Research and Interest:

Dr. Mahalingam is a registered architect in India, who also has over 25 years of experience in the field of computer- aided architectural design and has served as the President of the Association for Computer-aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). Dr. Mahalingam has completed significant research for his doctoral degree and added an original body of knowledge to the architectural profession, which involved the creation of software for the design of proscenium-type auditoriums based on object-oriented computing technology.

 

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

“Acoustic Sculpting Revisited,” an invited paper for a special session on Soundscapes, presented at the 178th annual conference of the Acoustical Society of America, held in San Diego, California, December 2019.

“Strategies for Tunable Indoor Soundscapes,” Inter-Noise 2018, Chicago, Illinois, August, 2018.

“Generating the spatial forms of auditoriums based on distributed sentience,” an invited paper presented at the Acoustics ’17 Conference of the Acoustical Society of America, Boston, Massachusetts, June, 2017.

"The Search for Intensional Form," in The Fantastic and the Constructible, the 2008-2010 form.Z Joint Study Journal, Volume 17 of the Partnerships in Learning Series, published by auto.des.sys Inc. (2010)

"Discovering Computational Structures," published in caadfutures 2007, Andy Dong, ed., Andrew Vande Moere and John S. Gero, Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands (2008)

"Improving 'Objective' Digital Images with Neuronal Processing: A Computational Approach," co-authored with Dr. Rajesh Kavasseri, International Journal of Architectural Computing (2004)

"Model Behaviour" in Intelligent Build and Design Innovations by Cornhill Publishers of the UK (2004)

"POCHE: Polyhedral Objects Controlled by Heteromorphic Effectors," CAAD Futures, by Bauke de Vries, Jos van Leeuwen and Henri Achten, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (2001)

"Binary Oppositions: Will Computers Be Able To Design As Well As Human Designers In The Foreseeable Future," ACADIA Quarterly (2000)

"Design and Construction in the Future," Web-based Stanford-Berkeley CE&M workshop on "Defining a Research Agenda for AEC Process/Product Development in 2000 and Beyond" (1999)

"Representing Architectural Design Using Virtual Computers," Automation in Construction (1998)

"Object-Oriented Computer-Aided Design Systems for the Preliminary Design of Auditoria," Journal of Architecture and Planning Research (Autumn 1996)

 

Selected Grants:

Awarded an Undergraduate Biomedical Research grant of $5635 from the INBRE program of the National Institute of Health in August 2022.

Awarded a grant of $5000 from the Dakota Digital Academy to teach a course on the Development of an Android App for the Design Professions, March 2022.

Awarded a grant of $3948 from the Gunlogson Fund of the Institute of Regional Studies to develop a publication on, The History of the East Indian Diaspora in the FM Area. 2021.

Awarded an ND EPSCoR STEM Research and Education grant titled, Biosensing Equipment for Responses to Built Environments, of $9000 for the acquisition of brain-computer interface (BCI) equipment to conduct research projects in the biosensing of inhabitants of built environments, October 2019.

Awarded a $ 4000 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) grant for the Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy in 2007.

Awarded a $ 3374 ND EPSCoR grant under the Faculty in Technology Transfer (FITT) program in June 1996 to develop 3D modeling software for Advanced Architecture Inc., Fargo.

Principal Investigator for a $ 16,155 PPRC Grant awarded by North Dakota State University for the project titled "Project Visual Literacy" in May 1996.

Co-Principal Investigator for a $ 577,280 (total amount including 50% matching funds) grant awarded by the Academic Research Infrastructure Program of the National Science Foundation in August 1995 for the "Acquisition of a Networked Imaging Cluster for Characterization, Analysis and Visualization of Materials, Processes and Engineered Structures."

Principal Investigator for the University Joint Study Program conducted by auto.des.sys Inc., the makers of form.Z software (1996-present).

 

Books

A Guide to the Design Thesis in Architecture, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2022.

Ashtastambha: Eight Pillars of Hindutva for the 21st Century, Pensive Muse Books, 2018.

A Catharsis of Creative Cathexes, Pensive Muse Books, 2018.

The Ashes of Spent Affirmations, Pensive Muse Books, 2016.

Tractatus Architectus in Two Hundred Tweets, Pensive Muse Books, 2016.

A Forehead Blow: an anthology of verse, Pensive Muse Books, 2016.

Publication for the 25th anniversary of the Peter F. McKenzie Prize titled, “In Memoriam: Peter Francis McKenzie.” (Editing and designing the publication, published by blurb.com in 2012)

Architectural Research Studio, a book compiling the research projects in the Architectural Research Studio in the fall semester of 2010 at North Dakota State University, Linus Publications, New York (editor of the volume, print-ready version completed in 2013, yet to be published).

Emerging Voices in Design Theory, a book compiled from work completed as part of the Design Theory course in the fall semester of 2011 at North Dakota State University. (Editor of the volume, print-ready version completed in 2013, yet to be published.

 

Licenses/Registration:

Registered architect in India

(Council of Architecture Certificate of Registration No. CA/1984/08805)

 

Professional Memberships:

Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA)

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)

American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) (2001-2003)

Northern Plains Ethics Institute (NPEI)

Member of the Advisory Committee for Exhibitions, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota. (1997-1999)

 

Teaching Experience:

Professor, North Dakota State University, 2014-present

Associate Professor, North Dakota State University, 2002-2014

Assistant Professor, North Dakota State University, 1993-2002

Instructor, Iowa State University, 1986-1987

 

Administrative Experience

Interim Chair (2008-2012)

• Appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at NDSU in November 2008. Led department successfully for 4 years. Administrative head of the department in charge of personnel, operations and budget. Responsibilities included managing the department budget, personnel decisions including hiring, recommendations for promotion and tenure, fostering alumni relations, and writing of annual and program review reports.

Architecture Program Director (Fall 2002-Fall 2009, Spring 2013)

• Program Director for the Architecture program at North Dakota State University. Responsibilities included scheduling faculty meetings, curriculum review, coordinating teaching assignments, and preparation for accreditation including the preparation of the academic program report.

Awards:

Awarded the Faculty Creativity Award in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at North Dakota State University for 2021.

Awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at North Dakota State University for 2020.

Selected as a Faculty Fellow in the Nice Center at North Dakota State University in August 2020.

Selected as a Faculty Fellow in the first cohort of Faculty Fellows of the Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth at North Dakota State University in November 2019.

Special Mention Award at the fifth annual Architizer A+Awards, in the Apps and Digital Tools category for the Auditorium Design System app (2017)

Walter B. Booth College Excellence Fund Award from the College of Engineering & Architecture at North Dakota State University in 2001.

Fellow of the Faculty Institute for Excellence in Learning, North Dakota State University in 2001-2002.

Awarded the Tau Sigma Delta Faculty Award at North Dakota State University in 2001.

Awarded the Student Award for Leadership and Exemplary Service by the India Cultural and Education Center of Gainesville, Florida in 1995.

One of the team leaders in a research team that won one of the First Annual Awards for Architectural Research presented by the Progressive Architecture magazine in 1994 for the project "Listening to Buildings."

Awarded the John Michael Stratton Award for the Most Outstanding Member of the Student Senate at the University of Florida in 1993.

Awarded the President's Annual Recognition Award for Outstanding Students at the University of Florida in 1993.

Elected to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges from the University of Florida in 1992.

Citation from the Secretariat of the King Fahd Award and the International Commission for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage for the design entry in the first King Fahd Awards(1986) - an international design competition. The design has become a part of the permanent archives of the Commission at Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Entrepreneurship

Founded Digital Design Solutions LLC, a Limited Liability Company in August 2009 in the state of North Dakota to create information technology products for the design professions. The web site of the company was designed by me.

One of the 23 finalists out of 95 entrants in the Innovate North Dakota competition held in 2008-2009 for the business venture ‘Digital Design Solutions.’ Digital Design Solutions was registered as a North Dakota Limited Liability Company (LLC) in August 2009.

Presentation of proposal for a business to be started in North Dakota titled, “Digital Design Solutions,” in the Innovate North Dakota competition finals at the IDEA Center, Bismarck, May 18, 2009. Included the development of a complete business plan and financials for the proposed business.

Presentation of proposal for a business to be started in North Dakota titled, “Digital Design Solutions,” at the Midwest Angel and Venture Capital Conference in Fargo, North Dakota, May 2007.

 

Award Winning Software

Software for the preliminary design of proscenium-type, fan-shaped and rectangular auditoriums developed using the Smalltalk programming language and the VisualWorks IDE. The system can be ported to run on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems. The software takes acoustical, visual, functional, and programmatic parameters and generates the spatial envelope of the auditorium, which can be exported in the DXF format for use in conventional CAD systems for design development.

An Android app version of the Auditorium Design System won a Special Mention Award in the Architizer A+Awards international competition in 2017.

Full Windows versions of the Auditorium Design System and the Rectangular Auditorium Design System were released on July 4, 2017.

 

Software Released

Mahalingam, G. (2017). Auditorium Design System (Version 1.0) [Computer Software: Windows] Fargo, North Dakota: Digital Design Solutions LLC.

Mahalingam, G. (2017). Rectangular Auditorium Design System (Version 1.0) [Computer Software: Windows] Fargo, North Dakota: Digital Design Solutions LLC.

Mahalingam, G. (2015). Energy Cost Calculator (Version 1.1) [Computer Software: Android App]. Fargo, North Dakota: Digital Design Solutions LLC.

Mahalingam, G. (2015). Auditorium Design System (Version 1.0) [Computer Software: Android App] Fargo, North Dakota: Digital Design Solutions LLC.

 

Media Creations

Architecture in Two Hundred Tweets https://youtu.be/gX68qQ1nYT8

The Future of Architecture https://youtu.be/AkMVEslFthY

Algorithmic Art https://youtu.be/IbnCVsqbSNk

Plexiform Poetry https://youtu.be/Jz5csfqdXwg

Metaphysics in Architecture https://youtu.be/ez5c-afKkAQ

Ask Me

Who are your role models or inspiring folks?

In the field of Computer Science, it was Alan Kay, who had a significant impact on my doctoral work and my development of technologies for computer-aided architectural design.  In Philosophy, it was the ancient Indian philosopher, Adi Shankaracharya, who continues to be an influence and a spiritual guide. In Architecture, Louis Kahn and Tadao Ando led me to appreciate the mysteries of light. In Music, Bach Schubert, Pink Floyd, Weather Report, the Beatles and Pandit Jasraj, lifted my spirit. In Art, the painters Kandinsky, Klee, and Miro set the poetic undertones for my approach to art. In Poetry, the lyrical poets, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Longfellow, and Shelley, gave me my sense of cadence and rhyme. Overall, in all my pursuits, I was blessed with the tenacity and love I imbibed from my parents.

 

Outside of art and design fields, what inspires you?

Philosophy has been a lifelong interest of mine, along with the multiplicity of creative vision that spills over from Architecture, Art, Music, and Poetry. For my constant tinkering, Computation has made me sharp and fruitfully occupied.

 

What do you wish you had known when you started out as a student/in this field?

I wish I had known how things of value are decided in Architecture.

 

What was your most memorable meal? 

We were on a bus tour of North Dakota for new faculty members at NDSU, when we stopped at a casino on an Indian reservation. There we had one of the most memorable buffet meals that casinos are often famous for providing. The process of discovering North Dakota, and the hunger it creates, made the meal very memorable.

 

In your office, you can only have three things, one book, one tool, and one picture. What would they be and why?

It would be the book Atmabodha by Shankaracharya, my Pilot V5 fine point pen, and the proverbial blank sheet of paper, to drift off into dreamscapes.