Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD

Chair

Associate AIA, LEED AP, NOMA

Erica is an architectural designer and associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Building Performance & Diagnostics (CBPD), as Track Chair of the Doctor of Design (DDes) program, and Director for Student Relations. Erica is an instructor for multiple graduate and undergraduate courses and recently developed a new course focused on energy efficient and healthy retrofits. She is an instrumental coordinator for CMU’s UDream program, which works to increase diversity in the urban design profession nationally, and in the Pittsburgh region specifically, by offering opportunities for permanent employment in Pittsburgh and by providing recent graduates with a deeper understanding of urban design through research projects and internships. Her architectural experience includes over 50 educational, media and broadcast, residential, community, and transportation facilities. She has served as a studio critic at multiple universities and is an active member of several community service and nonprofit organizations.

Erica has received numerous honors for her research and architectural design project participation, including awards from the American Institute of Architects, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Faculty and Graduate Student Awards, and Best Proposal in a Department of Energy (DOE) Competition presented at the White House Conference Room. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech, a Master of Science in Sustainable Design from CMU, and a PhD in Building Performance & Diagnostics. Her doctoral research investigated the impact of school building and neighborhood physical and environmental characteristics on student and teacher health and performance. Erica is also a contributing researcher for a sustainable engineering textbook and served as one of the principal investigators for the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI), established by the Department of Energy as an Energy-Regional Innovation Cluster.