Rate My Professor David Gerber

David Gerber is a Professor of Practice in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture at the University of Southern California, with joint appointments in the Viterbi School of Engineering and the School of Architecture. He directs the Civil Engineering Building Science undergraduate program and the Master of Science in Emerging Technologies for Construction program, and serves as associate director in the Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE Hub). Gerber teaches courses in engineering, architecture, and entrepreneurship at USC, including Innovation in Engineering Design for Global Grand Challenges and Technology-Enabled Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Projects. His academic background includes a Doctor of Design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2007), Master of Design Studies from Harvard (2003), Master of Architecture from the Architectural Association in London (2000), and Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley (1996). Professionally, he served as Global Research Manager and Associate Director at Arup (2017-2021), Vice President of Marketing and Knowledge Services at Gehry Technologies (2008-2010), Vice President of Innovation at CADforce (2007-2008), Project Manager and Designer at Zaha Hadid Architects (2000-2002), and Junior Designer at Steinberg Group Architects (1996-1998).

Gerber's research develops innovative systems, tools, and methods for built environment design, including digital twin technologies, multi-agent systems, performance-based architecture, computational design exploration, building information modeling, evolutionary design optimization, and immersive virtual environments. His projects have received industry, fellowship, and NSF funding, and he advises PhD students integrating computer science, robotics, engineering, and architecture. Awards include the Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellowship (Harvard, 2004-2005), MIT Media Lab Research Fellowship in Smart Cities (2004-2006), Safdie Architects Research Fellowship (2004-2005), and Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation Scholar in Residence Fellowship (2016-2017). Key publications feature 'Beyond Geometric Complexity: A Critical Review of Complexity Theory in Architecture' (2019), 'A framework for generating and evaluating façade designs using a multi-agent systems approach' (2018), 'A Multi-Agent Approach for Performance Based Architecture' (2017), and 'Lights, building, action: Impact of default lighting settings on occupant behavior' (2016), published in journals such as Automation in Construction, Architectural Computing, and Environmental Psychology. Gerber has chaired conferences including CAAD Futures 2021 and SimAUD 2021, served on boards for ACADIA and SimAUD, and acted as guest editor and associate editor for journals like International Journal of Architectural Computing and Frontiers in Digital Humanities.