I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and enjoyed working on various projects with my father who was an electrical engineer (educated at Cal Tech, MIT, and Bell Labs) and Executive VP of manufacturing with an electronics company). I completed my graduate degree at Princeton University and am a full professor and director of the Construction Process Innovation Lab at the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture. I have been actively seeking solutions for more efficient and sustainable urban transportation. Recent inventions include an accelerating moving walkway and a continuously variable bicycle transmission. I believe transportation is one of the key challenges that cities face now. This challenge will only increase given the worldwide trend of rapid urbanization. With effective public transportation, cities offer a higher quality of life, reduce energy consumption, noise, pollution, and enjoy greater economic prosperity.
