Bio:

The great designer, Michelle Eble-Hankins, PhD, PE, LC, hasworked in the lighting industry for almost 25 years. She currently splits her time between designing lighting systems for buildings at Alvine Engineering and teaching the next generationof Engineers in the Architectural Engineering (AE) program at the University of Nebraska. Her undergraduate degree in AE from Kansas State University ignited her passion for lighting design. She is married with two sons, and lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

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How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?

In high school, I had the opportunity to take a drafting class, which I loved. I learned about Architectural Engineering, which combines drafting with hard-core engineering, and I was hooked. In college, I discovered my passion for lighting.

 

What do you do?

As a lighting designer, I design the lighting and controls for buildings. This allows me to use both the fundamental engineering/physics concepts of light energy and how it travels, and the aesthetic side of using light to enhance Architecture.

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What excites you in the work you do?

I get excited when I see that the lighting actually impacts people’s well-being, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. With the newly-discovered photoreceptor in the eye that affects circadian rhythms, there is much opportunity with lighting.

 

Who or what inspires you professionally?

I am inspired because what we do makes a signif- icant impact on people’s lives. We spend a great deal of time inside, so the design of buildings (that people work, live, and play in) plays a huge role in the comfort and well-being of people.

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What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

My proudest professional accomplishment was earning my PhD in Architectural. It was a long road, and I wanted to quit many times, but I kept at it. And now, because of that, I have the op- portunity to help shape the future of today’s AE students.

 

Featured Project Name: 

Omaha Public School J.P Lord

 

Featured Project Location: 

Omaha, NE

 

Featured Project Completion Date: 

2018

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Role in Featured Project: 

Lighting Designer

 

Featured Project Description:

A public elementary school, focused on providing multi-sensory stimuli, was designed for severely developmentally challenged students to create an experiential learning environment for their unique needs. Many students spend all day looking up, confined to a wheelchair in a flat position, making the lighting a critical component of the design. Lighting provides visual interest and comfort through the use of effects such as color changing, while also limiting the potential for glare.

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Photography Credit:

Tom Kessler, Kessler Photography