Research and Partnerships

Art, Architecture and Design faculty have national distinction in their fields and expertise in a range of research areas. This includes housing, community resilience, and sustainability; user experience design, interactive design, and assistive technologies; paper engineering and packaging; public and participatory art; data visualization and eye tracking; modern and contemporary art; and museum education. They are recipients of Fulbright and Guggenheim awards, and grant and residencies from Art Bridges, Creative Capital, Dedalus, Getty, MacDowell, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Skowhegan, Triangle Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and other institutions.

Our research bridges faculty and students, and classroom learning and real-world application. Through advanced Capstone, Honors Projects, and Fusion: Design Practice courses, students pursue research that has real impact in the world, in collaboration with industry and community partners. We are the founding department of the Small Cities Lab, a College of Arts and Sciences research center that advances partnered research on the challenges and opportunities faced by small cities across the nation, as distinct from larger metropolitan areas. From 1989 to 2002, we chaired the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, today the Council on Vertical Urbanism. 

For corporations, non-profits, and municipalities, we offer a range of partnership pathways to advance research and innovation in partnership with higher education. We partner with mission-driven organizations to help them unlock bold new potential for innovation, build research capacity, strengthen national visibility, and expand their talent pipelines by providing access to the next generation of creative leaders in the arts.