Professor Brian Deal is the Director of the Land use Evolution and impact Assessment Modeling (LEAM) Laboratory and the Director of the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC). He was also one of the primary authors of the University of Illinois’ climate action plan (iCAP), a faculty mentor to the Student Sustainability Committee, and chair of the facilities committee for campus sustainability planning efforts. Previous positions have included a decade of professional practice in architecture and  a senior researcher with the Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), where he focused on issues of sustainable design and development utilizing spatial simulation modeling techniques for military facilities. Professor Deal received a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois with a specialization in land use planning, modeling, and analysis. He also holds a master’s degree and professional license in architecture. He obtained a BS in Architectural Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1983, a Master of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997 and a PhD in Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002.