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Bacus, John

Teaching Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • I am interested in the human act of 'design,' defined broadly as any activity concerned with how things ought to be and with the creation of artifacts used to attain that vision. I approach 'design' from a background in Architecture, but have learned over many years to appreciate a broader problem space. I am particularly interested in the earliest phases of design thinking- the conceptual design space. Critical to that is an exploration of sketching as a means to rapid design ideation.

keywords

  • Computer-aided conceptual design sketching

Publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • ATLS 1100 - Design Foundations
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024
    Introduces foundational principles, practices and methods of design. Emphasizes design as an expressive and creative problem solving tool. This course engages with design from a broad perspective including visual, computational, physical and auditory design practices. Through lectures, discussions and creative projects, students will gain a familiarity with the diverse applications of creative technology through design.
  • ATLS 4000 - Research Methods and Professional Practice
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
    Research Methods and Professional Practice lays the foundation for students to produce culminating work in their major. In this course, students will engage in domain exploration, learn to define a research problem, utilize tools and methods for professional design research, refine presentation skills, and engage in iterative and collaborative work. This course is focused on domain research, idea validation, and prototyping in order to prepare students for a culminating semester-long Capstone project based on this research. Formerly offered as a special topics course.
  • ATLS 4010 - Capstone Projects I
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2023
    The focus of this advanced practicum course is the development of an individual thesis project. Specific class sessions will feature a combination of lectures, demonstrations, guest speakers, lab sessions, and critiques. This course also entails group work, portfolio development, critical theoretical readings, and a significant written component.
  • ATLS 4519 - Advanced Special Topics in Technology, Arts, and Media
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Analyzes special interest areas of multidisciplinary technology, arts and media research and practice. May be repeated up to 32 total credit hours.
  • ATLS 5519 - Advanced Special Topics in Technology, Arts, and Media
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Analyzes special interest areas of multidisciplinary technology, arts and media research and practice. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours for different topics.
  • COEN 3930 - Engineering Internship/Co-op
    Primary Instructor - Summer 2023
    Students enrolled in this course participate in a pre-approved internship or cooperative education program with an employer that allows them to explore the relationship between theory and practice and demonstrate evidence of significant learning (e.g., academic assignments and employer/sponsor evaluations). Pass/Fail only. Up to 3 credits may apply towards BS degree program's Free Electives (even if student has multiple enrollments in this course and/or COEN 4950). Students should contact the CEAS Extracurricular Programs Manager for more information. Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA is required.

Background

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