• Sara Bayramzadeh, Ph.D., M.Arch. | Coordinator and Elliot Professor

• Peter Bohan AIA, ACHA, LEED AP

• Ryan Conover, EDAC, iLAD

• Kara Freihoefer, Ph.D., CID, EDAC, LEED ID+C

RESEARCH

TOWARD A MODEL OF SAFETY AND CARE FOR TRAUMA ROOM DESIGN

"Toward a model of Safety and Care for Trauma Room Design" is a $2.4 grant project awarded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The project aims to help save patients' lives by improving the design of Level I trauma rooms.

Caitlin Raymond, MHD

“Going through this program allowed me to not only further my education and gain more experience in the healthcare field, but also explore my passion of design. The program gave me the opportunity to work with other architects and designers who share my passion of creating a more efficient and effective healing environment. The classes allowed enough flexibility that I could complete the assignments while working and offered many different resources that I could explore on my own.

Dr. David Hacker manages the research facilities in engineering geology. Separate labs in soil mechanics and rock mechanics with specialized instrumentation include equipment for measuring elastic constants, a consolidation test apparatus, and a Los Angeles abrasion machine.

The B.O.S.S. experimental lab in 141 houses soil and sediment experiments and incubations. There are two field-deployable continuous flow gas analyzers capable of high-precision measurements of O₂ and CO₂: a Field Metabolic System (Sable Systems) and a Foxbox (Sable Systems). Programmable logic controllers are available along with customizable manifold blocks for automation of experiments and other gas analyses. Field deployable sensors include soil moisture and temperature probes, soil gas probes, and meteorological sensors. 

Our Geochemical Weighing lab (MCG 204A) is equipped with a microbalance (elemental combustion analysis) and a semi-microbalance (trace element analysis). The Geochemical Prep Laboratory (MCG 131B) is equipped with Claisse LeNeo Fusion Fluxer, Carver pellet press, Spex Ball Mill and solid digestion setup for geological, biological, and water analysis.

This laboratory contains analogue models for simulating earth surface and subsurface processes for research and teaching.

This lab serves as a staging area for field research campaigns and subsequent sample storage and analysis.

Dr. Alison J. Smith manages the Paleolimnology Lab, which houses a Virtis Freeze Dryer, two ultrasonic water baths, a freezer and refrigeration unit, as well as field equipment for lake coring and aquatic sediment and field sampling for water and isotope analysis. Sediment samples are processed for microfossils in this lab. In an adjoining room to this lab, microscopes and microfossil type collections are housed and used in microfossil identification and analysis.

This multi-user facility allows for full characterization of soil, sediment, and rock samples to determine bulk mineralogical and elemental composition, and grain and sub-grain-scale texture and morphology.