(Photo Credit: Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco)

Wei Yan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture
Texas A&M University

Email: wyan 'at' tamu.edu
Telephone: (979) 845 0584

Teaching

Undergraduate courses

ENDS 170 - Computer Technologies for Design Visualization
Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008

ENDS 370 - Virtual Architecture
Spring 2006

ENDS 489 - Special Topics in Game Prototypes
Spring 2007

Graduate courses

VIZA 654/CPSC 646 - The Digital Image
Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008

VIZA 627 - Industry Course (Computer Graphics Production Studio, with Dr. Fred Parke and Reel FX Creative Studio)
Summer 2007

ARCH652 Facility Information Technology (Focusing on BIM)
Fall 2008

ARCH689/ARCH489 Special Topics in Building Information Modeling
Planned for Fall 2009

Research

My research areas of interest are in design computing, visualization, building information modeling, building technologies, and applications of computer vision and games in design.

Prior to joining Texas A&M University, I had participated in research projects as a graduate student researcher in the Computer Science Division and the Department of Architecture at UC Berkeley, and the Building Technologies Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Awards and recognition

Best Paper Prize - Yan, W. and Kalay, Y.E. “Geometric, Cognitive, and Behavioral Modeling of Environmental Users”, in Design Computing and Cognition '06, Ed. Gero, J., Springer; The Second International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC'06), Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, 10-12 July 2006.

Certificate of Science and Technology Achievement - Shen, T., Ma, J., Wang, L., Yuan, J., Meng, T., Yan, F., Ni, M., Wang, J., Yan, W., “Lighting Visualization and Measurement System”, issued by Municipal Science and Technology Commission of Tianjin, China, April 1999.

Refereed publications

Rajan, P and Yan, W.  “Cast Shadow Removal Using Time and Exposure Varying Images”, Proceedings of The 7th International Conference for Advances in Pattern Recognition (ICAPR), Kolkata, India. 2009.

Yan, W. and Rajan, P. “Towards Digitizing Colours Of Architectural Heritage”, Proceedings of The Conference on Virtual Systems and MultiMedia (VSMM) '08: Dedicated to Digital Heritage, October 20 - 25th, 2008, Limassol, Cyprus.

Yan, W. “Environment-Behavior Simulation: from CAD to BIM and Beyond”, Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2008, Minneapolis, MN.

Graf, R. and Yan, W. "Automatic Walkthrough Utilizing Building Information Modeling to Facilitate Architectural Visualization", Proceedings of Conference of Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 2008, Antwerp Belgium.

Yan, W. and Liu, G. “BIMGame: A New Way to Enhance Sustainable Design and Education”, Chinese translation: Chuanfei Yu, in journal of New Architecture, 03/2008, Vol.118, Special Issue in Digital Architecture, pp 28-31. ISSN 1000-3959 CN 42-1155/TU, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, 2008.

Yan, W. and Liu, G. “BIMGame: Integrating Building Information Modeling and Games to Enhance Sustainable Design and Education”, in the Proceedings of Conference of Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 2007, Frankford, Germany.

Yan, W. and He, W. “Interpreting Architectural Space through Camera Movement”, in Proceedings of Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures (CAAD Futures) 2007, Sydney, Australia.

Yan, W. "Design Thinking Visualization", in the Proceedings of Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2007, April 19-22, 2007, Nanjing, China.

Yan, W. "Integrating Video Tracking and Virtual Reality in Environmental Behavior Study", in the Proceeding of The ACADIA (The Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture) 2006 International Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, October 12-15, 2006.

Yan, W. and Kalay, Y.E. "A Usability-Based Building Model for Environmental Behavior Simulation", in the Proceeding of the Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe 2006) , Volos , Greece , September 6-9, 2006.

Yan, W. and Kalay, Y.E. "Geometric, Cognitive, and Behavioral Modeling of Environmental Users", in Design Computing and Cognition 2006 by Springer, for the Second International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC'06), 10-12 July 2006, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands. Best Paper Prize.

Yan, W. "Integrating Web 2D and 3D Technologies for Architectural Visualization: Applications of SVG and X3D/VRML in Environmental Behavior Simulation", in the Proceeding of the Eleventh International Conference on 3D Web Technology , Web3D 2006, Columbia, Maryland, USA, April 18-21, 2006. ACM Press. Image selected for Proceedings book cover.

Yan, W. "Balancing Freedom and Control for Walkthrough in Virtual Architecture: A Smart and Comprehensive Navigation System", in the Proceeding of Computer-Aided Architectural Design in Asia (CAADIA) 2006 , March 31-April 2, 2006, Kumamoto , Japan .

Yan, W. and Forsyth, D. "Learning the Behavior of Users in a Public Space through Video Tracking", in Proceedings of IEEE Workshop on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) , 2005, Breckenridge Colorado.

Yan, W. and Kalay, Y.E. "Simulating Human Behavior in Built Environments", CAAD Futures 2005, Vienna , Austria.

Yan, W. and Forsyth, D. "People Tracking in a Public Space: A Novel Application of Computer Vision in Evaluating Architectural Design", poster, CAAD Futures 2005 , Vienna , Austria.

Yan, W. and Kalay, Y.E. "Simulating the Behavior of Users in Built Environments", in Journal of Architectural and Planning Research (JAPR) 21:4, winter 2004. Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Dissertation and theses

2005 - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Architecture, "Simulating the Behavior of Users in Built Environments ", Department of Architecture, University of California , Berkeley . Supervisor: Prof. Yehuda Kalay.

2004 - Project Report for M.S. in Computer Science, "Learning the Behavior of Users in a Public Space through Video Tracking" , Computer Science Division, University of California , Berkeley. Supervisor: Prof. David Forsyth.

1999 - Thesis for Nachdiplomstudium (Postgraduate Studies) in Architecture and Computer-Aided Architectural Design, "Navigation in Virtual Architectural Space", Chair of Architecture and Computer-Aided Architectureal Design (Prof. Gerhard Schmitt and Prof. Maia Engeli), Faculty of Architecture, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). Supervisor: Prof. Leandro Madrazo. (Score: 6/6)

1996 - Thesis for M.E. in Architectural Science and Technology, "Lighting CAD and Visualization", Department of Architecture, Tianjin University, China. Supervisor: Prof. Tianxing Shen.


Other selected projects

Grants

PI, High Dynamic Range Imaging for Preserving the Chromaticity Information of Architectural Heritage, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant, $30,000. Grant Period: 2007-2009.

Co-PI, Use of Ice Thermal Storage Systems to Improve LWR Plant Efficiency and Relieve the Cooling Water Requirement, with Zhao, H. (PI), Zhang, H. (Co-PI). U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lab Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Grant, Idaho National Laboratory, $200,000. (30% Subcontract, PI, Design and Analysis of Ice Thermal Storage Buildings Using Building Information Modeling). Grant Period: 2009.

Grant for Membership of Autodesk Developer Network (ADN). 2008 and 2009.

PI, Integrating Video Tracking and Virtual Reality in Environmental Behavior Study: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Program to Enhance Scholarly and Creative Activities, Office of the Vice President for Research, Texas A&M University, $10,000. Grant Period: 2006-2007.

PI, High Dynamic Range Imaging for Preserving the Chromaticity Information of Architectural Heritage, College Research and Interdisciplinary Council (CRIC) Grant, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, $8,000. Grant Period: 2007.

IEEF Competitive Grant – “Game Development Course For College Of Architecture”, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, $2,120. Grant Period: 2007.

Member:
Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), 2004-present
Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe), 2006-present
Computer-Aided Architectural Design and Research in Asia (CAADRIA), 2006-2007

Local Arrangement Chair and Session Moderator:
Sixth Interdisciplinary Conference of The International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture, College Station, Texas, 2007.

Reviewer:
Journal of Automation in Construction, Elsevier.
International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC), Multi Science Publ Co Ltd.
The International Journal of Computers and Structures, Elsevier
The International Journal of Advances in Engineering Software, Elsevier
Seventh Interdisciplinary Conference of The International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, 2008
Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures (CAAD Futures 2007) Sydney, Australia, 2007
Sixth Interdisciplinary Conference of The International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture, College Station, Texas, 2007
IEEE Workshop on Applications of Computer Vision, Breckenridge Colorado, 2005