CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS:
See complete listings for details.

Feature Stories

Follow the exploits of Serge the Turtle and Leroy the Lazy Lion in the student-animated short film "Some Assembly Required."

Animated film screening to launch visualization student art exhibit

This Friday at 8 p.m. on the western wall outside of Square One restaurant in downtown Bryan, students from the visualization program in Texas A&M’s Department of Architecture will show their animated short film, “Some Assembly Required.”

That same evening, the restaurant will launch a three-week exhibit of 2-D work showing the animation process behind the short film, as well as other artwork completed during the College of Architecture’s Spring 2006 Artists in Residence program.

A reception kicking off the exhibit will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the restaurant, located at 211 West William J. Bryan Parkway.

For full story go to
http://archone.tamu.edu/archcom/archoneUpdate/
full_4-06-06_someassemblyrequired.htm.

At last month's Dean's External Advisory Council meeting, Preston M. Geren Jr. '45 (above) was recognized for his generous support of the college. See story below.

Graham Phillips presents inaugural
Giesecke Lecture Friday at 5 p.m.

Graham Phillips, an internationally acclaimed architect and principal with Foster and Partners Architects in London will present the inaugural lecture of the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s new Frederick E. Giesecke Endowed Lecture Series. The presentation, examining Phillips’ three decades working alongside the firm’s world renowned founder and chairman, Norman Foster, is set for 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 7 in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium in Building B of the Langford Architecture Center.

“A generous gift from Preston and Colleen Geren ’45 established the Giesecke Endowed Lecture Series, enabling us to bring outstanding world-scale speakers to the college on a regular basis,” said J. Thomas Regan, dean of the College of Architecture. “These lectures will give our students and faculty the opportunity to hear the latest ideas and accomplishments by leaders in the virtual and built-environment professions, industries, and disciplines, as well as to hear speakers who have contributed to the historic present.”

For the full story go to:
http://archone.tamu.edu/archcom/archoneUpdate/
4-06-06_phillips.htm.

Faculty craft software to help design
better environments for the elderly

Elderly residents of long-term-care facilities may long to go outdoors, but the designs of their new homes do not always make that easy. Now, a Texas A&M University architecture professor is developing a multimedia guide to help designers of nursing homes and assisted-living complexes build environments that help residents enjoy nature.

"Research in architecture and landscape design has revealed that professionals in these fields don't always know how to build elderly-friendly features that make the grounds of long-term-care facilities accessible to their residents," says Susan Rodiek, who is associate director of the Center for Health Systems & Design (CHSD), a joint research center of the College of Architecture and the Texas A&M System Health Science Center. "So several colleagues, including CHSD Fellows Elton Abbot and Marcia Ory, and I decided to put together a series of CDs showing them how."

For full story:
http://communications.tamu.edu/newsarchives/06/
032306news-19.html

College to host TEX-GRAPH 2006

TEX-GRAPH 2006, an informal meeting of Texas researchers with an interest in computer graphics and interactive techniques, will be held 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. May 5 and 6 in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium and Langford B Exhibit Hall at the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University.

The mini-symposium offers a forum for researchers, professionals, and those interested in computer graphics, multimedia, interactive technologies, visualization and related areas to meet and discuss current activities and research initiatives.

Participants, including educators and researchers, will present current work based on computer graphics and interactive techniques.

TEX-GRAPH has been held four times in the past, twice at Texas A&M University in 2000 and 2005, at the University of Houston in 2001, and at the University of Texas at Austin in 2002.

There is no registration fee for the conference, but participants will be asked to register at the door.

Information about presenting, as well as the latest TEX-GRAPH news is available on the TEX-GRAPH Web site: http://www-viz.tamu.edu/texgraph/

Sudha Arlikatti (above, left), a Ph.D. candidate, represented the Master of Urban Planning program at last weekend's Lone Star Diversity Fair. The MUP booth featured a variety of student projects from the past few years. Lisa Weston, visiting professor in Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, also handed out program materials and spoke to students from across Texas.

MUP program was well represented at Lone Star Graduate Diversity Fair

The Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning’s Master of Urban Planning program was well represented in the inaugural Lone Star Graduate Diversity Colloquium held last weekend at Texas A&M University.

The objective of the program was to help students from minority populations that are typically under-represented in Texas higher education learn more about graduate school and graduate programs available to them in Texas. The event also featured faculty workshops focused on recruiting and retaining students from diverse backgrounds.

Student participants attended workshops on a variety of topics, such as funding graduate school and identifying and comparing graduate programs. Faculty workshops included “How Faculty Can Recruit Outstanding Graduate Students” and “Improving Retention of Minority Graduate Students.”

During the event, scholarships totaling more than $21,000 were randomly presented in $1,000 increments to 21 students attending the event.

On Thursday, April 13, Evans Library will host a daylong training presentation by Artstor, non-profit organization that maintains a repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images and related data and provides tools to utilize those images.

An introductory session is scheduled for 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Room 204E of the Evans Library. The session will be followed by a several sessions offering beginning, intermediate and advance training related to the use of the Artstor collection and software.

ARTstor’s rich digital library offers coherent collections of more than 300,000 art, architecture and archeology images, as well as descriptive information. The organization’s software tools support a wide range of pedagogical and research uses including: viewing and analyzing images through features such as zooming and panning, saving groups of images online for personal or shared uses, and creating and delivering presentations both online and offline.

ARTstor’s collection may be accessed from the Evans Library site by visiting http://library.tamu.edu and entering "artstor" as an "Indexes/Databases." The Web site can also be accessed directly at http://www.artstor.org/info/
The resource is available solely for noncommercial educational and scholarly uses.

For more information or to register for one or more of the training sessions, contact Charles R. Smith at 979-862-1896 or crsmith@tamu.edu.

Whoopstock celebrates cultural unity

Whoopstock, an annual unity festival staged to unite Texas A&M University and its surrounding communities is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 8 at the Aggie Fan Zone (in front of Kyle Field on Joe Routt).

The fun-filled event includes ethnic foods, games, live entertainment, and educational activities. This year the event organizers are introducing Whoopstock Jr., a mini event for kids that includes children's games, activities, and special demonstrations.

For more information go to http://whoopstock.tamu.edu

Administrative Notes

Show your ID, save 10% on meals

By showing their university ID card, faculty and staff can save 10% on meals purchased from Texas A&M Food Service locations.*

The discount is currently available at the Azimuth, Critical Care Café, 41st Club, the Pavilion Snack Bar and Life Savor Coffee Bar.

*The offer is not valid at the Commons Food Court, Sbisa& Duncan Dining Center and Commons & Underground C-Stores.

The offer is valid until Friday, May 12, 2006.

What's going on in your department?

On Feb. 2, of this year, the College of Architecture revived the old Inside Track e-newsletter in a new format. The electronic publication has since evolved over nine issues. The Inside Track staff is very interested in receiving some feedback from the college community. How are we doing?

Also, when initially launched, it was assumed that the faculty and staff would participate in the newsletter, using it as a medium for communicating news and announcing special events of interest to the college community. While we have enjoyed some successes in this area and are grateful to those who've submitted news items, for the most part the college is not responding as we had hoped. As a result, a considerable effort is made each week to identify and articulate college news and events that are not being called to our attention.

Your help is desperately needed.

If there is anything of interest to the college community going on in your department or unit, please let us know. Without your earnest, sustained support, many newsworthy items will likely go unreported and will not find their way into press releases and our external newsletter, archone.

You may e-mail Inside Track submissions to prollfing@archone.tamu.edu by noon Tuesday prior to Thursday distribution. Additional details on gathering and submitting news for dissemination our constituent audiences can be found at http://archone.tamu.edu/archcom/archoneUpdate/
submissions.htm

This Week's Calendar

Friday - April 7

Dollhouse Build Day & Silent Auction: 3-5 p.m. Friday April 7 and 9 a.m. - noon Saturday, April 8 in the Langford A Atrium Kim Carlson's construction materials and methods class will set up their custom-built dollhouses as part of this semester's Build Day project. The dollhouses will be sold in a silent auction with proceeds going to construction science scholarships. For more information, contact Kim Carlson at kimcarlson@verizion.net.

"My Three Decades with Norman Foster" the inaugural lecture of the College of Architecture’s new Frederick E. Giesecke Endowed Lecture Series, features Graham Phillips, an internationally acclaimed architect and principal with Foster and Partners Architects. Phillips' will talk about working for 30 years alongside the firm’s world renowned founder and chairman, Norman Foster. The event is set for 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 7 in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium in Building B of the Langford Architecture Center. See complete story at the top of this page.

Tau Sigma Delta induction banquet is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Alumni Center. Tau Sigma Delta is an honor society for architecture and the applied arts. The organization’s Web site can be found at http://stuact.tamu.edu/stuorgs/tsd/default.html. For more information on the April 7 event, contact Jennifer Bettiol at 979-450-2863 or jbettiol@neo.tamu.edu.

First Friday lecture: ”Computational Grids: Analyzing the Performance of Applications,” will be held in Room 206 of the Memorial Student Center. Lunch will be provided to registrants at 11:45 a.m., the workshop will begin at noon. To register, visit http://vpr.tamu.edu/registration.
For more information, contact Anita Dotson at 845-1812 or a-dotson@tamu.edu

MUP Professional Advisory Council meets 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the Langford A Gallery. For more information, contact Clarissa Garcia at 845-1019 or cgarcia@archmail.tamu.edu.

Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center Staff Meets 10 a.m. - noon in Langford B 209 to discuss HRRC research initiatives, make assignments, and provide a forum for staff and student presentations. For more information, contact Carla Prater at 862-3970 or carla@archone.tamu.edu.

VIZA Admissions Committee meets 2 - 4 p.m. In Langford C 429 to review admission applications for fall 2006. For more information, contact Margaret Lomas at 5-3465 or marge@viz.tamu.edu.

Saturday - April 8

Parent's Weekend Open House: The annual university-wide open house for undergraduate students and their families. For more information see the Parent's Weekend Agenda (35k pdf):
http://archone.tamu.edu/archcom/archoneUpdate/PDFs/
CARC-ParentsWeekend.pdf

Dollhouse Big Build Day Silent Auction Continues: Saturday, April 8 in the Langford A Atrium Kim Carlson's construction materials and methods class will continue their silent auction of custom-built dollhouses. Proceeds from the dollhouse sales go to construction science scholarships. For more information, contact Kim Carlson at kimcarlson@verizion.net.

Whoopstock: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of Kyle Field on Joe Routt. Annual unity festival with ethnic foods, games, live entertainment, and educational activities. For more information go to http://whoopstock.tamu.edu

Monday - April 10

“Building Modeling: Redefining the Design Process,” is the title of an April 10 lecture by E. Davis Chauviere, AIA, principal and chief information officer with HKS Inc. The lecture, presented by the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s CRS Center for Leadership and Management in the Design and Construction Industry, will be held 1-2 p.m. in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium in Building B of the Langford Architecture Center. Chauviere’s presentation will focus on a variety of aspects related to building information modeling (BIM).

Tuesday - April 11

Staff Luncheon: noon - 1 p.m. in the Langford A Atrium. For more information, contact Mashalle Mooring at mmooring@archone.tamu.edu.

Study Abroad Orientation - Italy & Spain: 6 - 8 p.m. in Langford C 111 and C 208 an orientation class will be held for students who are planning to study abroad in Spain and Italy. For more information, contact Dolores Gonzales at 458-0102 or dgonzales@archone.tamu.edu.

College of Architecture’s Executive Committee meets 9 - 11 a.m. in Langford A 217. For more information, contact Sue Wade at 845-1223 or swade@archone@tamu.edu.

Wednesday - April 12

Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning Lecture Series: 5 - 7 p.m. in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium. For more information, contact June Withers at 845-1046 or jwithers@archone.tamu.edu.

The Construction Science Spring Awards Banquet will be held 4 - 11 p.m. Wednesday April 12 at the Hilton Hotel in College Station. The Awards Recognition Ceremony runs from 4 - 5:30 p.m. and the banquet will be held 6:30-9:30 p.m. A "casino night" and auction. will follow the banquet. The department will present more than $175,000 in scholarships. This year, for the first time ever, freshmen students who have been admitted into the program will be invited to attend the event. Keynote speakers include Pat Kiley, executive director of the Houston Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, and Gary Blair, Texas A&M women’s basketball coach. Banquet guests will be coming from all across the United States. As is typical at this event, a constructor will be named to the department's Construction Hall of Fame. In addition to the awards ceremony and banquet, earlier in the day the Construction Industry Advisory Council will hold its spring board meeting. The CIAC currently has over 75 corporate members. Larry Fickel, construction manager with Shaw Construction in Grand Junction, Colorado, is the current CIAC president. For more information, contact Ann Eastwood at 845-0289 or aeastwood@archone.tamu.edu.

The Committee to Form a Department of Visualization meets 8 - 9 a.m. every Wednesday in Langford B 209 to discuss procedures and create proposals for creating a new department. For more information, contact Margaret Lomas at 845-3465 or marge@viz.tamu.edu.

SPRING 2006: CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Thursday - April 13

Click image for larger view.

Lighting Exposed — ARCH 433 Lighting Show: Jill Mulholland's ARCH 433 class will set up their lighting installations in the Langford Gallery and throughout the Langford Architecture Center Complex. The show, "Lighting Exposed," will run from 9 p.m. - midnight. In addition to the student work, three case studies from Mulholland's Ph.D. project will be presented in the gallery in video format running on continuous five-minute loops. On Friday night, Mulholland's outdoor installation can be viewed after dark at the Riverside Campus. For details and to arrange meeting at the gate to gain entrance to the Riverside Campus, contact Jill Mulholland at jill.mulholland@gmail.com.

Art Car Painting Party: Bring your own paintbrush and join the fun Thursday evening, April 13 as Mary Saslow’s art students apply their varied and considerable talents to painting an art car to be entered in the 19th Annual Everyone’s Art Car Parade in Houston.

Student Ara Walter’s father and his car partner, Brian Thomas, built the car, “the B&B Doubleheader,” from the front ends of two Dodge Caravans. Like Dr. Doolittle’s celebrated mutant llama, the pushme-pullyou, the Doubleheader is always coming and going at the same time.

The car is to arrive at 5:30 p.m. and will be parked in the area between Langford Buildings A and B, which will be closed to traffic. The painting will continue until the job is done. Tentative plans call for a car to be adorned with a hodgepodge of two-headed characters.

The Art Car Parade, sponsored by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 13 on Allen Parkway in Houston. More details are available online at http://www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html

MUP Professional Advisory Council meets 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the Langford A Gallery. For more information, contact Clarissa Garcia at 845-1019 or cgarcia@archmail.tamu.edu.

Department of Architecture Scholarship Awards Banquet & Ceremony is set for 6 - 10 p.m. at the Pebble Creek Country Club. The event is still being planned, but there will be a fee to attend and reservations will be required. Inside Track will update the relevant information when it is available. In the meantime, direct your queries to Melinda Randle 847-8918 or mrandle@archone.tamu.edu.

Friday - April 14

Mulholland's Riverside Campus Light Installation: The outdoor portion of Jill Mulholland's Ph.D. light project will be displayed after dark at the Texas A&M Riverside Campus. Anyone interested in viewing the project should meet Jill at the gate around 9 p.m. Please e-mail her at at jill.mulholland@gmail.com for details. The Ph.D. project at the Riverside campus, as well as five case studies, were funded by a $20,000 Nuckolls Fund Grant. The projects will be evaluated by lighting experts Charles Linn, Marietta Millet and Dick Peters. Three of the case studies will be presented with other student work in the Langford Gallery as part of Thursday night's light show.

Wednesday - April 19

"Texas Chapels in the Landscape of Light" with Dr. Nora Laos from the College of Architecture at the University of Houston. Laos holds a Ph.D. in architecture and a M.F.A. from Princeton University; a M.Arch and B.S. in architectural studies from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. The lecture will be held 5 – 7 p.m. in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium.

Annual Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning Awards Banquet: 6 - 10 p.m. at the Briarcrest Country Club. The planning for the event is under way, invitations will be mailed closer to the banquet date. For more information, contact Clarissa Garcia at 845-1019 or cgarcia@archmail.tamu.edu.

Friday & Saturday – May 5 & 6

TEX-GRAPH 2006: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the Preston M. Geren Auditorium and Langford B Exhibit Hall. Graphics researchers and educators from Texas gather for this mini-symposium to present current work based on computer graphics and interactive techniques. The planning for the event is under way. More details will be forthcoming. For more information, contact Margaret Lomas at 845-3465 or marge@viz.tamu.edu.

Saturday - May 6

LAUP Department Picnic for faculty, staff and students and their families. The location and time of this event has not yet been established. For more details or suggestions, contact June Withers at 845-1046 or jwithers@archone.tamu.edu.

Thursday - May 11

COSC Graduation Reception: 1 - 8 p.m. in Langford A Atrium. For more information, contact Ann Eastwood at 845-0289 or aeastwood@archone.tamu.edu.

Saturday - May 13

2006 Houston Art Car Parade: A car painted by Mary Saslow's students will be in the parade. For more information, contact Mary Saslow at saslow@viz.tamu.edu.

Tuesday - May 30

Secret Pal Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in Langford B Exhibit Hall exclusively for Secret Pal participants. For more information, contact Susie Billings at 847-9357 or sBillings@archmail.tamu.edu.

Yearlong Centennial Celebration wraps up

Tom Regan, dean of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, welcomes the crowd at last Friday evening's gala Centennial Celebration finale at the Miramont Country Club. The 100th birthday commemoration, followed last Saturday with a college-wide Open House, wrapped up a yearlong celebration of 100 years of architectural education at Texas A&M University and in the state of Texas.