Brent Chamberlain Earns International Award for Excellence in Research

Brent Chamberlain, associate professor in Utah State University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, was recently recognized with a Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Excellence in Research and/or Creative Works Award. The award from the international organization acknowledges truly outstanding, innovative, and noteworthy research and/or creative works related to landscape architecture.

In nominating him, colleagues noted that Chamberlain demonstrates exceptional initiative in his work, an ability to expand thinking beyond conventional limits, and the ability to document and share his work process and ethic with graduate students.

“Dr. Chamberlain has assumed a mentoring role with nearly all LAEP’s Ph.D. and master’s degree students and has led highly successful efforts in recruiting graduate students, especially for the new LAEP Ph.D. program,” said LAEP Department Head Keith Christensen. “His relentless drive for increased performance and relevance, and more importantly to creating unique research opportunities for these graduate students, has created a productive and collaborative laboratory.”

Having grown up in an extended family full of educators, Chamberlain said the meaningfulness of a career in education has resonated with him for a long time.

“As I grew into my own interests, I became passionate about science and planning and how we can use data and technology to increase our understanding of the world we live in and create,” Chamberlain said. “I have also been inspired by places that are unique, beautiful, and intriguing. I chose this career because it weaves together these various interests and offers an opportunity for me to give back to this awe-inspiring world, as well as to help train and learn from new generations of students.”

Chamberlain’s work encompasses using visualization tools and spatial analysis related to human behavior in environmental planning decisions, assessing human effects in the built environment with applied computational approaches and investigating environmental perception (spatial memory) of built and natural environments.

He is co-director of the department’s Visualization, Instrumentation and Virtual Interaction Design (VIVID) Lab, where faculty and students conduct research using, and creating, state-of-the-art hardware and software to explore design solutions in virtual environments. Work in the lab has been used to study urban design, environmental psychology, accessibility for people with disabilities, transportation functionality, wildlife and environmental planning, and climate change.

In the past 10 years, Chamberlain has published articles in 25 peer-reviewed articles, with 13 of those in the last three years. He has also co-authored books and had published in Landscape Architecture Magazine, an article titled Advancements in Artificial Intelligence Creativity Should Make Us Rethink the Future of Landscape Architecture Practice.

He has been honored twice with the Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture’s Scientific Excellence Award (2020, 2022). In recognition of his innovative research program, Chamberlain received the first-ever Early Career Award from the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Social and Behavioral Sciences to research in landscape architecture. The award was the beginning of more than $5 million in research grant funding Chamberlain has received.

“Five words summarize my ‘why’: love, impact, meaning, principles, and responsibility,” Chamberlain said. “To love this world and the people in it is to exercise deep care –whether through sharing ideas, analyses, or enjoyment. My career offers me a way to generate impact in the long term through knowledge building and sharing. This sharing is meaningful to me and is guided by the principles of environmental and community stewardship. All these require taking actions, both personally and professionally, with a responsibility to bring us and our world into greater harmony and health.”

In nominating him for the award, Chamberlain’s colleagues noted that he actively mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers and funds many students in his research lab. He effectively guides students through the research process and encourages them to disseminate their work in articles and at national and international conferences.

Chamberlain explained how landscape architects and environmental planners impact some of society’s big issues.

“Almost everyone in our society lives in a place that was intentionally designed or planned,” he said. “These intentions have led to a host of challenges and opportunities. Landscape architects and environmental planners can help solve some of the major issues in water, land use, pollution, and climate change by helping to create and recreate the places we live. I invite readers to take a look at The New Landscape Declaration of the Landscape Architecture Foundation to learn more about how our work can have a profound effect on how people live.”