James G. Sullivan

James G. Sullivan

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Director of Undergraduate Program
// Assistant Professor
352-273-1154
RINKER 309
sullj@ufl.edu

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Florida, 2007
Master of Building Construction, 2001
Master of the Arts in Mass Communications, 1990
Bachelor of Science in Advertising, April 1988

Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Building Energy, Built Environment Resilience, Smart Buildings/Cities, Sustainable Construction)
Focus on LEED and GBCI accreditation training and building certification. Emphasis on whole building design and cost alternatives.

Bio:
Dr. James Sullivan is the Charles R. Perry Sr. Lecturer and Program Director at the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida.  Dr. Sullivan’s research insterests includes sustainable high-performance design and construction of the built environment, labor productivity, schedule adherence best practices, Lean processes and professional developement.  Dr. Sullivan has received the several teaching and service honors including the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) National Excellence Teaching Award (2011), ASC Regional Excellence Teaching Award, the College of Design, Construction and Planning Teacher of the Year Award, and the College of Design, Construction and Planning Outstanding Service Award.  He also serves as the ASC Region 2 Director and on several advisory boards relating to worker training and education.  Dr. Sullivan has also facilitated the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Build Your Future Florida web portal that provides access to careers in construction.

Dr. Sullivan received a Bachelors of Science Degree, a Master of Arts in Mass Communication, a Masters in Building Construction, and a Doctor of Philosophy all from the University of Florida.  His professional experience includes being an Operations Director for CPPI with a focus on Healthcare projects, a Project Manager for Clark Construction, and an Owner’s Representative for Hines Real Estate Development.

Dr. Sullivan’s teaching focus is focused on field and management career readiness.  He has taught a variety of courses with most current focus on field communication and techniques as well as pre-professional project management courses.  He also provides leadership with regard to student groups and competition teams.  He has worked with teams with focuses on sustainability, concrete, risk, and commercial projects.

Emre Tepe

Emre Tepe

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Professor
352-294-1487
ARCH 444
emretepe@ufl.edu
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Emre Tepe, Ph.D. has joined the University of Florida School of Landscape Architecture and Planning for the Fall 2019 semester as an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning. Dr. Tepe works on modeling spatio-temporal dynamics of land development. He also builds statistical software and applications for large-scale data processing. His primary academic interests include Spatial Econometrics, Urban Simulation, Spatial Statistics & Analysis, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Optimization, Urban Economics, and Software Development.

After graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning and a master’s degree in urban planning. He was awarded a Fulbright Doctoral Scholarship to study at the Ohio State University and he earned his PhD in City and Regional Planning from the Ohio State University. He was also received Patricia Burgess Award for the Best Dissertation upon completion of his doctoral study.

Prior to beginning his position at the University of Florida, he worked as Assistant Professor at Gebze Technical University for almost 2 years, and as Adjunct Faculty in Kadir Has and Cankaya Universities for about a year in Turkey. He has taught courses on statistics, quantitative methods, urban economy, housing and planning practices. Currently, he teaches Quantitative Data Analysis for Planners, Urban Spatial Analysis, Urban Economy and Urban Planning Project courses in the Urban and Regional Planning graduate programs at UF.

Kevin Thompson

Kevin Thompson

Department of Landscape Architecture
Associate Professor
352-294-1447
ARCH 452
gday@ufl.edu

• Master of Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University, 2005
• Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University, 1990

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Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Building Materials, Built Environment Resilience, Smart Buildings/Cities, Sustainable Architecture and Design, Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Technology)

Bio:
Kevin is a design instructor, placemaker and educator who has served on the faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida since 2007.  He teaches across a broad range of subjects including urban design, site planning, design research, cultural landscapes, implementation and community engagement.  He has also taught at Penn State, Washington State University and on the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning at the Institut Teknologi Sepuleh Nopember Surabaya, Jawa Timor Indonesia.  He served the department as Graduate and PhD Coordinator from 2009 to 2017.

His teaching and research draws from a decade and a half of experience in international private practice completed in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia.  From 2006 – 2015, he directed international field schools focused on cultural landscapes and community engagement for students in architecture, planning and landscape architecture in Java, Viet Nam, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Timor Jawa, Indonesia.  He was awarded an AMENIF Fulbright Senior Scholar award for his work in cultural landscapes and community engagement in the subak landscapes of Bali and an Australian-American Fulbright Commission award for his work on urban park connectors in Singapore. He continues his Fulbright involvement as an active member of UF’s Fulbright Committee.

Kevin’s teaching and research centers on culturally-attuned placemaking and design with projects including neighborhood revitalization for rural communities to urban redevelopment plans across Florida and has worked with students on projects mapping the heritage significance of cultural landscapes in Bali while serving as External Advisor on UNESCO’s Governing Assembly, Indonesia. His current work focuses on community placemaking in Florida communities.

Shabboo Valipoor

Shabboo Valipoor

Department of Interior Design
Assistant Professor
352-294-1451
ARCH 350
sh.valipoor@ufl.edu

Ph.D., Environmental Design, Texas Tech University, TX, 2016
M.A., Art and Design, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, 2012
B.A., Industrial Design, Art University of Tehran, Iran, 2002

Shabboo Valipoor, Ph.D., EDAC, is an assistant professor of Interior Design at the College of Design, Construction and Planning. Her research centers on the impact of the built environment on human health and safety, with a specific focus on healthcare facilities and environments for aging. Her current projects aim to (1) improve the quality of care in acute care settings by providing supportive environments for healthcare professionals and (2) minimize environmental risks to independent living for older adults. Dr. Valipoor’s work often combines empirical methods with computational techniques such as virtual walkalong interviews, virtual reality, and discrete event simulation. She has collaborated closely with scholars in engineering, medicine, occupational therapy, and computer science on works supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Science Foundation, Academy of Architecture for Health, and American Society of Interior Designers. She serves on the North America Chapter of the International Academy for Design and Health Leadership Committee where she works with a global interdisciplinary team to promote the application of research findings concerning the interaction between design and health. Dr. Valipoor has taught upper- and lower-division studios, as well as Computer Applications, Advanced Detailing, and Finishes and Materials. Her current teaching focuses on evidence-based design in healthcare facilities and digital design tools.

Michael Volk

Michael Volk

Department of Landscape Architecture, Center for Landscape Conservation Planning
Research Assistant Professor
352-294-1444
ARCH 438
mikevolk@ufl.edu

• Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Florida, 2008
• Bachelor of Architecture, Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, 2005

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Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Built Environment Resilience)
My work is focused on a variety of topics related to climate change and resilient design, including regional conservation planning as the Associate Director of the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning (http://conservation.dcp.ufl.edu/), community resiliency as a partner with Florida Resilient Cities (https://dcp.ufl.edu/frc/), and as a founding member of the Climate-wise Landscape Initiative (https://dcp.ufl.edu/landscapechange/) focused on providing actionable climate change information for landscape architects and educators.

Bio:
Michael Volk is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, Associate Director of the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, and a Florida registered Landscape Architect (currently inactive). He has a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Florida and a degree in Architecture from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

Michael currently teaches courses in planting design, landscape management and ecology, environmental and ecological policy, and ecological issues and sustainability in collaboration with faculty in the Departments of Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning.

Michael’s work with the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning (http://conservation.dcp.ufl.edu/) includes applied research with conservation partners throughout Florida on land use, regional conservation planning, and urban green infrastructure; the impacts of sea level rise on natural resources and coastal communities; and climate change adaptation strategies and information needs for landscape architecture students and professionals (https://dcp.ufl.edu/landscapechange/). Michael is also a partner with Florida Resilient Cities (https://dcp.ufl.edu/frc/), an initiative which works with communities across Florida to be more prepared for and resilient to increased risk and future changes.

 

Jason von Meding

Jason von Meding

M.E Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER)
Associate Professor
352-294-3374
AYERS BUILDING Suite 105
jason.vonmeding@ufl.edu

Ph.D. Construction (Disaster) Management, BArch, BSc Architecture – All Queen’s University Belfast, UK

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Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Built Environment Resilience)

Research:
My research focuses on the injustices and inequalities that are foundational to our social system, and how disasters unveil society and show us what needs to change. At its core, my intellectual pursuits are interrogating what a sustainable social/political/economic future would look like, and demonstrating that we are not on such a pathway.

Bio:
Dr. Jason von Meding is an Associate Professor in Rinker School and a founding faculty member of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER). He is a researcher, educator and communicator in disaster studies who joined the University of Florida in 2019. His research is primarily community-centered and highly participatory, focusing on how injustice and inequality are the fundamental drivers of risk in society, and therefore shape disaster impacts.

Before moving to the U.S. he spent 6 years at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he established the Disaster and Development Research Group and was recognized as Researcher of the Year at the institution level in 2017. His PhD was conferred by the Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland, where he also spent 3 years on faculty from 2010-2013 and before that trained as an architect in the early 2000s.

Jason has taught students around the world about disasters for over a decade – from the societal root causes of risk to post-disaster professional practice. At the University of Florida, he delivers courses about the history of shelter, housing and sustainable construction. He is Coordinator of CIB Working Commission 120- Disasters and the Built Environment and is a popular speaker in the disaster studies field. As part of his focus on public facing science communication, he is co-host of the Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast and tweets @vonmeding.

Bradley Walters

Bradley Walters

School of Architecture
Associate Director of Graduate Programs + Edward M. Fearney Endowed Associate Professor
352-294-1462
ARCH 236
bradley.walters@ufl.edu

Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Summa Cum Laude (University of Florida, 1995)
Master of Architecture (Princeton University, 1999)

Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Building Energy, Building Materials, Built Environment Resilience, Renewable Energy, Smart Buildings/Cities, Sustainable Architecture and Design, Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Technology,)

Bio:
Mr. Walters teaches studio design, drawing, materials coursework, and architectural detailing. His current research is centered on high-performance zero-energy buildings, within a broader context of social, artistic, and cultural production. This work engages building science, thermal/energy modeling, climatic responses, and materiality. Secondary areas of research include teaching methods, pedagogy, and visual communications.

Russell C. Walters

Russell C. Walters

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
William G. and Aneice R. Lassiter Lecturer
352-273-1173
RINKER 344
rwalters@ufl.edu

BS Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, 1987;
MS Electrical Engineering, University of Florida, 1988;
Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Florida, 1993

SPECIAL FIELDS: Construction Information Technology, Alternative Energy Systems, Construction Constract Administration, Emerging Issues in Construction Management EMPLOYERS: Assistant Professor, Iowa State University; Project Manager, J.M. Walters & SonMEMBER: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Transportation Research Board (TRB)

Albertus Wang

Albertus Wang

School of Architecture, CityLab-Orlando
Instructional Assistant Professor
352-281-7610
CLO 514
aslwang@ufl.edu

Core Studios
Advanced Graduate Design Studios
Adaptive Reuse; History and Methodology
Sacred Space; Religions and Spirituality in Architecture Design

Albertus teaches graduate design studios and seminars. He has supervised students pursuing doctoral  and master’s degrees. Albertus has worked on a wide range of built projects in the US and abroad over the past twenty-two years. His designs have received international and AIA awards, and have been published in international  design magazines and publications, including a critique by Dr. Hui Zou on his article,  “Translation, Communication and Crossed-Cultural Poetic Architecture” (New Architecture, p 34, n 127, June 2009, China); an article in
a book by Amir Sidharta, “t house” (p 202, 25 Tropical Houses, Periplus Publisher, 2008, Singapore); his public lectures and interviews in the US and abroad.

His paper, “The Distribution of Powers in Post-Colonial Batavia/Jakarta”, on the topic of post-colonialism and orientalism, presented at the First International Symposium on Pacific  Architecture at the University of Manoa (1995), resonates into his later work, addressing some critical East-West dialogue in urban design and architecture. His latest paper on adaptive
reuse, “(In) Between Old and New, Resurrect Revise Reuse of Old Buildings”, delivered as a keynote presenter at 2017 New Architecture Forum, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, was published in New Architecture No. 183, February 2019.

Albertus received his Bachelor of Design in Architecture from UF (1990) and his Master of Architecture from Harvard (1995). He returned to UF in 2007 where he became involved in co-coordinating UF Hong Kong/China Program (2008-2009) and co-directing UF East Asia Program (2010-2015). Since 2015, Albertus has been participating in several summer design studio collaborations, lecture series, seminars and exhibitions in Venice (Italy), Athens (Greece) and Wuhan (China). Albertus is a guest editor for New Architecture Magazine
(2020-2023) and a peer reviewer for the 2021 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture & European Association for Architectural Education Teachers Conference/Curriculum for Climate Agency, Design (in)Action.

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