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David Smith

Biographical Sketch

Actual Sketch
(Self Portrait,
Graphite on Paper)

David grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania. His father was a professional engineer, and his mother's family business was a metal fabrication shop for precision machine parts. He grew up playing with Legos so much that some might say that he had an unhealthy obsession with them. His family took road trips often to visit large cities all over the country. A combination of all of these things have led him to pursue a career in the architecture and construction industry.

Before David even started at Penn State, he knew he wanted to shape spaces using light. His entire academic career at Penn State has been in the Architectural Engineering department in the Lighting/Electrical option. His pursuits have landed him working on all phases of the building process from working on concepts to planning and designing to actually building permanent structures that he helped design.

David has worked for design firms where he learned the process of creating and developing good design. He also worked for contractors where David learned how designs get implemented and where potential problems arise due to overlooked aspects or reduced costs. His experience on both sides of designing a project has proved to be very valuable.