Associate Professor, Integrated Engineering
- PhD, University of California, Berkeley
- MS, University of California, Berkeley
- BS, Harvey Mudd College
Professor Gordon D. Hoople lives at the intersection of two worlds, engineering and art, and he has built his career proving they belong together. A founding faculty member of integrated engineering at the University of San Diego, he designs learning experiences that challenge students to rethink what engineering is and who it's for.
His research turns on a deceptively simple question: how do we help engineers understand the impact they have on society? As principal investigator on the National Science Foundation grant "Reimagining Energy: Exploring Inclusive Practices for Teaching Energy Concepts to Undergraduate Engineering Majors," he created a novel energy-focused course now required in USD's integrated engineering major. He is the co-author of two books, Drones for Good: How to Bring Sociotechnical Thinking Into the Classroom (2020) and Connective Creativity: What Art Can Teach Us About Collaboration (2024), and his latest work explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we teach and learn.
His conviction that creativity is collaborative and learnable drives his work as an artist. A founding member of the San Diego collective ArtBuilds, Professor Hoople builds monumental interactive sculptures that have appeared in public spaces across San Diego County, at the La Jolla Playhouse WOW Festival, and at Burning Man. His first permanent installation, Threshold Five, now stands in Escondido's Kit Carson Park.
Whether he's building a course or a sculpture, Professor Hoople is chasing the same thing: getting people to think, make, and create together.