This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports the development of a new Ph.D. program at Columbia University that will combine architecture and engineering perspectives to address the growing challenges of urbanization. The program will provide doctoral students with the multidisciplinary design and planning skills needed to conduct research to meet new urban requirements for: (1) adaptability - designing buildings and power, transport, water and sanitation infrastructure with sufficient flexibility to be repurposed as urban needs evolve, and as the immediate environment surrounding various urban structures changes; (2) ecology - designing to address the environmental performance of buildings, urban landscapes, land uses and infrastructure; and (3) resilience - designing buildings and infrastructure anticipating the impact of climate changes on sea level, and the possibility of man-made and natural disasters. The most important intellectual contribution of this IGERT will be the examination of the interdependent requirements of planning, and designing holistically for adaptability, ecology and resilience. Collaborative architectural and engineering studios will be used as a pedagogical tool for integrating engineering and architectural research approaches at the doctoral level. The involvement of urban stakeholders in the studio research will help ensure that the research is relevant and applicable in practice. Collaborations with universities in urban environments located within Europe, Africa and Asia will provide a global perspective to the program. Significant efforts will be made to ensure broad participation of women and under-represented minorities in the program. The IGERT will graduate a cohort of diverse doctoral students who can help shape the policies, priorities, and investments needed for contemporary urbanization. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
