All posts by ah

Syngenta, a science-based agriculture company with a key production site in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, has partnered with LSU and FUEL to transform how digital twins are created for chemical processing facilities.

Derick Ostrenko and Jason Jamerson, faculty in the LSU College of Art & Design, along with engineering advisor David Ben Spry, are pioneering a new approach to industrial innovation using digital twins. The effort is supported by a $217,403 use-inspired research and development (UIRD) award from Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL).

Israt Jahan Receives Best Poster Presentation Award at LA-SEER’s 20 Years After Katrina: Louisiana’s Journey to Resilience Conference

Sep 6, 2025Students, Research, Honors & Awards, Events, Doctor of DesignDoctor of Design, Doctor of Design student

Israt Jahan, a Doctor of Design student and teaching assistant in the School of Interior Design, received the Best Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 Louisiana Social, Environmental, and Economic Resilience (LA-SEER) Center Conference, “20 Years After Katrina: Louisiana’s Journey to Resilience.”

Held on August 29, 2025, at the LSU Dalton J. Woods Auditorium, the event commemorated the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history. The event was organized by the LA-SEER Center, in collaboration with the LSU AgCenter’s LA House Research & Education Center and the College of the Coast & Environment’s Coastal Environment Graduate Organization. The conference brought together academics, researchers, professionals, and community stakeholders to reflect on Louisiana’s ongoing journey of risk, recovery, and resilience.

Israt’s award-winning poster, “Multi-Scale Design Framework for Disaster-Resilient Communities in Coastal Louisiana,” presents an interdisciplinary framework that integrates architecture, disaster management, policy, and community-based design. The research introduces a three-tiered design approach including macro, mezzo, and micro—to support the development of safer, more sustainable, and culturally resilient coastal communities. By combining spatial planning, stakeholder collaboration, and resilience-based design principles, the framework offers practical strategies for addressing the growing environmental and social challenges facing Louisiana’s vulnerable coastal regions.

Building on this research, she plans to develop an online collaborative platform that connects residents, planners, policymakers, researchers, and designers to support knowledge sharing and evidence-based decision-making for disaster resilience in coastal Louisiana.

“Growing up in Bangladesh taught me what resilience means. In Louisiana, I see that same spirit—and through design, I strive to connect these stories,” Israt said.

Israt holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Science in Disaster Management. In addition, she instructs in the LSU School of Interior Design, where she teaches ID 2770 – Color and Illumination I and ID 2410 – Interior Design Lab. Through her teaching, she encourages students to integrate creativity, environmental responsibility, technical knowledge, and human-centered design into the design process while preparing future designers to address complex challenges through innovative thinking.

Israt has also contributed as a researcher with LSU’s Coastal Ecosystem Design Studio (CEDS), where she has worked on interdisciplinary projects focused on nature-based solutions, living shorelines, coastal restoration, and climate adaptation along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Through collaborations with landscape architects, planners, ecologists, engineers, and local communities, she has gained valuable experience translating research into practical design strategies that strengthen ecological resilience while preserving cultural heritage and community identity.

Her ongoing doctoral research examines how thoughtfully designed public spaces can foster social integration, belonging, and resilience for climate-induced migrants and receiving communities. Ultimately, her work aims to develop evidence-based design guidelines that help communities become more inclusive, resilient, and better prepared for future climate challenges.

Receiving the Best Poster Presentation Award reflects Israt’s continued commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research that bridges design, resilience, and community engagement, she said. Through her research and teaching, she aims to help communities better prepare for and recover from climate-related challenges.

New to LSU: Q&A with Jessica Hogan

Aug 30, 2025Art, Digital Art, Faculty

Jessica Hogan is an assistant professor of digital art in the LSU School of Art, specializing in lighting, compositing, texturing, rendering, and look development for animation and visual effects. She holds a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a focus in animation. She has almost 20 years of professional experience in feature animation, video games, and themed entertainment.

Before joining LSU, she served as Look Development Lead at Brazen Animation and Lighting Supervisor at ReelFX, where she led global teams of artists on CG animated feature films and contributed to major projects for Universal Studios, Epic Games, Fox, and Marvel. Jessica’s work has earned recognition including a Clio Award for Magic: The Gathering’s “Bloomburrow” short film and a Visual Effects Society Award for the ride Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. She brings her years of industry experience and collaborative approach into the classroom, preparing students to excel in creative, technical, and team-based production environments in a rapidly evolving industry.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in New Orleans! After college in Georgia at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), my husband and I moved to Detroit for a few years then settled in Dallas, TX, where we lived for over 15 years raising our two kids.

Which courses will you teach?

This semester I’ll be teaching Moving Image, which is a hands-on class introducing students to the wonderful world of 2D animation. I’ll also be teaching Digital Art II, which is a class that will show students the ins-and-outs of Nuke, the industry standard software for compositing. Much of my career in the animation industry centered around compositing, so I’m especially excited to share what I know with students!

What are you looking forward to about teaching at LSU?

The faculty and students I’ve met in the School of Art are so passionate about their craft that it’s hard not to feel inspired around everyone here! I’m looking forward to diving in with students as they experiment, make discoveries, and surprise themselves. LSU’s School of Art has such a great mix of talent and energy, and I can’t wait to be part of the process – helping students push their work in new directions and seeing where their ideas take them.

How will you bring your career experience to the classroom?

I’m really looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned from decades on the production side of animation and visual effects. Along with teaching the tools and helping students grow their skills, I want to give them perspective on how those skills translate to real-world projects and how to carve out their own path after graduation.

Any particular past projects that you’re proud of?

Every project is so unique in its challenges and wins, but one I was particularly proud of was the film “The Book of Life.” The director had the most contagious positive energy and poured his heart and soul into the film. Everyone working on it was truly invested in making it the best it could be – that’s so rare to find! Every corner of the studio was covered in the most gorgeous concept art and hand-made maquettes of each character. It was such an inspiring project to be a part of and is always the first project that comes to mind when I think back on my career.

Another project I was really proud of was the ride visuals for Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios. I’m a massive fan of theme parks, so making something I could actually step into and ride was a really cool experience. Working with a theme park ride is so different from what I was used to! The warping the video required to properly project back on the ride screen while also working in stereoscopic (3D), and even just working with such beloved characters like the Minions all made this a really unique project. I had an absolute blast when I finally got to ride it years later with my kids.

What was your first impression of LSU?

Growing up in Louisiana, it was hard not to know and love LSU. My dad went to LSU Shreveport and my mom graduated from LSU Medical School in New Orleans, so purple and gold have always been part of my life. Since I attended SCAD, I missed out on that traditional campus experience – and LSU definitely has it in spades. The campus is massive and beautiful, and I can’t wait to experience my first LSU football game with my family in Tiger Stadium!

Any fun facts about you?

I’ve hidden my kids’ names in every major project I’ve worked on. Some are really hard to spot!
I worked in a renowned wedding cake shop in college and am kind of a whiz at cake decorating and baking now. I volunteered to make wrap party cakes for just about every project I’ve worked on! I try to work what I can do on the computer into cakes where I can too – the last big cake I made I used a laser cutter to cut out precise illustrations out of sugar to go around a cake!
My husband and I let our kids draw a tattoo of whatever they want for us every 5 years. It’s a fun memory of them at a certain age we get to keep forever (and makes for an interesting conversation starter when people spot them!)

LSU School of Art presents DISK FULL: Christine Bruening and Janna Ahrndt at Glassell Gallery as part of its “Faculty in Conversation Series.”

Aug 28, 2025Galleries, Events, Art, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Lectures

LSU College of Art & Design and LSU School of Art will present Disk Full: Christine Bruening and Janna Ahrndt from September 6 through October 19, 2025, in Glassell Gallery. This two-person exhibition and programming invite you to confront the deluge of our digital lives. In Disk Full, artists, academics, and friends Janna Ahrndt and Christine Bruening reflect on their correspondence, delving into the endless and sometimes absurd world of digital accumulation. From the graveyard of forgotten memes, bookmarked webpages, and countless data fragments we amass, they ask: What drives our compulsion to save, screenshot, and archive a universe we rarely revisit? Through a lens that’s both critical and playfully irreverent, this exhibition unpacks the weight of the cloud as our attention spans continue to shrink.

A free, public reception and artist talk is scheduled for Friday, September 19, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with the artist Q&A at 5:30 p.m. In addition to public programming downtown, visiting artist Janna Ahrndt will give a public lecture on Wednesday, September 17, at 5:00 p.m. in Julian T. White Hall 103 on LSU’s campus. The “Faculty in Conversation Series” is structured to place LSU faculty voices “in conversation” with visiting artist peers to bring diverse perspectives on lived experiences, creative practices, and building artistic communities.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Christine Bruening is an interdisciplinary artist whose work investigates the relationship between popular culture and the cultural values embedded in entertainment. Her practice involves collecting, recontextualizing, and juxtaposing familiar media artifacts to prompt new ways of thinking about what we consume and why. Drawing from media studies, she explores how entertainment shapes collective memory, identity, and desire. Christine holds a BFA in Sculpture from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. She has exhibited and presented her work both nationally and internationally, engaging audiences through critical reflection and playful visual strategies.

Janna Ahrndt is unable to focus, and her medium-agnostic art practice seems to reflect that fact, often making work utilizing creative coding, video, textiles, and altered household electronics. Born to a working-class family in Northern Indiana, their work follows themes of labor, the internet, politics, and gender. Janna received their MFA in Electronic and Time-Based Art from Purdue University in 2019 and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Maine, where they reside in a tiny house with their partner and menagerie of pets. Their latest fascination post pandemic is contemplating ways the internet and machine learning are shaping death and dying rituals and mourning culture. Janna’s research and artwork have been exhibited in spaces such as the International Symposium of Electronic Art, the Science Gallery in Dublin, Ireland, Melbourne, Australia, and recently at Fu:Bar Glitch Art Festival.

LSU School of Art Alfred J. Glassell Gallery Hours
Tuesday–Wednesday: 12–5 p.m.
Thursday–Friday 12–7 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday 12–5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and between exhibitions.

LSU Engineering & Architecture Faculty Bring Solar Stations to Campus

Aug 27, 2025Art & Design, Research, Architecture, Faculty, Doctor of Design

LSU architecture assistant professor Soo Jeong Jo is collaborating with Engineering faculty to figure out how to deploy solar infrastructure into an urban environment.

LSU Students Won 2025 ASLA Georgia Student Honor Award

Aug 26, 2025Students, Research, Landscape Architecture, Honors & Awardslandscape architecture, landscape architecture research, landscape architecture students

LSU landscape architecture students won the 2025 ASLA Georgia Student Honor Award, presented by the Georgia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in August 2025. The winning project titled, “Eco Collective: Designing Inclusive Futures for Savannah, Georgia” was a collaboration between LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture and the University of Georgia.

In fall 2024, under the guidance of Dr. Yao Wang, assistant professor of landscape architecture at LSU, and Dr. Qiong Wang, assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Georgia (UGA), students from LSU and UGA collaborated on a mixed-use development project in Savannah, Georgia, through the LSU LA 3001 and the UGA PLAN 6520 Urban Planning and Design Studio.

Two UGA MUPD students focused on urban design, while three LSU BLA students (Gregory Crawford, John Roche, and William Fanning) contributed their expertise in landscape architecture.

The site, located at 105 Fort Argyle Road in Savannah, spans approximately 300 acres and is currently used as a borrow pit/sand mine. The project’s goal was to design and implement solutions that prioritize accessibility, environmental stewardship, and equity. By integrating community-driven design, sustainable practices, and long-term maintenance strategies, eco | equity aims to promote thriving and resilient neighborhoods where nature and people coexist.

“Congratulations to our students for their creativity, dedication, and commitment to designing more inclusive and sustainable futures!” said Drs. Wang.

“We extend our sincere appreciation to Mr. John Anagnost (Planning Manager) and the Planning, Zoning, and Urban Design Department of the City of Savannah, Georgia, for their valuable support and guidance,” they said. “Special thanks to RRSLA Director Dr. Brent Fortenberry for his strong support and Kalia Jarvis for her help. We are grateful for the support of RRSLA at LSU and CED at UGA!”

“This work, led by Dr. Wang, epitomizes the high-impact learning of the RRSLA program and further demonstrates that the practice of Landscape Architecture is a force for good in our communities,” said Dr. Brent Fortenberry, interim director of the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. “The School and College are incredibly proud of the work that our students and faculty undertake for the benefit of our stakeholders.”

The ASLA chapter award winners “showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession across Georgia,” according to the Georgia Chapter. “The 2025 State Honor Awards individual winners are recognized for their contributions to ASLA’s core values and the leaders in the profession.”

Award recipients were honored at the gala in Atlanta on August 19.

LSU Architecture Team’s Post-Katrina Project Revived Community; Inspired Future Response Efforts

Aug 20, 2025Art & Design, Interior Design, Architecture

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August 2005, a team of LSU School of Architecture students and New Orleans residents began building new homes in the Lower Ninth Ward, working together to start the long process of rebuilding the storm-ravaged Crescent City.

The post-Katrina project was a joint effort between two studios for the design and construction of three houses in the Ninth Ward, a neighborhood infamously devastated by the levee failures during the storm.

The first LSU School of Architecture studio designed the two houses in the spring of 2006, and in the fall of 2006 a second studio worked on the construction effort in partnership with local community members.

“This was my first experience in construction, and a warm memory from my undergraduate studies in a time that was otherwise filled with stress and grief following the aftermath of the storm,” said Jared de Jonge, who was a fourth-year architecture student that year. He is now Director of Design Technology at Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston.

“For the better part of the semester, instead of traditional studio, groups of students carpooled to New Orleans (as early as 5 a.m.!), helping with the contractor construction and supervision to build everything up from the friction piles of the foundation lifting the ground floor to the framing and installation of windows, roof members, drywall, insulation, vapor membranes, painting, you name it. We even made friends with subcontractors along the way, gaining insight into how job sites are run from the build side,” he said.

“It was an incredibly rewarding, and slightly surreal experience. We were among the first to erect any new structures in the neighborhood, while all around us we were surrounded by absolute devastation.

At the time it was questionable if the neighborhood would come back at all, but there we were, lighting the way.

“This was an early lesson in my adult life about the value of resilience and seeking opportunities outside of my comfort zone, and those are values that have guided me in my career to this day. I’m grateful for Marsha Cuddeback’s mentorship and the LSU School of Architecture that pushed me to have the curiosity and drive to be successful beyond academia.”

Piper Hall Creates Logo Honoring 20th Anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina & Rita

Aug 19, 2025Students, Art, Graphic Design

Piper Hall, BFA candidate/graphic design concentration, worked with the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) to produce a logo commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Her team’s work from my ART 2564 Graphic Abstraction class was selected to be used,” Lynne Baggett, professor of art/graphic design said. “The design was created in two semesters. The first was teaming up with fellow student Marcus Claudius (pictured) and then when their team was selected, they then hired Piper as an intern!”

The internship was Hall’s first professional experience. “As someone who has never gone through an internship beforehand, let alone knew how one worked, my internship with GOHSEP at LSU has broadened my understanding of what my future may look like, and yet also leaves me looking forward to learning and experiencing more.”

“I chose to study graphic design before knowing how that sort of work field looks like, or what would be expected from me in an office environment. Interning this past semester led me to not only make connections with people, but also get a glimpse at my future expectations.

Interning at GOHSEP was Hall’s first opportunity to gain skills that go beyond the classroom. “Overall, while the internship itself hasn’t taught me skillsets in graphic design in the way that my classes have, I gained knowledge that I find more important in my current stage of life: an understanding of the real world. Furthermore, I grew as an individual thus far from interning due to my previous lack of work experience.”

“I have gained a new confidence in myself as a result of my experience as well, and I’ve come to see that not everything is as scary and stressful as it may seem. I have been lucky enough to have an amazing team of people to work with in creating not only this design, but also others as I continue to work alongside them.

Creating the design for the hurricane anniversary logo was a long process. “Many edits were made throughout, but the concept stayed consistent.”

The design is made up of a magnolia, representing the affected areas of both Louisiana and Mississippi, with a hidden hurricane symbol. “The focus is meant to be the flower, since the goal was to showcase beauty and resilience, rather than the horrors of past endeavors brought by the storms,” Hall said.

“The anniversary should be able to exemplify how far communities have come after twenty years. While it is true that this is a time to reflect on painful memories for many, the strength of community and recovery is what helped people through those twenty years. Magnolias as a flower not only express local beauty, but also show vitality and growth.”

Piper was born in southeast Louisiana in March of 2005, and has been told stories about the hurricanes her entire life.

“I’ve had to grow up hearing numerous stories since I was too young to remember, but I always knew that each year I got older, it was another year since Louisiana changed forever.

“While I can’t share the same pain as others, I can easily say that this project meant quite a lot to me. I hoped to ensure that this design would mean something to people, rather than just another logo.”

“I pride myself in carefully considering details and overall concepts in my art, and this was no exception. Upon conclusion, I walked away from this project happy to say that I feel confident in what I created, and I gained so much as a result of the experience.”

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities this project opened up for me, and I look forward to creating more through future internships.”

Shaped by Katrina, LSU’s Traci Birch Is Now Helping Plan for a Stronger Louisiana

Aug 11, 2025Art & Design, Research, Coastal Sustainability Studio, Architecture, Faculty, Doctor of Design

Traci Birch was a Ph.D. student and practicing urban planner when she was forced to evacuate from New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She thought she’d be back home in a few days. Instead, she left Louisiana to finish her degree, then later returned to Louisiana, working in recovery planning.

Now an associate professor at the LSU School of Architecture and associate director of the LSU Coastal Ecosystem Design Studio, Birch has spent the last two decades helping Louisiana communities recover, rebuild, and prepare for the future. From working with FEMA in the months after the storm to shaping long-term resilience strategies across the state, her work reflects a deep commitment to applied, collaborative research to help communities statewide.

Tracy Evans Named the New Executive Director of Development for the LSU College of Art & Design

Aug 6, 2025Art & Design

Tracy Evans, Executive Director of Development at the LSU Foundation, has been named the new development lead for the LSU College of Art & Design.

“We are excited to welcome Tracy to the LSU College of Art & Design team, and look forward to her expertise,” said Arne Flaten, Dean of the College of Art & Design. “In this role, Tracy will work closely with me and our team to build philanthropic support for our college’s priorities and to strengthen engagement with alumni, donors, and friends.”

Tracy Evans is a seasoned fundraising professional with more than three decades of service in higher education. A proud Louisiana native, she currently serves as Executive Director of Development at the LSU Foundation, where she leads fundraising strategy and operations for six academic units: the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, LSU AgCenter, LSU College of Agriculture, LSU Law School, LSU College of Human Sciences & Education and LSU College of Art & Design.

Tracy manages a diverse portfolio of principal and major gift prospects and leads a team of development officers and staff. She works closely with deans and senior leadership to align philanthropic opportunities with each unit’s priorities, ranging from major capital projects and scholarship support to the development of specialized engagement efforts, including one of the country’s most comprehensive grateful client programs in veterinary medicine. Over the years, she has helped shape long-term fundraising plans, cultivated meaningful donor relationships, and contributed to several successful grant proposals and campaigns.

Her career at LSU began in the early 1990s and has spanned roles in alumni relations, law school administration, and development leadership. Along the way, Tracy has mentored dozens of professionals and collaborated with university colleagues to find creative, strategic solutions in support of institutional goals. She holds a Master of Public Administration from LSU and a BA in Communications from the University of Louisiana.