College of Design Secures First Distinguished Professorship with Support from the Goodnights

The College of Design has named Wayne Place as its inaugural Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Architecture. The professorship was made possible by a gift from longtime NC State supporters Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight.

Place has been at NC State’s College of Design since 1986 and was essential in helping the College of Design develop a research-focused culture, with inquiry guided by the needs of humans through the development of sustainable, material-driven, large-scale designs; he was also instrumental in the creation of the college’s Ph.D. program. His areas of focus include architectural structures, passive solar technologies, and daylighting, where he has been a consultant on more than 20 building projects, conducting daylighting design and analysis, structural design and analysis, and system integration. 

“Since its founding, the College of Design has a record of bringing outstanding faculty to teach and mentor students—including Matthew Nowicki, Duncan Stewart, Buckminster Fuller, Eduardo Catalano, Joe Cox and Randy Hester. This is still a tradition today” says Dean Mark Hoversten. “We are proud of the relationships that our faculty build with our students and the opportunities this philanthropic partnership will provide. With the Goodnights’ support, we are developing a pipeline to recruit top faculty and students from our state, our nation and the world.” 

Place is currently working on a Rotating Daylighting Laboratory at the NC State Daylighting Research Facility with Professor Jianxin Hu. The creation of the laboratory was initiated with funding from the NC State Provost and from the Skidmore Owings and Merrill Foundation. 

“This laboratory is crucial to advancing research on several major patents currently in the works for our college and university,” said Place. “These patents are for inventions that have the potential to dramatically reduce operating energy for buildings around the world. Additional funding from the Goodnight Foundation will allow us to expand the scope of the project substantially in vitally important ways that will accelerate the research and development of the inventions that are the subjects of the patents.”

The Goodnights are NC State alumni and co-chairs of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign. Jim Goodnight —the founder and CEO of SAS — earned his B.S. in applied mathematics in 1965, his M.S. and doctorate in statistics in 1968 and 1972, respectively, and the university conferred an honorary degree to him in 2002. Ann Goodnight earned her B.A. in political science in 1968, works as the senior director of community relations at SAS and serves on the North Carolina State University Board of Trustees. 

The Goodnights’ commitment to faculty excellence has resulted in the creation of 24 named endowed faculty positions across several colleges at NC State as well as support for faculty funds. 

Distinguished professorships honor an extraordinary commitment to research, teaching and mentoring. The funds provided by a distinguished professorship enable a faculty member to engage in professional activities, such as conference attendance and speaking engagements, that raise NC State’s profile as a premier academic institution. Discretionary funds also allow professors to offer unique research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, which is key to NC State’s recruiting efforts. 

Increasing the number of named and endowed professorships is a key priority of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign. Prior to the campaign launch, fewer than 10 percent of NC State’s professors held named and endowed positions, compared to 15 to 20 percent at many of the university’s peer institutions. Since the launch of the campaign, generous supporters have endowed an additional 100 distinguished professorships. The Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Architecture further strengthens NC State’s commitment to attracting, retaining and supporting outstanding faculty. 

Within the college, Place teaches advanced studios on Tall Building Design and Airport Design. Studios like these differentiate the College of Design from other architecture programs by exposing students to the fundamentals of designing on a macro scale.

Both studios provide a platform of exposure, an introduction to new technologies, and an expanded understanding of design constraints students would otherwise not have. Work from the Airport Design studio has been recognized with the Outstanding University Exhibit Award at the 2018 Venice Biennale and work from the Tall Building Design Studio was recognized by an invited presentation by Professor Place at the 4th US-China Super-Tall Buildings Summit in Chongqing, China. The symposium was sponsored by CITAB, the Chinese counterpart to the U.S. Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 

Wayne Place’s awards:

• Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, NC State
• Outstanding Extension Service Award, NC State
• Outstanding Teacher Award, NC State
• College of Design Outstanding Advisor Award, NC State
• Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, NC State
• Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professor, NC State
• Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension, NC State
• Research Leadership Academy, NC State

This post was originally published in College of Design Blog.