History of The Home Depot Smart Home
The Duke Smart Home Program concept grew out of a conversation between then senior electrical and computer engineering major Mark Younger and Pratt Dean Kristina M. Johnson. Younger spent a semester planning The Home Depot Smart Home an independent study course topic, and then launched a 20-student design project in the spring of 2003 that continues to grow.
After graduation, Younger was hired on as the project manager. He serves a mentor for student teams and oversees construction, serving as the primary liaison between Duke and the architectural and construction teams.
“The Home Depot Smart Home differentiates itself from other university Smart Home projects in two fundamental ways,” Younger said. “First, students actually live in the house while developing the systems in and around it. Second, the Program's broad cross-disciplinary nature gives students invaluable interaction with engineers specializing in fields other than their own as they prepare for the real world.”
Since the project's inception, more than over 110 students have taken part in research/design projects during the past 2 years (since summer 2003). We are average more than 40 students per semester.
Student teams have tacked more than 45 different projects, some of which were incorporated into The Home Depot Smart Home. We have purposely created interdisciplinary student teams, with principal engineer and multiple students from different academic disciplines.
The estimated cost of construction for The Home Depot Smart Home is $1.2 million. We hope to complete construction in the Fall of 2007, with the first set of students residents moving in for the Spring of 2008.
The Home Depot Smart Home will be a co-ed residence, with 10 students living there full time. One student, the president of The Home Depot Smart Home, will also serve as resident advisor. The house will also serve as "lab central," supporting research by for 40 to 50 additional students each semester.