21 research outputs found
Evan Douglis: Moon Jelly
No full textArchitecture Spring 2010 Lecture Series - March 2, 2010 at Slocum Hall. Evan Douglis is dean of the School of Architecture at RPI, and also principal of Evan Douglis Studio, a contemporary interdisciplinary design firm. The firm\u27s unique cutting edge research into computer aided digital design and fabrication technology, new materials and multi-media installations as applied to a range of diverse gallery installations, commercial projects and more recently a new generation of building components has elicited international acclaim
Spectra of Two-Dimensional Models for Thin Plates with Sharp Edges
No full textWe investigate the spectrum of the two-dimensional model for a thin plate with a sharp edge. The model yields an elliptic Agmon–Douglis–Nirenberg system on a planar domain with coefficients degenerating at the boundary. We prove that in the case of a degeneration rate , the spectrum is discrete, but, for , there appears a nontrivial essential spectrum. A first result for the degenerating scalar fourth order plate equation is due to Mikhlin. We also study the positive definiteness of the quadratic energy form and the necessity to impose stable boundary conditions. These results differ from the ones that Mikhlin published.Delft Institute of Applied MathematicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
A Primitive Parametric
No full textThis paper describes the products of an exhibition organized by the authors that speculatively reconstructed the ‘long history’ of Architectural Biology to recover the cultural potential of biological metaphors in contemporary architecture. The extended historical timeline of the show spanned from the second half of the nineteenth century to the present. However, in contrast to previous shows that have isolated modern architects’ interests in the formalist principles of biology, this show examined the formal and cultural prerogatives of modern architects in tandem with one another. This historical framework encouraged the speculative analysis of the social and political relevance of contemporary claims, which inherently challenges the ahistorical bias of the postcritical debates that emerged in the new millennium. Widening our gaze to examine the ‘long history’ of biological metaphors in architecture enabled us to recuperate the cultural significance that biological references have accrued within the discipline of architecture. This disciplinary history promises to repair the historical amnesia that has beset contemporary architects who limit their analysis of biology to formalist principles of design. A key component of the exhibit was the conceptual pairing of the ‘primitive’ (cultural) concerns of nineteenth-century figures with the ‘parametric’ (formal) concerns of postwar and contemporary architects. Using Gottfried Semper as a representative figure for the former position, we reinterpreted the inherent cultural meaning of postwar and contemporary architectural works, including those completed by Frei Otto, Achim Menges, Lars Spuybroek, SHoP, and Evan Douglis. The material potential of this approach was expressed in the making of analytical maps, digital models, and conceptual drawings that explored the latent ‘primitive’ themes of contemporary ‘parametric’ designs
Blending Professional Development for Rural Educators An Exploratory Study
No full textBlended learning is a process by which educators use varied web-, print-, and classroom-based techniques to present a specific set of skills to a group of adult learners. In this chapter, the author argues that Rossett, Douglis, and Frazee’s (2003) blended learning model is superior to others’ as it is based on adult-learning principles. In March, 2007, the researcher and one colleague conducted a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) federal study on teacher supply and demand issues in Northern Canada. As part of the questionnaire and interview data, the participants (n = 113) were asked to comment on professional development models currently used and models to be considered. In particular, comments on the use of blended learning as a viable method of e-professional development model were favourable. In follow up to those comments, the main researcher provided professional development model exemplars and asked the participants to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for the rural professionals. The results of this study are promising as the majority of participants chose blended learning as their primary choice for professional development.</jats:p
An error estimate of the least squares finite element method for the Stokes problem in three dimensions
No full textIn this paper we are concerned with the Stokes problem in three dimensions (see recent works of the author and B. N. Jiang for the two-dimensional case). It is a linear system of four PDEs with velocity
u
_
\underline u
and pressure p as unknowns. With the additional variable
ω
_
=
curl
u
_
\underline \omega = {\operatorname {curl}}\underline u
, the second-order problem is reduced to a first-order system. Considering the compatibility condition
div
ω
_
=
0
\operatorname {div} \underline \omega = 0
, we have a system with eight first-order equations and seven unknowns. A least squares method is applied to this extended system, and also to the corresponding boundary conditions. The analysis based on works of Agmon, Douglis, and Nirenberg; Wendland; Zienkiewicz, Owen, and Niles; etc. shows that this method is stable in the h-version. For instance, if we choose continuous piecewise polynomials to approximate
u
_
,
ω
_
\underline u ,\underline \omega
, and p, this method achieves optimal rates of convergence in the
H
1
{H^1}
-norms.</p
