Dr. Kopec

Children are being diagnosed with chronic mental illnesses at an alarming rate because our young people lack significant periods of unstructured multi-sensory access to the natural world. Children spend on average 7.5 hours a day in front of a media device. Dr. David "Dak" Kopek holds a doctoral degree in Environmental Psychology with a concentration in perception and design and two master's degrees, one in Architecture and another in Community Psychology. He is an Assistant Professor at Radford University, has served twice as a Visiting Lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Doha, Qatar and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii in the schools of Architecture and Medicine. Dak was invited by the Costa Rican National Congress' of Medicine and Engineering to discuss the role of Design and Health. He has testified before the California State Senate on issues of Environmental Health, has been invited to present on the future of design at the IDA (International Design Alliance) Congress in Taiwan, and is listed as a Fullbright Specialist and member of ASID's Distinguished Speakers. Dak's most notable accomplishments include a variety of published works including journal articles; three books: Environmental Psychology for Design, Health, Sustainability and The Built Environment, and Evidence Based Design: A Process for Research and Writing; and two monographs: Americans with Disabilities Act and The Elderly Population and Designs that Protect: Incorporating Culturally Diverse Perspectives in Long-Term Care Facilities. Dak also hosted a television pilot for TLC (The Learning Chanel) and a second television pilot produced by Baja Posse Movies.

Environmental Psychology and Design examines the assortment of psychological factors that affect human perception and subsequent use of space. Included in this content is an examination human development in terms of various environmental elements. The core idea of this presentation is to not show what has already been done, but to rather to theorize on ways to reinterpret the design process through the use of perception and cognition as they shift within the human life cycle, evolve from generation to generation, and fluctuate from culture to culture. Dak Kopec is the Director of Design for Human Health within the School of Design Studies at the BAC, and is central to the development and launch of the BAC's newest program, Master of Design Studies in Design for Human Health. Dak holds a doctorate degree in Environmental Psychology with a concentration in perception and design, and two master's degrees, one in Architecture and another in Community Psychology. He has served twice as a Visiting Lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Doha Qatar and Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii in the schools of Architecture and Medicine. He currently serves as a reviewer for Fulbright applications. Dak's most notable accomplishments include several journal articles, the completion of three books: Environmental Psychology for Design; Health, Sustainability and The Built Environment; and Evidence Based Design: A Process for Research and Writing. He has also authored two monographs, Americans with Disabilities Act and The Elderly Population and Designs that Protect: Incorporating Culturally Diverse Perspectives in Long-Term Care Facilities. Dak was invited by the Costa Rican National Congress' of Medicine and Engineering to discuss the role of Design and Health, testified before the California State Senate on issues of Environmental Health, has been appointed by the governor of Hawaii to sit on the Hawaii Regional Planning Council, has been invited to present on the future of design at the IDA (International Design Alliance) Congress in Taiwan, invited to present at a TEDx conference, and is a member of ASID's Distinguished Speakers.