Scott E. Johnson

Short Curriculum Vitae

For an expanded, more descriptive version of a section, click the section heading.

ADDRESS

2668 Euclid Heights Blvd., #105W
Cleveland Heights, OH 43220
Home Phone: +1 216 320 1528
Cell: +1 216 394 7678
E-mail: sven@umich.edu
Home Page: http://www.umich.edu/~sven/

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Ph. D. in Architecture, Aug. 2004: University of Michigan
Master of Science in Architecture, Dec. 1996: University of Michigan
Master of Architecture, Aug. 1990: Iowa State University
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, May 1986: Iowa State University

EXPERIENCE

CAD/BIM Manager, Sep. 2006 - present: Richard L. Bowen + Associates Inc., Cleveland, OH
Oversaw implementation of Revit and ongoing use of AutoCAD in an architecture and engineering firm. Duties included software training; standards development; creation of architectural, structural, and MEP content; creation of a project template and methods for LEED documentation, etc.
Application Engineer, Sep. 2005 - May 2006: AEC CADCON, Inc., Columbus, OH
Undertook VBA and AutoLISP programming assignments, taught training classes, delivered tech support, gave software demos, and wrote a white paper and various tips articles.
Lecturer, Sep. 2004 - May 2005: Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Graduate Student Instructor/Teaching Assistant, various semesters, Sep. 1991 - Jun. 1999: College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Computer Consultant I, Jan. - Apr. 1998: Continuing Education Workshops for faculty and practitioners; College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Instructor, Jan. - May. 1997: College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan; An introduction to computer drafting and modelling concepts and techniques, and to web publishing.
Research Assistant, Jan. 1992 - Aug. 1993: Energy Cost Avoidance Project (ECAP),; College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Teaching Assistant/CAD Lab Monitor, Aug. 1986 - Dec. 1989: College of Design, Iowa State University
Assistant Instructor, Apr. 1988, Apr. 1987, Apr. 1986: Continuing Education Workshops for practicing architects; College of Design, Iowa State University

PUBLICATIONS

[Johnson, Scott]. 2006.: A tip for 3d novices: Producing birdseye views with the ORBIT command in AutoCAD. AEC CADCON Newsletter, May 2006: Tips and Tricks Section. Available on the World-Wide Web at http://www.aeccadcon.com/newsletters/2006-May/default.asp.
[Johnson, Scott]. 2006.: Tabulating area data in AutoCAD. AEC CADCON Newsletter, May 2006: Tips and Tricks Section. AEC CADCON Newsletter article, formerly available from the AEC CADCON website, now available from the author.
[Johnson, Scott]. 2005.: The importance of building information. White paper, formerly available from the AEC CADCON website, now available from the author.
Johnson, Scott, Peter von Buelow, and Patrick Tripeny. 2004.: Linking structural analyses and architectural data: Why it's harder than we thought. In Fabrication: Examining the digital practice of architecture [ACADIA 2004 conference proceedings], eds. Phillip Beesley, Nancy Yen-Wen Cheng, and R. Shane Williamson, 230-243. Waterloo, Canada: University of Waterloo Press.
Johnson, Scott. 2004.: An exploration of protean elements as representations in a computer aid for design. Ph.D. diss., Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan.
Johnson, Scott. 2002.: The slow and incremental 'revolution.' Journal of architectural education, 56, no. 2: 49-54.
Johnson, Scott, and Glenn Goldman. 2001.: Binary oppositions: Should an introduction to computing in architecture be taught as a separate course? ACADIA Quarterly, 20, no. 1: 3-5.
Johnson, Scott, and Brian Johnson. 2000.: Binary oppositions: Should designers learn to think differently in order to better utilize digital design tools? ACADIA Quarterly, 19, no. 4: 2-4.
Johnson, Scott, and Volker Mueller. 2000.: Binary oppositions: Are computers yet aids for design? ACADIA Quarterly, 19, no. 3: 4-6.
Johnson, Scott, and Ganapathy Mahalingam. 2000.: Binary oppositions: Will computers be able to design as well as human designers in the foreseeable future? ACADIA Quarterly, 19, no. 2: 21-23.
Johnson, Scott, and Mark Clayton. 2000.: Binary oppositions: Should buildings designed with a computer "look like" they were designed with a computer? ACADIA Quarterly, 19, no. 1: 19-21.
Johnson, Scott. 1999.: The argument against mandatory computer ownership. In Education column, ed. Murali Paranandi. ACADIA Quarterly 18, no. 1: 20.
Johnson, Scott. 1998(a).: Making models architectural: Protean representations to fit architects' minds. In Digital design studios: Do computers make a difference? [ACADIA 1998 Conference Proceedings], eds. Thomas Seebohm and Skip Van Wyk, 354-365. Quebec City, Canada: Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture.
Johnson, Scott. 1998(b).: Toward making the language of CAAD match the language of architecture: A protean elements approach . In Computerised craftsmanship [eCAADe 1998 conference proceedings], 93-100. Paris, France: Education in Computer-Aided Architectural Design in Europe.
Johnson, Scott. 1998(c).: What's in a representation, why do we care, and what does it mean? Examining evidence from psychology. Automation in construction, 8, no. 1: 15-24.
Johnson, Scott. 1997.: What's in a representation, why do we care, and what does it mean? Examining evidence from psychology. In Representation and Design[ACADIA 1997 Conference Proceedings], eds. J. Peter Jordan, Bettina Mehnert, and Anton Harfmann, 5-15. Cincinnati, Ohio: Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture.
Jones, James, Kurt Brandle, Scott Johnson, and Craig Zehnder. 1993.: A hypermedia based energy management tool. In Conference proceedings for the international solar energy society annual meeting. Washington, D.C.
Johnson, Scott. 1990.: Demonstration of an abstract data type for gradual definition, refinement, and computer-graphic representation of architectural elements. M.Arch. thesis, Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University.

ACTIVITIES

Associate Member, 2006: American Institute of Architects
Steering Committee, 2004-2006: ACADIA (Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture)
Paper Reviewer, 2004: International Journal of Architectural Computing
Paper Reviewer, 2001, 2005, 2006: ACADIA Conferences
Competition Committee Member, 2000 - 2001: ACADIA Second International Design Competition
Contributing Editor, 2000 - 2001: ACADIA Quarterly
Member, since 1990: ACADIA

SOFTWARE AND PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE FAMILIARITY

Drafting, Modeling, and Rendering Software: Extensive experience with AutoCAD, Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP.; Some experience with MicroStation, Form*Z, 3D Studio, Rhinoceros, ArchiCAD, IDEAS, etc.
Other Graphics Software: Extensive experience with PowerPoint, Photoshop and PageMaker.; Some experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
Fabricating Software: Extensive experience with LaserCAMM software.; Some experience with CSP (cross-sectional prototyping) and Mastercam routing toolpath software.
Non-Graphics Programs: Extensive experience with Microsoft Developer Studio (Programming Environment), Microsoft Word, Excel, and numerous other programs for text editing, software development, file transfer, Web browsing, and other tasks.; Some experience with other programming environments, Newforma (data management), STAAD-Pro (structural Finite Element Analysis), ETABS (structural Finite Element Analysis), ANSYS (Finite Element Analysis), DreamWeaver, and other software.
Programming Languages: Extensive experience with C/C++ (primarily Microsoft Visual C++), Lisp (Common Lisp and AutoLisp), and Pascal.; Some experience using C#, Visual Basic, raw HTML, Hypertalk, OPS5, and Assembly Languages.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Building Information Modeling (BIM): I first became interested in Building Information Modeling before it was called "BIM," even before it was refered to with terms like "object-based representations of building components," when we had to use phrases like "high-level representations of architectural elements." My Ph.D. dissertation research on "Protean elements," and before that, my master's thesis research concerned attempts to create such representations. Even now that BIM software has become mainstream, I feel much work in the area remains to be done. Remaining issues include abstracting architectural data to generate data for analyses, relaxation of "model correctness" constraints, and the role of joints between model elements.
Conceptual-Level vs. Product-Level Modeling: This is a complex topic growing from my work on BIM. There is a widely-recognized need to include product-level data (information about particular steel members, windows, light fixtures, etc.) in a Building Information Model. However, there is also a less-well-recognized need to include "conceptual-level" data, about walls, rooms, floors, and other conceptual elements that do not correspond in a 1-to-1 manner with "off-the-shelf" building products. Such elements correspond to architectural concepts used in design, and are important for certain (e.g. thermal/energy) analyses. Integrating both levels in a design tool is a complex but interesting task. I believe certain providers of building materials (e.g., the timber industry) would have an interest in seeing advances in this area of research, and hope to approach them regarding funding or joint research projects.
Mental Representation and Visual Imagery: While the capacity of verbal short-term memory is well established (about 7 plus or minus 2 words, digits, or "chunks;" or about 2 seconds worth of speech), the capacity of visual short-term memory and even the units of measurement are less well defined. What sort of representations are used for mental images, and how are these representations used? It would be interesting to collaborate with psychologists or other design researchers to investigate these topics.
Providing Appropriate Tools: User interface research sometimes gets bogged down in concerns over cutting a few hundred milliseconds from a sequence of user input actions. A more important issue, in my opinion, is whether the right tool for the job is being provided. An understanding of cognition, design, and data needed for architectural applications can lead to specification of more appropriate tools for design.
Representations for Genetic Algorithms: I am interested in developing representations of architectural form and space (or more likely, representations of ontological development of form and space) that are amenable to manipulation by genetic algorithms. I'd like to pursue such research by first learning more about certain aspects of genetics (e.g., the role of "protein factors" in an organism's development) to determine whether there might be some sort of useful analogy in genetic algorithms for building morphology.

REFERENCES

Mr. J. Paul Romanic, R.A.: 118 Ambrose Drive
Hudson, OH 44236
Tel: + 1 330 592 3086
E-mail: promanic@gmail.com
Paul is a project manager at RLB+A, and is very familiar with my work as CAD/BIM Manager there.
Mr. Norbert Howell: Advanced Solutions, Inc.
1335 Dublin Rd, Suite 110F
Columbus, OH 43215
Tel: +1 614 487 6840
Fax: +1 614 487 6841
E-mail: nhowell@advsolinc.com
Norb was president of AEC CADCON before its merger with Advanced Solutions, and oversaw my work doing tech support, programming and other tasks while I was there.
Prof. James Turner: 2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069
Tel: +1 734 214 3824
Fax: +1 734 763 2322
E-mail: turner@umich.edu
Jim was one of the co-chairs of my dissertation committee at the University of Michigan, and was an instructor under who I served as a Teaching Assistant. He can answer questions about my writing, programming, and teaching skills.

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Last update: May 5, 2009 Scott E. Johnson (sven@umich.edu)