


While a student at NYIT, where I graduated with a five-year Bachelors of Architecture degree and was awarded the American Institute of Architects School Medal and Certificate of Merritt from the Henry Adams Fund for Excellence in Academic Performance, I tried to find projects that were challenging and provided insight into the way decisions are made and buildings work. The most significant experience I had while at NYIT was my involvement in the schools entry into the 2005 Solar Decathlon, a USDOE sponsored event where students from around the world design, build, and operate a completely solar powered home on the mall in Washington, DC. My role on the design was to investigate the homes natural systems including natural ventilation and passive heating to help determine the number and placement of windows. In addition to working on the homes design I helped build it three separate times, once on the NYIT campus, again on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and finally in its current location on the campus of the US Merchant Marine Academy in Great Neck, NY. This experience has proven to be a pivotal point in my career.
During my free time I enjoy visiting the places I learned to love as a child, the built and natural environments, but with a greater appreciation.
Erik Heuler