Archives: Faculties

Eileen Pesantes-Tavares

Eileen Pesantes-Tavares

M.E Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Senior Lecturer (Instructional Associate Professor)
352-273-1177
RINKER 313
eileen.pesantes@ufl.edu

B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
M.S. in Engineering with concentration on Structural Engineering Mechanics and Materials, University of California at Berkeley
M.S. in Civil Engineering with concentration on Construction Engineering and Management, Stanford University
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with concentration on Construction Engineering and Management, University of Florida

Eileen Pesantes-Tavares, PhD, graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 1994. She earned a M.E. in Structural Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley in 1995. After working as a structural engineer, she decided to pursue a construction degree and went back to school. She earned a MS in Construction Engineering and Management from Stanford University in 1998. While teaching at her Alma Mater, she decided to pursue a PhD in Construction Engineering and Management at the University of Florida. She graduated in 2011.

Pesantes worked as a research engineer with the US Army Corp of Engineers at their Engineer Research and Development Center before graduate school. After completing two Master’s degrees, she worked in two different construction companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in projects that ranged from a small office remodeling up to a complete new campus for a major Hi-tech Company. When she moved back to Puerto Rico, she was offered a teaching position at her Alma Mater. Teaching was something that Pesantes always contemplated as a career path. After six years of teaching, she went back to graduate school. After finishing her PhD, she taught as an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at UF, as a lecturer and academic advisor at the School of Engineering at UNF and, currently as a lecturer at the Rinker School of Construction Management at UF.

The courses Pesantes teaches are varied. Construction Materials and Temporary Structures focus on the design and materials side of construction. International Sustainable Design focuses in key concepts related to sustainable development worldwide. Introduction to Construction presents first year students the different types of work they can do in construction through weekly guest lectures that include professionals from the construction industry.

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Daniel Downing

Daniel Downing

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scholar, GeoPlan Center
AH 131
Dadowning@ufl.edu

M.A., Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 2016
B.S., Liberal Studies, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, 2000

Areas of specialization: GIS Programming Data and GIS web service development

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Reginald Pierre-Jean

Reginald Pierre-Jean

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
GeoPlan Center
AH 131
reginald@ufl.edu

M.A., Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 2011
B.A., Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 2008

Areas of specialization: GIS development Programming and customization Web development

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Laura Dedenbach, Ph.D., AICP

Laura Dedenbach, Ph.D., AICP

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Senior Lecturer (Instructional Associate Professor) // Department Chair // Associate Director, SLA+P
(352) 294-1493
AH 466
laurajd@ufl.edu

Ph.D., Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida, 2016
• Concentration: Urban and Regional Planning
• Graduate Minor: Anthropology
Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of Florida, 1996

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Areas of Focus: Planning Policy and Practice, Urban Resilience and Empowerment, & Planning Education

My mission is to bring my passion for planning, informed by education and almost 30 years of professional experience, to educate the next generation of planning professionals. As an American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) member, I bring a practice-based emphasis to my teaching, service, and research. My area of specialization in urban resilience and empowerment is framed by the central question of how planners work collaboratively with communities to foster both individual and collective flourishing. I have committed myself to innovations in higher education and as an advocate for planning education, while significantly expanding opportunities for professional development and support for students.

Biography

Dr. Dedenbach received her master’s in urban and regional planning and doctorate in urban and regional planning, with a graduate minor in anthropology, from UF. Her teaching and research interests include land use and comprehensive planning, issues of land use compatibility, crime prevention and the built environment, urban resilience, neighborhood planning, empowerment, effects of gentrification on neighborhood culture and stability, and planning education.

Dr. Dedenbach teaches classes in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, including:

  • URP6131, Land Use Planning Law
  • URP6603, Development Review
  • URP6203, Planning Research Design
  • URP 4000, Preview to Urban and Regional Planning
  • URP 4740/6745, Housing and Urban Development
  • URP 4882/6880, Defensible Space and CPTED in Urban Design
  • URP 4774, Neighborhood Planning

Dr. Dedenbach is the co-Director of UF Quest 1. She teaches a Quest 1 course: URP1002, “This Must Be the Place”: Place-based Narratives and Community Identity.

Prior to joining the URP Faculty in 2019,  Dr. Dedenbach was a planning director and planning consultant, specializing in comprehensive planning, policy and development planning, and small town and rural planning. She is a recognized expert on planning and zoning issues by local governments, the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, and Circuit, Appeals, and Federal courts. She has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 2001.

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John Maze

John Maze

School of Architecture
Associate Professor
352-294-1476
AH 264
maze@ufl.edu

Master of Architecture, Arizona State University, Highest Distinction
Bachelor of Science, University of Virginia

John Maze is an Associate Professor and former Assistant Director of the University of Florida School of Architecture where he teaches design and humanities. During his twenty years at the University of Florida and previous time at The University of Virginia, he has authored four required digital architecture and design courses, two University Humanities courses – ARC1000 Architecture + Humanity and IDS2935 Places and Spaces – which is also a University International Quest 1 course. Maze served on the development and oversight team responsible for another University Humanities Quest 1 freshman course: What is the Good Life. He has taught design studios at all levels as well as collaborated in interdisciplinary graduate seminars as affiliate faculty with the Digital Worlds Institute.

His research focuses on the digital interface and its role in the architectural design process. He has written numerous publications on the relationship between architecture and music, a common theme throughout his pedagogy. He has funded research studying Building Information Modeling technology, advanced modeling and animation, and has developed an online database of texture maps with the help of the Office of Academic Technology. In 2004 through 2006, Maze collaborated with Dr. Robert Ferl and Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul of the NASA-sponsored center at the University of Florida, Space Agriculture and Biotechnology Research and Education to model and visualize modular greenhouse prototypes for lunar and Martian exploration. John Maze is also an award-winning multi-instrumentalist currently playing with Irish recording artists An Triur, acoustic Americana quartet Lucky Us, and formerly In Crisis who performed three times at Gator Growl. John has performed twice as a guest of the Chieftains during their visits to the Phillips Center, and for over a decade has led Commencement exercises for the College of Design, Construction & Planning as the bagpiper. In the fall of 2019, Maze soloed with the Pride of the Sunshine State, Fighting Gators Marching Band at halftime during the Vanderbilt Game’s Veteran’s Day tribute.

His professional work includes PA Award winning projects with Eisenman Architects and Roto Architects, as well as projects with Taliesin Architects. He was instrumental in integrating
architectural computing and design both at Eisenman Architects and Roto, who previously did the majority of their work with traditional media types. John Maze received his Bachelor of
Science in architecture from The University of Virginia, and his Master of Architecture with Highest Distinction from Arizona State University. His research with the Pima Maricopa tribes of Arizona won him the thesis prize in 1996.

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Andrew Wehle

Andrew Wehle

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Instructional Assistant Professor
352-294-0527
RINKER 312
wehleaj@ufl.edu

Ph.D. Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Master’s of Cultural Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Bachelor’s of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

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Erin Cunningham

Erin Cunningham

Department of Interior Design
Associate Professor
352-294-1433
AH 344
ekc@ufl.edu

Ph.D., College of Design Construction & Planning, University of Florida.
M.I.D., University of Manitoba
B.A., University of Victoria

Erin Cunningham’s research examines intersections between social justice and the interior environment. Her scholarship, published in both peer-reviewed articles and invited chapters, can be broken down into three main categories. The first examines the history and preservation of the interior environment. The second examines the development of social welfare priorities in interior design. The third, and newly emerging track, examines issues of health in the lived environment. Across these topics, Erin takes a social historical approach to the study of interiors, emphasizing issues of gender, race, and class.

One of Erin’s principal responsibilities at the University of Florida is to teach the History of Interior Design, which is a two-part required sequence. Since taking responsibility for these courses she has worked to break the strict lecture style of the course, engaging students in multiple formats, including lecture, class discussion, and digital humanities methods. Alongside her history courses, she teaches interior design studio at all levels, from sophomore to senior. These studios have touched on a range of topics, including hospitality, corporate design, and housing.

With a doctoral degree in Design, Construction in Planning, a certificate in historic preservation, a professional master’s degree in interior design, and a Bachelor of Arts, Erin’s educational background is diverse, and interdisciplinary. Prior to joining the Interior Design Department at the University of Florida, she was a faculty member in the Interior Architecture Program at the University of Oregon.

 

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Shabboo Valipoor

Shabboo Valipoor

Department of Interior Design
Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator
352-294-1451
AH 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 associate professor of Interior Design at the College of Design, Construction and Planning. The focus of her research is on the impact of the built environment on human health and safety, particularly in the context of healthcare facilities and environments for aging and disabilities. She is currently working on projects that 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 with age-associated impairments. She has collaborated with scholars across disciplines on projects supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Science Foundation, Academy of Architecture for Health, and the American Society of Interior Designers. Her current teaching focuses on inclusive design in the built environment, healthcare design, and computer applications.

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Mark Russell

Mark Russell

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Instructional Associate Professor
352-273-1172
RINKER 331
russ1307@ufl.edu

Ph.D., Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida, 2011
M.S., Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, 1995
M.B.A., New Hampshire College, 1992
B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Central Florida, 1989

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Areas of Focus:
Sustainability (Sustainable Construction)
Evaluation of construction projects for sustainable principles. Use of Building Rating systems to evaluate construction projects. Performing Life Cycle Cost Analysis for decision making.

Bio:
Mark Russell joined the faculty of the ME Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management in August 2016.  As a scholar, engineer, and contractor, Dr. Russell investigates sustainable construction techniques and building rating systems.  His research focuses on effective ways to reduce building energy, water, and resources while promoting a healthy indoor environment.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida, Mark worked with the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps in a variety of construction related positions.  After earning an M.B.A. at New Hampshire College and a master’s degree in civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University, Mark retired from the U.S. Navy.  Next, he took a position with URS in Frankfort, Germany where he was responsible for design and construction projects on military bases throughout Europe.  Mark later earned his Ph.D. in Design, Construction, & Planning from the University of Florida.

Dr. Russell was the AGC Endowed Chair of Construction Management at the University of New Mexico from 2013 – 2016 and has taught courses in sustainability, civil engineering, and construction management for UF, UNM, and the University of Indonesia.   Mark Russell is also a founding partner of the consulting firm Wise Built, LLC, a building sustainability consulting firm that has worked on over 200 building projects throughout the US and in Europe.

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