The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) has awarded Bart Johnson, an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, the 2014 Excellence in Research Award, Senior Level.

Liska Chan, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, said that Johnson’s research “engages three primary areas of scholarship: ecology and design education, ecological experiments, and coupled human and natural and systems research.” While at UO, Johnson has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $4 million in externally funded research grants.

Johnson joined the UO faculty 1995, teaching courses in ecology, design and research methods. He was also responsible for integrating ecology into both undergraduate and graduate curricula. When the Department of Landscape Architecture began a Ph.D. program in 2005, Johnson was selected to serve as its program director, a position he held through 2011.

David Hulse, Philip H. Knight Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, outlined three research contributions in particular where Johnson’s work stands out: his investigations into the use of fire as a landscape management tool, his role in catalyzing efforts to bring ecology into design thinking and work and his focus the past five years on climate change adaptation planning and design.

“These efforts integrate very advanced simulation modeling, in-depth ecological investigations, stakeholder engagement, and alternative futures approaches into what is rapidly becoming a model for conducting such work,” Hulse said. “The international interest in it is testament to its quality and to the increasing reach of Bart’s accomplishments.”

- by A&AA Communications staff