The NextHouse initiative is powered by a diverse coalition of experts and organizations dedicated to transforming the housing industry. Led by Purdue University, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of Notre Dame, the team combines decades of expertise in engineering, design, policy, and advanced manufacturing. These core academic partners collaborate with industry leaders, community organizations, and state agencies to ensure the project’s success.
Key contributors include architects developing cutting-edge designs, engineers advancing sustainable materials, and policymakers addressing regulatory challenges. Industry partners, such as modular housing manufacturers and automation specialists, provide critical insights and support. Together, this robust network represents a “show of force” capable of delivering innovative, scalable solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
Dr. Travis Horton
NextHouse PI
Dr. Horton is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University within the Architectural Engineering emphasis area, and holds a courtesy appointment in Mechanical Engineering. He earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University and graduated with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2002. Previously, Dr. Horton was on the Mechanical Engineering faculty at the University of Maryland and prior to that managed the thermo-fluidics research group and was the technical lead for refrigeration research at the Tecumseh Product Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Horton’s current research and teaching interests at Purdue University focus on the development of new technologies and approaches that support the expansion of high performance buildings and communities, including; small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) units for use in residential and light commercial applications; advanced heating and cooling equipment and novel thermodynamic cycles; HVAC equipment and building-level fault detection and diagnosis; and building energy modeling and optimization.
Dr. George H. Berghorn
NextHouse Co-PI
Dr. Berghorn is an assistant professor of construction management in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University. He earned a PhD in construction management from MSU and a Master of Environmental Studies degree from the Yale University School of the Environment. Berghorn is a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction, and a Certified Green Professional from the National Association of Home Builders. He has worked on funded projects related to the feasibility of building deconstruction and material reuse, barriers to increasing mass timber building construction in the U.S., reuse of salvaged lumber in cross laminated timber, the role of construction activities in aquatic invasive species introduction and spread, building science education, and electric utility training.
Dr. Panagiota Karava
NextHouse Co-PI
Dr. Karava is a Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, affiliated with Ray W. Herrick Laboratories and the Center for High Performance Buildings. Her research focuses on smart building technology, high-performance buildings, and connected, energy-aware residential communities. She has authored over 120 publications and leads impactful research partnerships and interdisciplinary teams. Dr. Karava has extensive expertise in deploying research outcomes into smart technology used in over 200 low- and medium-income households across Indiana, with a research portfolio exceeding $11.5M. She has strong partnerships with affordable housing agencies and community groups, including the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and regional housing authorities.
Dr. Robert Landers
NextHouse Co-PI
Dr. Landers is an Advanced Manufacturing Collegiate Professor at the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan; M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University; and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Landers specializes in modeling, analysis, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes; estimation and control of alternative energy systems; and digital control applications.
Dr. Geoffrey Thün
NextHouse Co-PI
Dr. Thün is professor of architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and a founding partner in the research-based practice RVTR. Thün holds a Master of Urban Design from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Waterloo. Thün currently serves as Associate Vice President for Research: Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts at U-M’s OVPR. His research and creative practice ranges in scale from the regional territory and the city to high-performance buildings, to full-scale prototype-based work exploring responsive and kinetic envelopes that mediate energy, atmosphere, and social space.
Dr. Joe Sinfield
Innovation
Dr. Sinfield is the founding Director of Purdue University’s Institute for Innovation Science and College of Engineering Innovation and Leadership Studies Program, as well as a Professor of Civil Engineering. His work focuses on innovation science, systems, and sensors. In academia, most recently, he served as co-lead of Purdue’s Innovation + X engineering initiative aimed at converging disciplines to achieve impact in efforts to address the world’s most complex challenges and was one of five co-principal investigators and Innovation Science Lead for USAID’s $70 million LASER PULSE consortium focused on developing and delivering research-driven solutions to field-sourced development challenges in low-to-middle income countries. In the private sector, he has 20 years of experience as an advisor to senior leaders of multi-national corporations and government agencies and formerly held the position of Senior Partner at Innosight, LLC, which he helped lead from a start-up to a global innovation strategy and investment firm that was acquired by a publicly-traded company.
Aaron Laramore
Community Engagement
Aaron Laramore is the managing director at Consept, LLC. in Fishers, Indiana. He has provided strategic guidance and technical assistance to community-based organizations, statewide associations and state agencies, focusing on the development of affordable and supportive housing. Laramore has been actively engaged in legislative advocacy for both the for profit and nonprofit housing producing sector. His efforts have supported policy changes that promote equity in housing access, particularly for underserved communities, to address racial and economic disparities in housing. He has cultivated partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including governmental entities, non- profits, and private sector partners and has been involved in educational initiatives aimed at building the capacity of local organizations and community members. He is a Denison University alum and a graduate of the Ohio State College of Law.
Dr. Trina Shanks
Dr. Shanks is currently the Harold R Johnson Collegiate Professor and Director of Community Engagement at the University of Michigan School of Social Work as well as Founding Director of the Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being. She holds a BSBA, MSW and PhD. from Washington University and a master’s degree in Comparative Social Research from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Her research interests include the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being; asset-building policy and practice across the life cycle; and community and economic development. Trina Shanks has been active in Detroit, conducting multiple evaluations of its summer youth employment program—Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, and convening an employment equity learning and action collaborative. Dr. Shanks is currently a AASWSW (American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare) fellow and a national network co-lead for the Social Work Grand Challenge: Reversing Extreme Economic Inequality.
