Jeff Wilson (professor)

Jeff Wilson
Other names Professor Dumpster
Residence Austin, Texas
Nationality American
Fields Environmental Science
Institutions Huston-Tillotson, Harvard, IBM, University of Texas at Brownsville
Alma mater University of Canterbury (NZ)
Known for Environmental Health, Sustainability Education, Dumpster Diving
Notable awards Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award
Website
htu.edu/faculty-directory/dr-jeff-wilson

Jeff Wilson is an American academic[1] who plays the role of Professor Dumpster, the face of 'The Dumpster Project',[2] an educational experiment that is transforming a trash dumpster into a fully sustainable home.[3] Wilson lived in the dumpster over the course of the yearlong project, from 4 February 2014 to 4 February 2015.[4][5]

Academic Work

Wilson is dean of the University College and associate professor of Biological Sciences at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.[1] He did post-doctoral work at Harvard, holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Canterbury[6] and is the recipient of a University of Texas Systems' Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award, the largest monetary teaching award in the United States.[7] Wilson has authored numerous publications in the environmental science field and has received funding from the National Science Foundation.[8]

The Dumpster Project

Professor Dumpster

Wilson is the Executive Director of the 501(c)3 non-profit 'The Dumpster Project',[9] a STEM educational experiment in which he moved into an empty dumpster and transformed it into a 33 square feet (3.1 m2) environmentally sustainable home.[10] The project has been featured in a variety of local and national news sources, attracting both acclaim and criticism.[11][12][13][14][15][16] The project won an HBCU Ford Corporation community sustainability grant[17] and a $10,000 Home Depot 'Retool Your School' competition,[18] but a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign was cancelled a few days before the deadline when it did not reach its goal.[19]

Phase II of Dumpster, Aug 2014
Dumpster Interior, Aug 2014

On August 4, 2014, after six months of Phase I (Dumpster Camping), the educational project moved into the second phase, the 'Ultimate Studio Apartment'.[20] In this Phase, the dumpster will receive standard appliances found in most homes (e.g. window unit A/C, lighting, toilet, and shower) in order to develop a 'baseline' of energy and water use before moving into the third phase, Über Dumpster". As part of the educational mission of The Dumpster Project, a weather station was brought online, tracking interior and exterior weather conditions, including temperature, relative humidity, solar irradiance and 11 other variables.[21] The purpose of the weather station is to allow elementary students to test the properties of various insulation materials.

Though Wilson moved out of the dumpster in February 2015, it will remain based at the college campus where Wilson works and become a rotating space for teachers and educators as part of the 'Dumpster Project 'Home' School Residency Program.[22] On the first night of the new home school program, Austin Independent School District Blackshear Elementary Principal Betty Jenkins stayed in the dumpster and eight of her teachers camped overnight around the dumpster.[5][23]

No Baggage Experiment

Wilson and Bensen in No Baggage

Together with freelance writer Clara Bensen he performed the 'travel experiment' No Baggage, in which they traveled for 21 days through eight countries with no change of clothes shortly after meeting on a dating website.[24][25][26] New Line Cinema has acquired the right to produce a feature film and hired Adam Brooks [27] to screen write the film based on a forthcoming book from Perseus Books entitled 'No Baggage' by Bensen.[28][29]

99 Nights ATX

Subsequent to moving out of the dumpster, Wilson, launched a project entitled '99 Nights ATX' in which he will spend 99 nights in 99 different homes across Austin, gaining an up-close and intimate understanding of how Austinites relate to their inner spaces.[5][30] The project is in collaboration with writer Clara Bensen[31] and photographer Sarah Natsumi Moore.[32]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wilson, Jeff. "Jeff Wilson, Huston Tillotson". Huston Tillotson University. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "The dumpster project". Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  3. ↑ "Pimp my dumpster! Harvard-educated professor on his plan to transform 33sq ft garbage bin into his home for a year". The Daily Mail.
  4. ↑ "Texas university professor moves into a DUMPSTER on school campus for a year to show students that they can live with less". The Daily Mail.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Professor Dumpster Moves Out ... And On". The Austin Chronicle.
  6. ↑ "PhD Research - The University of Canterbury". The University of Canterbury.
  7. ↑ "Regents Outstanding Teaching Awards". The University of Texas System.
  8. ↑ "Advancing Undergraduate to Geo-environmental Master's for Engaged Needs-based Talented Students (AUGMENTS) scholarships program". National Science Foundation.
  9. ↑ The Dumpster Project. "The Dumpster Project".
  10. ↑ "Texas Professor to Make Dumpster His Home for a Year". ABC News.
  11. ↑ "Living Simply in a Dumpster". www.theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Retrieved September 2014.
  12. ↑ Huffington Post. "The Ultimate Tiny Home Is In A Dumpster". http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/06/tiny-home-dumpster-jeff-wilson_n_5538249.html.
  13. ↑ Fast Co. ""Professor Dumpster" Is Moving Into A Garbage Can, And Bringing His Students".
  14. ↑ "Professor will live in dumpster for 1 year". USA Today.
  15. ↑ "Trash talking professor moves into a dumpster". HLN Headline News.
  16. ↑ North, Anna (28 July 2014). "When it's cool to have nothing". New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ford HBCU Challenge". Black America Web.
  18. ↑ Home Depot. "Retool Your School HBCU Challenge".
  19. ↑ Wilson, Jeff (2014-06-30). "A Letter from Professor Dumpster to Supporters on the Kickstarter Cancellation". Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  20. ↑ KVUE News. "New addition to dumpster home brings relief for the summer heat".
  21. ↑ HOBO. "Dumpster Weather Station". HOBO Instrumentation.
  22. ↑ "Dumpster Project Home School". The Dumpster Project.
  23. ↑ "Living in a Dumpster 1 Year Later". Time Warner Cable. 5 Feb 2015.
  24. ↑ "Extreme dating: Jeff Wilson and Clara Benson describe how they got to know each other while on a European vacation right after they met online". ABC.
  25. ↑ "Couple goes on trip just after weeks after meeting on OKCupid". Fox News.
  26. ↑ "Daters speed up relationship with voyage, sans luggage". USA Today.
  27. ↑ "New Line Ramping Up ‘No Baggage,’ Based on ‘Craziest OkCupid Date Ever’". www.variety.com. Retrieved September 2014.
  28. ↑ "About Clara Bensen". Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  29. ↑ "New Line Going on 'The Craziest OkCupid Date Ever' for Three Weeks".
  30. ↑ "99NightsATX". 99 Nights ATX Website.
  31. ↑ Clara, Bensen. "Clare Bensen website". Clara Bensen.
  32. ↑ "Sara Natsumi". Sarah Natsumi Website.