Dr. Kristen Kurland

Biography

Kristen Kurland is a Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the School of Architecture, with a courtesy appointment at Heinz College. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary collaborations addressing health, the built environment, and spatial analysis through Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She works closely with colleagues and students from CMU’s Heinz College, School of Architecture, and Civil and Environmental Engineering on issues related to health, urban design, economic development, and sustainability. Additionally, she actively collaborates with organizations such as Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In her teaching role, Kurland covers subjects including building information modeling (BIM), computer-aided design (CAD), 3D visualization, and GIS. At Heinz College, she teaches infrastructure management in the Master of Medical Management (MMM) program, where she also serves as a faculty advisor for Health Care Management Policy Systems Synthesis projects. Kurland has a strong interest in technology-enhanced learning and has been teaching online courses since 1999, including distance courses for Adelaide’s Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program. Besides her full-time academic role, she is the president of a local consulting firm that has implemented computer technology programs for organizations across various sectors. She is also a co-author of a series of best-selling GIS workbooks published by Esri, Inc.

Research Interests