Many on this list teach or have strong contacts with university programs, so I'm hoping to leverage our network in service of something that may be of general benefit.
EDR has a Research Fellowship program where we host young talent for 3 or 12 months addressing new theme each year. The Fellow(s) get "academic freedom" and have no billable responsibility. We get their energy and insight. And we require them to share what they've learned with the profession through presentations, online postings, and publications. Previous years have addressed themes of Building Performance, Resilience, Community Engagement, Health in the Built Environment, performative Civil Landscapes, Building Envelopes, and the interaction of human biology with Sound and Vision.
The goal of the 2019-2020 Fellowship program ("Deep impact: Paths to Zero Carbon") is to develop a set of a dozen or so case studies where we'll take real-world projects (a mix of new construction and deep renovations) and do detailed technical explorations and cost estimating of the least-cost path to take them to net zero carbon (operation) and substantial reductions in embodied carbon, while also seeking to target a radical improvement in the occupant experience. We'll be using the ZeroCode and the 2030 Challenge for Products as our guide on carbon (and Architecture2030 has agreed to act as a partner), and drawing on the appropriate elements from the COGfx studies, WELL, LEED, and Living Building as references for occupant experience. We have partnerships with contractors and subcontractors who will provide real-world cost estimates.
This year's Fellow(s) will need to be committed generalists. If you know of good candidates, please let them know about this opportunity. Deadline to apply is March 18, 2019.
http://www.eskewdumezripple.com/opportunities/fellowship