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Interior Design Faculty

 

Laura Bittner, Interior Design

Laura Bittner

Assistant Professor of Practice

Laura Bittner has been on the faculty of Interior Design at Purdue University since 1995. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Interior Design and Coordinator of the Interior Design Internship Program. She earned her BA in Interior Design from Purdue University in 1986 and her MA in Interior Design from Purdue University in 2003.

She is the owner of Laura Bittner Design where she consults on interior design projects, including residential and small commercial projects such as Evan Todd Salon and Spa in West Lafayette, IN. Her specialty is interior space planning.

Prior to 1995, she worked for Office Works, Inc (Herman Miller Dealer) in Indianapolis, IN and the Plumbery, a Kitchen and Bath Showroom, in Sacramento, CA. Ms. Bittner has taught undergraduate Interior Design Studio courses, History of Interior Design and Interior Design Materials and Components, at the sophomore, junior, and senior level. Read More.

 

Woolley

Kevin Woolley

Assistant Professor of Interior Design

Kevin Woolley is an award-winning interior designer having completed commercial projects encompassing over 2 million square feet of interior space. From globalization to ethics, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom. Kevin has held previous academic appointments at Utah State University and Virginia Commonwealth University’s branch campus in Qatar. Whether it is creating shelters for victims of natural disasters to designing five-star corporate headquarters, his classes engage students in project scenarios that are challenging, socially relevant, and align with a strategic global perspective.

Kevin’s research focuses on the intersections of knowledge, design, and society. His process-driven approach centers on early designer’s use of creative intelligence to solve complex problems. Kevin’s objective is to reexamine a 21st-century design curriculum by looking at “What is being taught?”, “How is it being taught?”, and “What are the outcomes?” within the context of trans-disciplinary competencies and opportunities. Read More.

 

Barb Young, Interior Design

Barb Young

Assistant Professor of Interior Design

Barb Young, RID, LEED AP, is an NCIDQ certified Interior Designer, registered in the State of Indiana, and LEED Accredited Professional with practice experience in commercial and education environments.  Barb brings extensive teaching experience in Interior Design to Purdue from the University of Kentucky and Indiana University where she served as a Senior Lecturer.    

Barb is an educator dedicated to instilling the positive impact that interior design contributes to people and places through evidence-based, socially responsible, process.  She is dedicated to the advancement of the profession through her continued service as a site visitor for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) and active memberships in the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and International Interior Design Association (IIDA).  Barb’s research interests include exploring participatory design process for community environments through inter-disciplinary practice and community engagement. 

 

Jennifer_Kaufmann-Buhler, Purdue

Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler

Associate Professor of Design History

Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler is an Associate Professor of Design History in the department of Art and Design. Her research focuses broadly on ordinary spaces and objects in the context of everyday life, and her current project is about the progressive origins and emerging problems of the American open plan office (“office cubicles”) in the late 20th century. Kaufmann-Buhler has presented her research at various national conferences and is currently in the process of developing several articles as well as a book on her open plan office research. She earned her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Design Studies, her MA in the History of Design from the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, and her BA in American Culture from Vassar College.  [ Read more]

Genell Ebbini Purdue

Genell Ebbini

Assistant Professor of Interior Design

Genell Ebbini joined the Interior Design faculty at Purdue University in 2022. She earned a Master of Design Studies Sustainable Design from Boston Architectural College and graduated Summa Cum Laude, earning a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Arkansas.

Genell has an extensive background in interior design, indoor environmental quality, sustainability, energy-efficient design, and construction as a practitioner, researcher, and educator. She is an NCIDQ-certified and Registered Interior Designer in Indiana, with over twenty years of global practice and ten years of extensive teaching experience in CIDA Accredited programs at the University of Minnesota, Washington State University, and Indiana State University. She is also a LEED BD+C and ID+C Accredited Professional with experience managing and delivering the highest LEED certification on a building, Platinum.  [ Read more]