Nathan Li

PhD student

How might researchers and educators better understand how engineers consider social and ecological factors in their designs?

Nathan is a second-year Engineering Education PhD student at Virginia Tech with a background in building design, building science, sustainable energy, and community-based research. Nathan hopes to better understand how students think about environmental and social problems and how they envision themselves and their careers as solutions to those problems. Nathan has also worked in the construction industry as a sustainability consultant helping buildings obtain green building certifications recognizing impacts in energy, environment, health, and wellness.

Nathan's research investigates the methods that design research and education might adopt to collect deep, longitudinal data that reflects how engineers make decisions throughout the design process. This work is motivated by the need to better integrate social and ecological factors into the engineering design process and seeks to provide more insight into engineering students mental models of engineering design throughout the undergraduate experience.

Additionally, Nathan investigates the social and environmental impacts of energy systems and how communities might interpret and benefit from the implementation of technologies like data centers and the renewable energy transition.

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