April 26, 2024
Dear MDRGN - Our very own Makoto Yokohari received a remarkable and important award today. It's called the "Green Academy Prize" and it was presented at a very formal ceremony. He received the award in front of the Emperor and Empress of Japan among other important visitors. Here's a short video of the event. It's in Japanese, but you will have no trouble understanding what is happening.
Congratulations Makoto!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUfKdX6XKew
-From Dr. Brown
April 26, 2024
Dear MDRGN - Thanks very much to Siyu for hosting the seminar this week, and thanks to Wendy, Marco, and Makoto for sharing their insights and suggestions.
I hope you will attend the seminar this week and share your thoughts and ideas about future directions for our Global Network. We will break into three rooms: (1) Student and Professional Fellows; (2) Post-Doc and Junior Faculty Fellows; and (3) Senior Faculty Fellows. Each room will discuss three questions, then return to the whole group and share their ideas and suggestions.
The three questions for discussion -
Are there things we should stop doing?
Are there things that we should start doing?
Are there things that we should continue doing?
in the MDRGN Seminars.
You won't want to miss this fun and collaborative session.
See you soon.
-From Dr. Brown
April 10, 2024
Thanks very much to Yinglan Hao for sharing her MLA Final Project with us. And thanks to Yang for inviting her and hosting the seminar.
Next week we will have three student updates. Shenliang, Jiwoon, and Shu will present their work, and Xiaoyu will host. We'll send you the titles of each talk later in the week.
Student presentations are a very important part of what we do at the MDRGN. It's a great opportunity for them to share their ideas and get feedback. I hope you will join us.
-From Dr. Brown
April 8, 2024
Dear MDRGN - We have a special event at the MDRGN Seminar this week. Dr. Yang Song, our Vice-Director for Communications Research, has invited Yinglan Hao to talk to us on the topic of: Urban Park Optimization for Night-time Use - Austin Texas.
I hope to see you there.
-From Dr. Brown
April 3, 2024
We had an amazing seminar presentation by Professor Marco Amati this week. He introduced some insightful reflections and made some extraordinary connections that will lead us into the future. Thank you very much Marco for sharing your thoughts with us!
Next week we will have another special presentation, this time by a Communication Researcher identified by Yang Song. It will be entitled "OcturnalNook: Urban Park Optimization for Night-time Use _ Austin Texas" I hope to see you there!
-From Dr. Brown
March 27, 2024
Thank you, Wendy, for a terrific seminar presentation on your experiences teaching an Evidence-Based Design studio. You explained everything so clearly and based all your decisions on evidence (of course!). It provides an excellent prototype for us to continue to advance the field. And thanks very much, Yue, for hosting the seminar. Even with a 'frozen' speaker you kept calm!
Next week we will hear from Marco about Ideas for transitioning New Zealand towns towards sustainability: Reflections on a speaking tour with Salvador Rueda. While this is not very related to microclimatic-design research, one of our goals from the last "Stop, Start, Continue" session was to have a few more presentations from outside our field - to allow us to consider connections across disciplines.
I hope to see you there.
-From Dr. Brown
March 27, 2024
Dear MDRGN - Our very own Faculty Fellow, Dr. Galen Newman, received the 2024 CELA Outstanding Educator Award! CELA gives out various awards every year, but this is the BIG ONE! Only one person (in the world) receives this award each year.
Congratulations Galen!
-From Dr. Brown
March 23, 2024
Dear Madrugan - If you weren't able to attend Makoto's talk this week I strongly recommend that you watch the video. He provided some brilliant insights and some revolutionary ideas about the future of our cities. It generated some very interesting discussion. Thank you so much, Makoto, for sharing your vision for the future. And thanks very much Siyu for doing such a great job of hosting.
Next week we are going to hear an update from Wendy on her experiences with teaching evidence-based design to landscape architecture students. You won't want to miss it. Yue is going to host. See you soon.
-From Dr. Brown
March 6, 2024
Thank you very much Kevin for a terrific seminar yesterday. It was great to see how your work relates to planning and design. And thanks to Sungmin for coordinating the event. We'll definitely want to have more 'design research' seminars in future.
Don't forget that next week is Spring Break in Texas so there will not be a seminar. And remember that Daylight Savings Time starts in many parts of the US on Sunday, March 10. For some of this it means that the seminar will start an hour later, but for most of us it won't have any effect.
We have a special event planned for the March 19/20 seminar. Makoto is going to talk about:
Who said that's the only answer? Reflections on an Academic Career
You won't want to miss it.
Have a great break and I'll see you in two weeks.
-From Dr. Brown
March 4, 2024
I am very pleased to inform you that Dr. Zhixin Liu has started a new position as Lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield England.
Congratulations Zhixin!
-From Dr. Brown
March 1, 2024
Dear Lab Group - Here is a new book that I think you might find interesting (attached). Please share it widely as it is open access.
-From Dr. Brown
Webpage to check this new book out: https://islandpress.org/resilience-matters-download
Click here to download.
FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Dear Madrugan - Next week at the MDRGN Seminar our Vice-Director for Design Research, Sungmin Lee, will be hosting Dr. Kevin Lanza as our Design Research Speaker.
Kevin Lanza, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin, Texas. As high temperatures increase individuals’ risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and may be too uncomfortable for individuals to engage in physical activity, Kevin’s vision for a Culture of Health is to improve resilience to extreme heat for populations on the front lines of climate change. He aims to promote safe physical activity in warm climates for populations at risk of both heat-related illness and physical inactivity, including Latino children from low-income households.
The title of his talk is: Beating the Heat in Central Texas: Microclimatic Design for Physical Activity, Health, and Well-Being
We'll look forward to seeing you next week.
- From Dr. Brown
FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Thanks very much to Dr. Sungmin Lee for hosting the Climate Zone Updates yesterday. And thanks to Dr. Wenwen Cheng, Dr. Yi Luo, and Dr. Zhixin Liu for sharing such interesting information about their climate zone. It was fascinating to hear about how microclimatic design must respond to such different conditions in different parts of the world. For example, wind is absolutely crucial to thermal comfort in tropical and subtropical locations, but is a nemesis that must be reduced in continental and polar regions. Like Dr. Sungmin Lee said at the end - I think this was a worthwhile session and we should do it again! - From Dr. Brown.
FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Dear MDRGN - We are very pleased to inform you that Dr. YouJoung Kim has accepted a position as a tenure-track assistant professor at the Department of Urban Planning at Jeonbuk National University. Jeonbuk National University, a flagship Korean national university founded in 1947, is located in Jeonju, South Korea (https://www.jbnu.ac.kr/eng/?menuID=267). Dr. YouJoung Kim now becomes a Faculty Fellow of the MDRGN.
FEBRUARY 21, 2024
Dr. Dongying Li led this week’s panel discussion on “Advice to PhD Students". Dr. Siyu Yu, Dr. Se Woong Kim, and Dr. Yang Song shared their suggestions and experience with students fellows of the MDRGN. Next week, Dr. Sungmin Lee is going to lead the panel discussion on “Climate-zone Updates”. Dr. Yi Luo, Dr. Zhixin Liu, Dr. Wenwen Cheng, and Dr. Brown will give their speeches during meeting time. We hope to see you all next week!
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
Dear MDRGN Fellows - Thanks very much to Dr. Sungmin Lee for his interesting presentation yesterday. It generated a lot of valuable discussion. And thanks to Dr. Yang Song for hosting. Next week Dr. Dongying Li is going to host a panel discussion. Dr. Siyu Yu, Dr. Se Woong Kim, and Dr. Yang Song will provide advice to PhD students. Dr. Dongying Li has polled the students for the questions or issues they would like addressed. It should be interesting! We'll see you there.
FEBRUARY 7, 2024
Dear Madrugan Fellows - Thank you very much to Dr. Matt Malecha for his terrific presentation yesterday, and thank you to Dr. Siyu Yu for hosting. Next week we'll hear from Dr. Sungmin Lee who will talk about “Academic Life Journey: From PhD To Junior Faculty.” Dr. Yang Song will be the host. We hope to see you there. Have a great weekend.
FEBRUARY 6, 2024
Dear MDRGN - Please join us today for our featured "Policy Research Speaker". Dr. Matt Malecha will be introducing us to the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard. Dr. Siyu Yu will be hosting. We hope to see you there. Thank you!
January 30, 2024
Xiaoyu Li hosted this semester’s second MDRGN meeting. Student fellows Xiaoyu Li, Yue Zhang, and Hanfei Zhang presented their research or thesis. For next week’s seminar, Dr. Matt Malecha is going to talk about plan integration, and Dr. Siyu Yu is going to host. As part of the section "Policy Research Lecture" of the semester, you should be very interested. See you all next week!
January 30, 2024
Thank you to everyone who submitted a logo design for the contest. We appointed a small committee to rank the logos. It was a difficult decision since all the designs were terrific. However, in the end, the committee decided on a design by our student fellow Jiwoon Jeong. Congratulations, Jiwoon!
January 26, 2024
We are very pleased to report that two of our Student Fellows, Huihui Zhao and Renzhi Wu, have successfully defended their PhD dissertations and are now Doctors! Congratulations, Dr. Zhao and Dr. Wu!
January 25, 2024
We are very pleased to report that two of our Faculty Fellows will be receiving major international awards from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) at their 2024 Conference. Dr. Wonmin Sohn will receive the Award of Excellence in Research or Creative Work Junior. Dr. Galen Newman will receive the Outstanding Educator Award (top award given by CELA). Congratulations!
January 23, 2024
Dr. Brown hosted this semester’s first MDRGN meeting. And every attendee reports current activities. Next week, we will hear from three graduate students: Yue Zhang, Xiaoyu Li, and Hanfei Zhang. Please plan to attend and support our student fellows as they refine their research. See you soon next week!
January 18, 2024
The MDRGN Seminar will be resumed soon next Tuesday/Wednesday (Jan. 23/24). The first session will be a round-table update where group members will have an opportunity to talk about any new projects, activities, or advancements. We hope you have had a great break and we are looking forward to seeing you soon.
November 28, 2023
Dr. Brown hosted this semester’s last MDRGN meeting. The group members were divided into three breakout rooms to answer these three questions. Dr. Brown, Dr. Yu, and Xiaoyu Li represented each group to make summaries. We thank you all for your active participation this semester, and hope to see you all next January!
November 27, 2023
Dr. Brown is going to hold our last MDRGN meeting this semester tomorrow. The topic will be “Stop-Start-Continue" and the questions for discussion will be “Is there anything we should stop doing?", “Is there anything that we should start doing?" and “Is there anything that we should continue doing?" We are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
November 21, 2023
Dr. Tavares from the University of the Sunshine Coast led a discussion entitled “Collaborative Grant Proposal ARC" in this week’s MDRGN virtual meeting. Dr. Brown hosted this meeting. Dr. Amati, Prof. Dvorak, Dr. Mcwilliam, and Dr. Brown shared their opinions and concerns. We hope to see you all next week in our final meeting this semester!
November 15, 2023
Dr. Tavares is going to lead a discussion entitled “Collaborative Grant Proposal ARC" in the next week’s MDRGN virtual meeting (Nov. 21). We hope to see you all next week!
November 14, 2023
Ph.D. Candidate Huihui Zhao from the South China University of Technology gave a presentation entitled “The impact of dynamic solar radiation on pedestrian thermal comfort and the shading strategies for urban streets” at the MDRGN virtual meeting. Dr. Brown hosted this meeting. Dr. Amati, Dr. Brown, Prof. Dvorak, Dr. Tavares, and Mio Nemoto shared their questions and comments. If you are interested in this presentation, please contact Huihui Zhao for more details (arzhaohuihui@mail.scut.edu.cn).
November 13, 2023
Our group’s faculty fellow Dr. Xinyue Ye has been ranked very high by ScholarGPS, a worldwide ranking system of scholarship. He is listed as #2 in Geography in the US and #15 in the world. Congratulations, Dr. Ye! (If you are interested, you can check it here: https://scholargps.com/scholars/71114171170629/xinyue-ye)
November 8, 2023
Ph.D. Candidate Huihui Zhao from the South China University of Technology is going to give a presentation entitled ‘‘The impact of dynamic solar radiation on pedestrian thermal comfort and the shading strategies for urban streets" in the next week’s MDRGN virtual meeting (Nov. 14). We hope to see you all next week!
November 7, 2023
Dr. McWilliam, Dr. Amati, Dr. Yokohari and Dr. Brown led a panel discussion on the topic of ‘The role of microclimatic research and design play in mitigating and adapting to climate change’ in this week’s MDRGN virtual meeting. Dr. McWilliam hosted the discussion and made a summary at the end. Dr. Amati, Dr. Yokohari and Dr. Brown answered three questions and shared their opinions. Dr. Murphy, Dr. Tavares, Dr. Yu and Mio Nemoto also present their concerns and ideas for this topic.
November 6, 2023
Please join us in congratulating Dr. McWilliam for her promotion to Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University in New Zealand! Congratulations, Prof. McWilliam!
November 1, 2023
Dr. McWilliam from Lincoln University, Dr. Yokohari from the University of Tokyo, and Dr. Amati from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology will lead a panel discussion on the topic of ‘The role of microclimatic research and design play in mitigating and adapting to climate change’ in the next week’s MDRGN virtual meeting (Nov. 7). We are looking forward to seeing you all next week!
October 31, 2023
Dr. Liu gave a presentation entitled ‘Urban Cooling, Urban Green Infrastructure, and Urban Greening Policies’ at the MDRGN virtual meeting. Dr. Brown hosted this meeting. Dr. Yokohari, Prof. Dvorak, Dr. Murphy, Dr. Tavares, Dr. Brown, and Jiwoon Jeong shared their comments and questions. If you are interested in this presentation, please contact Dr. Liu for more details (zhixinliu@cuhk.edu.hk).
October 27, 2023
Dr. Liu from the Chinese University of Hong Kong is going to give a presentation entitled ‘Urban Cooling, Urban Green Infrastructure, and Urban Greening Policies‘ in the next week’s MDRGN virtual meeting (Oct. 31). We hope to see you all next week!
October 24, 2023
Dr. Cheng gave a presentation entitled ‘Microclimatic Design in Teaching - Challenges and Opportunities’ at the MDRGN virtual meeting. Anupriya Sukumar hosted this meeting. Dr. Tavares, Dr. Mcwilliam, Dr. Murphy, and Dr. Brown shared their experience in teaching and suggestions for designing the structure of courses. If you are interested in this presentation, please contact Dr. Cheng for more details (Wenwen.cheng@wisc.edu).
October 20, 2023
Dr. Wenwen Cheng from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is going to give a presentation entitled ‘Microclimatic Design in Teaching - Challenges and Opportunities’ in next week’s MDRGN virtual meeting (Oct. 24). And it is marked by Dr. Brown as ‘This is a very important topic that we have not yet discussed very much.’ We hope to see you all next week!