Research Professor of Planning
Areas of Expertise
- Planning
- Public health
- Transportation
- Equity
Joey Iuliano
Lecturer in Sustainable Built Environments
Areas of Expertise
- Active transportation
- Bicycle planning
- Urban planning
- Science and decision-making
R. Brooks Jeffery
Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Heritage conservation
- Traditional earthen materials and construction systems
- Vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes
- History of built environments in Tucson and Southwest
Lauri Macmillan Johnson
Director, School of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Professor of Landscape Architecture
Linus Kafka
Professor of Practice in Real Estate Development and Urban Planning
Areas of Expertise
- Zoning and local planning law
- Real estate law
- Historic preservation law and policy
- Urban history
Claudia Kappl-Joy
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architectural lighting and interior design
- Applied science and advanced technology
- Integrated design and coordination
- Performance and wellbeing in the built environment
Ladd Keith
Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments
Chair, Sustainable Built Environments Program
Areas of Expertise
- Urban planning
- Climate change
- Climate action planning
- Extreme heat
Kenneth J. Kokroko
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Community-based participatory planning and design
- Community outreach and engagement
- greenway and urban trail planning and design
- Design theories of landscape infrastructure
Michael Kothke
Associate Professor of Practice in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architecture and design
- Creative process
- Innovations in architectural pedagogy
- Environmentally adaptive systems
- Digital and analog tools and representation
Valerie A. Lane
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architectural structures and building technologies
- Commercial and residential renovation
- Health and the built environment
- Multi-unit housing and mixed-use design
- Urban infill development
Damon Leverett
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Industrial and manufacturing facilities design and architecture
- Healthcare facilities design and architecture
- Higher education facilities design and architecture
- Equity, diversity and inclusion in the design arts
Margaret Livingston
Professor of Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Urban wildlife habitat establishment and preservation
- Water conserving practices in urban environments
- Resilient landscapes for urban microclimates in arid environments
Oscar Lopez
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Phenomenology
- Light and shadow
- Materiality
- Narrative-based design
Wendy Lotze
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Sonoran region landscape connections
- Recreational trails planning, design and construction
- Pedestrian transportation
Bill Mackey
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Social and political construction of space
- Design methodologies
- Public space
- 19th and 20th century housing
Álvaro Malo
Professor Emeritus of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Emerging materials technology
- Desert land ethic (aesthetic research)
- Modeling (heuristics, instrumentality, rheology)
- Tectonics (ideas/materials)
James Brian Marian
Adjunct Lecturer in Real Estate Development
Areas of Expertise
- Real estate valuation and analysis
- Real estate finance and investment
- Real estate development
- Commercial real estate sales and brokerage
- Real estate industry ethics
Savannah McDonald
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architectural design
- Practice management
- Site planning
- BIM
Joel D. Mesik
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Building codes
- Americans with Disabilities Act
Robert Miller
Director, School of Architecture
Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Urban design
- Design-build
- Architectural theory
- Academic administration
Arthur C. Nelson
Professor of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development
Professor of Geography, Development and Environment
Areas of Expertise
- Demographics and the built environment
- Transit-oriented development
- Urban containment policies and outcomes
- Efficient development patterns
Roy R. Pachecano
Adjunct Lecturer in Real Estate Development
Areas of Expertise
- Design
- Construction
- Land use and zoning
- Real estate finance
Robert Perkins
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Sustainability
- Building technology
- Construction documents
- Parametric design methodologies
Nancy Pollock-Ellwand
Dean
Professor of Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Landscape architecture
- Cultural landscapes
- Heritage conservation
- Urban reform history
Clare Robinson
Associate Professor of Architecture
MS Arch Faculty Advisor, Heritage Conservation Concentration
Areas of Expertise
- History and theory of modern architecture and urbanism
- Campus architecture
- Heritage conservation
- Architectural design
- Urban design
Jesús Edmundo Robles Jr
Assistant Professor of Practice in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Sustainable material development (focus on earthen and concrete)
- Phenomenology, place and existential space
- Craftsmanship of matter and space
- Professional design-build delivery
Teresa Rosano
Assistant Professor of Practice in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architectural practice management
- Site planning
- Alternative building systems
Ida Sami
Graduate Associate in Sustainable Built Environments
Areas of Expertise
- Urban planning
- Thermal comfort
- Climate change
- Urban climate and extreme heat
Erik Schmahl
Adjunct Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Garden design
- Public space and capitalism
- Psychogeography
Lisa Schrenk
Associate Professor of Architectural History
Areas of Expertise
- World architecture and heritage
- Design of international expositions
- Architecture of Chicago
- Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
Esther Sternberg
Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Planning (Joint Appointment)
Professor of Medicine and Psychology
Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine
Areas of Expertise
- Design and health
- Wellbeing in the built environment
- Wearable and stationary devices
- Integrative medicine and health in the built and natural environments
Eric Sterner
Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architecture and design
- Architectural theory and practice
- Arid-regionalism
Philip Stoker
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Areas of Expertise
- Urban water sustainability
- Rural and gateway community planning
- Geographical information systems (GIS)
- Inferential statistics
Shawn Swisher
Adjunct Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Architecture and design
- Digital fabrication
- Methods of representation
Robert Vint
Assistant Professor of Practice in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Arid region urban design
- Alternative low-carbon materials design and construction
- Affordable infill housing design and development
- Historic preservation and adaptive reuse
Sheehan Wachter
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Computational design
- Material, making and fabrication
- Architectural representation
Trevor Watson
Adjunct Lecturer in Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Fabrication
- Material research
- Design communication
Eric D. Weber
Associate Professor of Architecture
Areas of Expertise
- Design-build pedagogy
- Materials/tectonics as generators of architectural meaning
- Regionally responsive design
- Phenomenology and architecture
Beth Weinstein
Associate Professor of Architecture
MS Arch Faculty Advisor, Critical Spatial Practice Concentration
Vice Chair, Council of Faculty Members
Areas of Expertise
- Architecture and design
- Critical spatial practices
- Performance and Choreography in/of Space
- Spatial Politics
- Public space
- Sites of Internment
Kenny H. Wong
Lecturer in Sustainable Built Environments
Areas of Expertise
- Affordable housing and housing policy
- Design research
- Urban humanities
- Engaged scholarship
Bo Yang
Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
Interim Associate Dean for Research
Interim Director, The Drachman Institute
Areas of Expertise
- Green infrastructure
- Landscape performance
- Community planning and design
- Stormwater management
Omar Youssef
Lecturer in Architecture and Sustainable Built Environments
MS Arch Faculty Advisor, Design and Energy Conservation Concentration
Areas of Expertise
- Design and energy conservation
- Climate analysis
- Health and wellbeing
- Technology integration (drones, VR, wearable devices)
Adriana Zuniga
Assistant Research Scientist
Areas of Expertise
- Green infrastructure and environmental justice
- Urban resilience
- Urban design
- Water security