S4E#12: A Journey into Human-Centric Spaces with Burçin Becerik-Gerber

Technological advancements have the potential to make our buildings better adapt to our needs. Burçin Becerik-Gerber, Dean’s Professor and Department Chair of the Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California, chats with our host, Bill O’Brien, about her vision for human-centric environments and shares examples of her research. Dr. Becerik-Gerber describes her work to increase the comfort of our individual spaces within office settings, and relates this to measures of improved cognitive performance and productivity. The conversation shifts gears to discuss modeling human behavior in emergency settings and using the results to improve design and facility operations.  The discussion provides insights into ongoing R&D that can tangibly improve the ways we interact with buildings.