Welcoming our New Faculty and Staff + Highlighting Promotions — Fall 2026
The School of Architecture is excited to announce new faculty and staff who are joining us this fall 2026 semester, as well as highlight recent promotions and appointed leadership positions.
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New Full-Time Faculty
RYAN ALLEN
H. Louis Salomonsky Professor in Real Estate, Urban and Environmental Planning
Director of the Real Estate Design and Development Program
Ryan Allen, Ph.D., joins UVA as the inaugural H. Louis Salomonsky Professor in Real Estate and director of the Real Estate Design and Development Program. His research focuses on housing and community development with an emphasis on the experience of immigrant communities in the United States. He is the author of myriad articles that focus on housing affordability, public housing, and immigrant integration, published in journals such as the Journal of the American Planning Association, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Urban Studies, and International Migration Review. Prior to joining UVA, Allen was faculty at the University of Minnesota with a dual appointment at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and University of Minnesota Extension since 2007. Allen earned a Ph.D. in urban and regional studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), holds a Master's in City Planning also from MIT, and a B.A. in economics and history from The College of William and Mary. More about Ryan.
KATIE IDZIOREK
Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track), Urban and Environmental Planning
Katherine (Katie) Idziorek, AICP, Ph.D., is a community-engaged researcher who examines the role of social networks and social infrastructure in community-scale resilience and disaster preparedness. Bridging the disciplines of hazard mitigation, urban geography, and urban planning, Idziorek’s research explores the role of place-based resources in supporting community resilience and wellbeing. Prior to joining the UVA School of Architecture, Idziorek was faculty in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Before turning to a full-time academic career, she practiced for eight years as a professional urban designer in the greater Seattle region, where her work focused on multimodal transportation planning and long-range community visioning. Idziorek holds graduate degrees in architecture and urban planning, as well as an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning, from the University of Washington. More about Katie.
DAN MEYER
Research Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture
Morven Faculty Research Fellow
Dan Meyer is the inaugural Morven Sustainability Lab Faculty Research Fellow and a Research Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture. Prior to joining UVA, he was a Senior Research Associate at the Landscape Infrastructure Design Lab (LIDL) in the Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction. As a member of LIDL, he worked on multiple federally funded grant projects addressing challenges of sea level rise adaptation through innovative coastal infrastructure design. As the 2026-28 Morven Fellow, Meyer will direct field experiments and creative land management at Morven focused on the space-making potential of woody plant species which builds off of his graduate research at Cornell University on the spatial, experiential and management dimensions of forest parks and urban forestry initiatives.
RINA PRIYANI
Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track), Architectural History
Rina Priyani’s research focuses on the racialization of urban space and landscape in colonial and postcolonial Southeast Asia. Her current book project, Building Bandung: Colonialism, Ethnic Identities and Architectural Practices in Indonesia, examines the efforts of Indonesian intellectuals and visionaries of the postcolonial world who have been reinventing the city of Bandung in West Java, rupturing it from its colonial origin. This research foregrounds class, ethnicity, gender, and race in Bandung’s urban transformation that grappled with the legacies of late Dutch colonialism, Japanese occupation, and Indonesian post-independence. Priyani,Ph.D., was a Mellon postdoctoral fellow with the Department of Architectural History at UVA prior to her appointment as Assistant Professor. She holds an undergraduate degree in architecture and a Master’s in Engineering, both from Bandung Institute of Technology. She received an Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. More about Rina.
SASSON RAFAILOV
Assistant Professor, Architecture
Sasson Rafailov is a theorist and designer whose scholarly work contributes to ongoing debates in new materialist philosophy, craft theory, and philosophy of education. His teaching spans the breadth of course offerings at the School of Architecture, including foundational courses in design for both undergraduate and graduate students, thesis studios for the Master of Architecture group, and lectures on modern and contemporary theory across a variety of degree programs. His Ph.D. dissertation proposes a new approach to craft in educational contexts, bridging concepts from environmental and technological philosophy to redefine the term as a mode of consciousness, or being, instead of a particular set of skills or material processes. He is the recipient of the UVA Class of 1985 Fellowship for Creative Teaching. Rafailov holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, a Master’s in Design Studies from Harvard University and is a Ph.D. candidate at UVA. More about Sasson.
ABINGO WU
Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track), Architecture
Jiong (Abingo) Wu, Ph.D., is founder of AbingoWu Studio, an interdisciplinary research and design practice. She has held a prior appointments as faculty at Syracuse University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and South China University of Technology teaching across architecture and urban design. Wu's research explores global housing through the lens of social agency and innovation, with a focus on multi-generational living, migrant co-housing, informal settlements, and the dynamics between village and urban middle-class housing. This includes research utilizing a broad range of methodologies including ethnography, GIS and humanistic mapping, oral history, and media analysis. Her research on global housing has been disseminated in numerous peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings including Villages in the City: A Guide to South China's Informal Settlements (edited by Stefan Al, Hong Kong University Press) and Making the Village Middle Class: New Living Landscapes and Social Subjectivities in Chinese Peri-urban. She received a Bachelor of Engineering and City Planning from South China University of Technology, an Advanced Master of Architecture from the Berlage Institute and a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. More about Abingo.
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New Visiting Faculty and Lecturers
JENNY JONES
Harry W. Porter Visiting Professor, Landscape Architecture
Jenny Jones is principal in the Los Angeles office of Terremoto, a California-based landscape design studio specializing in material reuse, ecological restoration, and conservation-minded projects. She is co-founder of Test Plot, an ongoing experiment in stewardship and restoration of our public lands; and co-leads the Land & Labor group at Terremoto. Her work challenges conventional construction standards, champions labor visibility, and demonstrates that sustainable design does not require sacrificing beauty. Terremoto's projects are unified by an ethic of restraint, local sourcing, and honoring craft. Jones holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Thought and Practice, and graduate degrees in Landscape Architecture and Urban and Environmental Planning, all from the University of Virginia. More about Jenny.
RICK SOMMERFELD
Shure Visiting Professor, Architecture
Erik “Rick” Sommerfeld is an architect, educator, and design-build scholar whose work explores the intersection of professional practice, applied research, and architectural education. He is an Associate Professor of Architecture, Director of Graduate Studies, and founder of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, the nationally recognized design-build program at the University of Colorado Denver. Sommerfeld has led students in the design and construction of award-winning projects for nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and community partners. Central to his teaching and research is an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model that engages clients, engineers, fabricators, contractors, and public agencies throughout the design process, allowing students to experience architecture as a collaborative and interdisciplinary practice. His forthcoming monograph, ColoradoBuildingWorkshop: Anywhere Specific (ORO Editions), documents sixteen years of research investigating architecture in remote landscapes through community-engaged design-build education. More about Rick.
NICHOLAS BRINEN
Lecturer, Architecture
Nicholas Brinen, AIA, is a licensed architect in Virginia, Texas, and New York. He is a Founding Partner of Studio FIGURE, where he oversees various project typologies across different scales. In addition to co-directing projects at FIGURE, Brinen is a professor who has taught architecture at the James Madison University, Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design. He was a recipient of the Beck Fellowship and is currently a 2026-2027 Fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation conducting his research on the intersection between hyper-local material resources, academic activism, and design-build practices focusing on community-based projects. More about Nicholas.
HANNAH BROWN
Lecturer, Landscape Architecture
Hannah Jane Brown, PLA, is a Project Designer at Wolf Josey Landscape Architects based in Charlottesville. Through her work, she enjoys revealing latent histories to develop place-attuned and ecologically resilient landscapes. Her work strives to translate each site’s complexity and particular beauty into grounded spatial experiences, material expressions, and design details. Brown honed this ability through her graduate thesis work on the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground in Richmond, VA, where she worked in collaboration with activists and descendants to develop site interpretations and designs. She holds a Bachelor’s of Sustainable Engineering Design from Stanford University, and a Master’s of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. More about Hannah.
IPSITA DATTA
Lecturer, Architecture
Ipsita Datta is a Ph.D. candidate in the Constructed Environment and a lecturer in the Department of Architecture. She received a Master's in Advanced Architecture and a Postgraduate Diploma in 3D Printing Architecture from Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Barcelona and her undergraduate professional Bachelor of Architecture from L.S Raheja School of Architecture, Mumbai. She previously taught courses related to design computation, digital fabrication, and material systems as Assistant Professor at NMIMS Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, Mumbai. Datta’s research investigates the integration of mycelium-based Living Building Materials (LBMs) with construction and agricultural waste, using robotic additive manufacturing (RAM) as a means to fabricate biologically active architectural systems. More about Ipsita.
RAANA DORNESHAN
Lecturer, Architecture
Raana Dorneshan is an architectural designer with over a decade of experience across transit, hospitality, and residential design, including large-scale urban transit infrastructure projects developed in collaboration with leading design firms in North America. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Manitoba, completed graduate coursework in Architectural Technology at the University of Tehran, and holds a LEED AP BD+C credential. Her professional practice is supported by a strong technical foundation in building science and interdisciplinary project coordination, alongside ongoing research interests in sustainability, community-driven design, and the role of emerging technologies in architectural practice. More about Raana.
BRIAN SLUSHER
Lecturer, Architecture
Brian Slusher is a graduate of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he completed a Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy. For his graduate thesis, Slusher was awarded the Gehry Prize for Best Graduate Thesis as well as the METROPOLIS Future100 Class of 2026. His work examines the politics of public space, the civic role of architects, and the status of images and knowledge in contemporary culture. Prior to joining the UVA School of Architecture, Slusher practiced in Los Angeles, including at Bestor Architecture and David Hertz Architects. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from The Ohio State University. More about Brian.
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New Staff
SARAH BATES
Senior Administrative Coordinator, Architecture Department
Sarah Bates is the Senior Administrative Coordinator for the Architecture Department. She works closely with the department chair, faculty, and staff to support the department’s priorities and operations, with responsibilities spanning budgets, faculty administration, academic programs, planning, and special projects. She also provides finance and operations support for the Valmarana Center in Vicenza, Italy. A Charlottesville native and UVA alumna, Bates spent more than two decades in strategic communications before returning to UVA. She brings a collaborative, practical approach to her work and enjoys helping people navigate complex projects, stay aligned around shared priorities, and move important work forward. More about Sarah.
HANNAH CAMERON
Project Manager, Center for Cultural Landscapes
As Project Manager, Hannah Cameron supports the Outsider Preservation Initiative (OPI) and broader Center for Cultural Landscapes work. She is a doctoral student in the Urban and Regional Planning and Design program at the University of Maryland where she has served as a graduate assistant to the Historic Preservation Program Director and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in historic preservation and planning history and theory. Her research interests and ongoing work examine discourses of monumentality and the ways in which social and spatial constructs intersect with past and present commemoration and memorialization in public spaces of cities. Cameron is a student member of the American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) and Urban Affairs Association (UAA). More about Hannah.
HAIDAN KOLENBRANDER
Advancement Associate
Haidan Kolenbrander joins the UVA School of Architecture Advancement Team as a part-time Advancement Associate. She holds a Bachelor of Art in International Affairs, with minors in German and Music Industry from James Madison University. Kolenbrander has served on the Employee Engagement team at University Advancement.
ALISON MORIN
Human Resources Business Partner
Alison Morin is the School of Architecture's Human Resources Business Partner. She serves as a strategic advisor, collaborator, and proactive consultant, working with School leadership to provide innovative HR solutions to meet business goals. In this role, she provides services in talent planning, program administration, performance advising, and risk management related to human resources. Before joining UVA HR, Morin worked in the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the UVA School of Education and Human Development. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from Tulane University and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. More about Alison.
HEATHER SCOTT
Executive Assistant, Office of the Dean
Heather Scott joined the UVA School of Architecture in August 2026. As the Dean’s Assistant, she provides administrative support to the Dean, Associate Dean of Finance, and Chief of Staff, while serving as a liaison with departments and maintaining coordination with the Provost, Vice-Presidents’, and President’s offices. She also provides coordination between other departments and the Dean’s Office for major school events, lectures, and receptions. Her background includes serving as a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) for the federal government at both the U.S. Department of State and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency as well as deep experience in the philanthropic sector with community foundations. More about Heather.
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Promotions + Leadership Appointments
CL BOHANNON
Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Community Engagement
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture
Shannon Fellow
Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Community Engagement and Associate Professor CL Bohannon has been named a University of Virginia Shannon Fellow. Since 1994, the Shannon Center for Advanced Studies endowment has been used to support outstanding faculty members at UVA through the Shannon Mid-Career Fellowship Program. Over a three-year period, fellows come together to share their work and deepen connections with colleagues across Grounds. Bohannon is one of fourteen faculty members selected to this year's cohort. He is a nationally recognized scholar and educator in the areas of community-engaged design and pedagogy, social and environmental justice, and African American landscapes, especially in the American South. More about CL.
LEENA CHO
Kinder Foundation Distinguished Chair in Landscape Architecture
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture
In the Department of Landscape Architecture, Associate Professor Leena Cho has been named the Kinder Foundation Distinguished Chair. Cho is co-founding director of Arctic Design Group (ADG), founding member of UVA Arctic Research Center (UVA-ARC), and co-principal of design practices Kutonotuk and TempAgency. Her design research resides at the intersection between science and the humanities with a geographic focus in the Arctic—a vast, heterogeneous, and rapidly transforming region that is at the frontline of climate extremes and climate change. This work has been funded by numerous federal and international agencies including the US National Science Foundation, US Embassy in Iceland, and World Bank. More about Leena.
BRIAN DAVIS
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture
Research Program Co-Director of the National Security Data and Policy Institute
Associate Professor Brian Davis has been named the co-director of the Research Program in the National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI) at the university. NSDPI works to harness government, academia, and industry to tackle the most urgent national security challenges using cutting-edge technology. Davis, PLA, FAAR is co-Director of the Natural Infrastructure Lab. His work focuses on coastal landscapes, with a special interest in infrastructure, public space, and ecology. He works in collaboration with the Engineering with Nature program of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the National Parks Service, as well as local partners. More about Brian.
ALI FARD
Associate Professor, Architecture
Ali Fard has been promoted to Associated Professor of Architecture, with tenure. He is a researcher, designer, and educator, whose work operates at the intersection of design and global urban processes. He is particularly interested in the spatial imprints of technology and the urban disposition of infrastructure, and how design research can help ground the operational complexity, spatial hybridity, and territorial scales of large technical systems. Through a range of award-winning design and research projects, Fard's work reinforces architecture's critical and multi-scalar role within the territorial dynamics of contemporary urbanization. His most recent book, Grounding the Cloud—Urbanism in the Shadow of Data (University of Minnesota Press) reveals how the future of urbanism is deeply intertwined with the growing economies of data extraction. More about Ali.
ANDREW JOHNSTON
Professor, Architectural History
Andrew Johnston is a licensed architect and certified planner with a Ph.D. in architectural history and extensive experience both in practice and in academia. He has recently been promoted to full professor with tenure. Johnston’s current research focuses on the question of heritage in contemporary China and encompasses research on heritage education in China and participation in writing national guidelines for the preservation of industrial heritage in China. This scholarship culminated in a recently released book, Thinking Heritage Through China (Routledge) that takes a comprehensive look at heritage conservation theory and methods in China today. Johnston is the director of the historic preservation program at UVA. More about Andrew.
MATTHEW JULL
Professor, Architecture
Founding partner of the design practices KUTONOTUK and TempAgency and director of the Arctic Design Group (with Leena Cho), Matthew Jull has been promoted to full professor with tenure. With a Ph.D. in geophysics from Cambridge and M. Arch in architecture from the Harvard GSD, Jull’s research explores the intersection of architecture and urban design with the processes that shape the natural environment. Currently, his research focuses on exploring the potential of architecture and urban design within the frame of extreme climates and the increasing friction between the built environment and the forces shaping our planet. Supported by grants from the Graham Foundation, the Jefferson Trust, the Rotch Foundation, the Center for Global Inquiry and innovation, and most recently the National Science Foundation, his research is pioneering the development of new approaches to the design of cities and buildings in the rapidly changing Arctic. More about Matthew.
MICHAEL LUEGERING
Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture
Research Program Co-Director of the National Security Data and Policy Institute
Assistant Professor Michael Luegering, PLA has been named the co-director of the Research Program in the National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI) at the university. NSDPI works to harness government, academia, and industry to tackle the most urgent national security challenges using cutting-edge technology. As the Co-Director of the Natural Infrastructure Lab, he works on primary research and development with several federal and state agencies. Luegering is the Primary Investigator for the ongoing $3.25M Urban Planning With Integrated Natural Systems (UPWINS) project with the United States Army Corps of Engineers Engineering with Nature Program. The project also works with the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service to perform field-scale trials for plant adaptation at the Morven Sustainability Lab. More about Michael.
KATIE MACDONALD
Associate Professor, Architecture
Graduate Program Director
Katie MacDonald has been promoted to Associate Professor of Architecture, with tenure. She has also been named the Graduate Program Director for the Architecture Department. She is a licensed architect and Director of the Before Building Laboratory, where she leads material research and development. MacDonald pioneers new biomaterial assemblies, with the aim of creating building material systems that sequester carbon and reduce construction’s environmental impacts. Current projects focus on rapidly renewable biomaterials, including wood, bamboo, grass, hemp, and various invasive plant species. Research accolades include the R+D Award from Architect Magazine, multiple The Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards, and more. MacDonald was named Educator of the Year in Metropolis Magazine's Planet Positive Awards and was awarded the University of Virginia Outstanding Researcher Award. She is Cofounder of After Architecture, an architecture firm named to convey the built environment's impact on cultures and ecologies. More about Katie.
INES MARTIN-ROBLES
Associate Professor, Architecture
Ines Martin-Robles has been promoted to Associate Professor of Architecture, with tenure. Her research focuses on Modern Spanish and Ibero-American architecture, on the survival of the past through tradition, and on the role of memory in architectural design methodology. Martin-Robles is the co-author of the recent title, A. Lawrence Kocher: American Architect (2025) that offers a fresh perspective on the influential yet often under-recognized architect, educator, and editor. The book reframes Kocher's work within the broader narrative of American modern architecture, highlighting his unique approach to design, prefabrication, and vernacular traditions. She is also author of the forthcoming title, Contemporary Latin American Architecture: Other Traditions (2026) that reveals the often unconscious lineages, influences, and affinities that shape contemporary Hispanic American architecture. Martin-Robles leads study abroad programs in Spain and Vicenza, and is the co-founding principal of the award-winning architectural practice, Estudio Pancorbo Arquitectos. More about Ines.
ANDREW MONDSCHEIN
Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning
Co-Director of the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab
Associate Professor Andrew Mondschein has been named the interim co-director of the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab (DTD Lab) at the university. The DTD Lab supports a postdoctoral fellowship program, faculty research, topical convenings, and research-practice partnerships to critically examine the impact of digital systems and channels these insights into innovative pathways for technology that serves the public good. At the DTD Lab, Mondschein leads the Urban Digital Twins initiative, focused on modeling and simulation technologies in urban governance in support of visioning, planning, and decision-making. Andrew was recently appointed visiting professor at the University of Bologna, and currently leads a funded research project that will develop an advanced microsimulation tool that helps planners and others understand how new transportation technologies, including navigation apps and driverless mobility, are changing human decision-making, daily travel, and opportunities in cities. More about Andrew.
JESSICA SEWELL
Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning
Jessica Sewell has been promoted to full professor. Her research focuses on the relationships between gender and architecture, urban space, and material culture. Her new book, Exploring Gender in Vernacular Architecture (University of Tennessee Press) explores the gender of those who create and shape spaces, how gender ideology contributes to and manifests itself in built form, and what research methods make the observation of gendered experience possible. She is also at work on a collaborative book on the architect and urbanist Giancarlo de Carlo and a new project on the Great Valley of the Appalachians. Sewell authored the app Exploring Suzhou, which provides a cultural landscapes tour of the Chinese city of Suzhou. Her research has been supported by fellowships and grants from The Institute for Advanced Study, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, the Humanities Institute at Boston University, the Huntington Library, the Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley, and more. More about Jessica.
BARBARA BROWN WILSON
Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning
Special Advisor to the Dean, Liaison for Faculty Research and Ph.D. Committee Chair
Associate Professor Barbara Brown Wilson has been appointed as a special advisor to the dean, serving as the Chair of the Ph.D. in the Constructed Environment Committee. In this role, she will also serve as a point of contact for faculty seeking guidance on research endeavors. Wilson’s research and teaching focus on the history, theory, ethics, and practice of ecologically and community-oriented design and development, and on the role of urban social movements in the built world. She is a co-founder and former faculty director of the Center for Community Partnerships at UVA, where she still actively contributes as a partner in many applied projects. More about Barbara.
RUBY ZIELINSKI
Lab Manager + Design Research Lead, Natural Infrastructure Lab
Lecturer, Landscape Architecture
Ruby Zielinski joined the UVA School of Architecture's Natural Infrastructure Lab (NIL) in 2023 and has recently been promoted to Lab Manager and Design Research Lead. In this role, she will expand the lab's focus on design research, manage the lab's space at Allied Street, and serve as a researcher on all NIL projects. Zielinski's professional experiences include working with Memphis Medical District Collaborative and the Memphis Riverfront Park where she strengthened her focus on design strategy, human-centered design, public programming, and community engagement. At the Natural Infrastructure Lab, she explores how nature can inspire innovative projects that adapt to our changing climate. Zielinski is also a lecturer who teaches in the Department of Landscape Architecture's graduate program. More about Ruby.
