Teaching
Brendan Harmon
I have extensive experience teaching
digital media, computational design, geospatial science,
research and theory, and advanced design studios.
The Hungry River
Water Systems Studio
• reclaiming sand & gravel mines
• prevents pit capture
• restores river morphology
• restores riparian ecology
• fieldwork by kayak
• with drone photogrammetry
Giant Panda National Park Studio
Advanced Topics Studio
• fieldwork in Sichuan
• ecological simulation of panda movement
• model network of habitat corridors
• accounting for sensory ecology
• and stochastic variation
• parametric reforestation
In my upper level studios,
students have an opportunity
to apply creative computational thinking
to planning and design projects.
In a studio on computational ecology, for example,
students designed a masterplan
for giant panda conservation
in Sichuan, China.
After fieldwork in the mountains,
they used ecological models to simulate a network
of ecologically functional corridors for giant pandas
that accounted for sensory ecology and stochastic variation.
Then they used Grasshopper to rapidy design
ecologically diverse reforestion schemes
for the habitat corridors.
Thesis, Andrew Wright, 2020
• designed offshore structures
• to catalyze emergence of wetlands
• using a physical hydrodynamic model
• for simulations with tracer dye
• of flow and accumulation of fine sediment
I also regularly teach research methods
and advise capstone and theses.
Here is an example of a thesis I advised
that uses simulation for speculative design.
This thesis - the Siltcatcher -
envisioned a system of offshore structures
for accumulating sediment from the Bonnet Carré Spillway
to catalyze the development of new wetlands.
The student used a physical hydrodynamic model
to test and evaluate design ideas.
He used simulations with tracer dye
to study the flow and accumulation of fine sediment...
and develop a design
that would catalyze land building
in Lake Pontchartrain.
GIS for Designers
Fundamentals
Intro to GIS
Geodesy
Cartography
Map algebra
Programming
Landscape
Lidar
Terrain
Hydrology
Visibility
Solar
Urban
Urban data
Demographics
Walkability
Map overlays
3D printing
I have regularly taught an introduction to
geographic information systems for designers.
Topics covered include cartography, map algebra,
terrain modeling, hydrology, urban analytics,
visual programming, and digital fabrication.
For this course I have developed extensive tutorials,
a collection of Youtube videos, and datasets.
Computational Design
Fundamentals
Grasshopper
Algorithms
Stochasticity
Noise
Attractors
Intermediate
Earthworks
Hydrology
CNC machining
Biome
Physics
Advanced
Point clouds
Volumetric modeling
3D Printing
Neural rendering
Generative AI
I also regularly teach a course on computational design
that introduces the basics of visual programming with Grasshopper.
Topics covered in this course include
randomness, procedural noise, attractors, physics,
earthworks, volumetric modeling, and digital fabrication.
Construction Robotics
Robotics
Introduction
Operations
Programming
Sensing
Applications
Materials Research
Research
Conceptualization
Experimentation
Fabrication
Analysis
Construction
Ideation
Design
Prototype
Construction
Documentation
I also teach creative applications
of robotics for autonomous construction.
For example, in my classes,
students learn how to
parametrically model brick walls
and then robotically lay the bricks.
Computational Ecology
Remote Sensing
Drone piloting
Drone imagery
Classification
Mach. Learning
Veg. Indices
Lidar Analytics
Drone lidar
Laser scanning
Segmentation
Classification
Biomass
Acoustic Ecology
Bioacoustics
Field recordings
Soundscapes
Spectrograms
Metrics
I also publish open education materials online
including tutorials, videos, and datasets.
