Jessica Tankard, an M. Arch degree candidate who recently completed her thesis, will be a Fulbright ambassador from the United States to the Netherlands from September through May.  As a guest researcher at the Technical University of Delft, Jessica’s research will focus on methods for integrating energy generation into buildings beyond climate-dependent photovoltaics, and will culiminate in a design conclusion.

We are delighted to welcome four members to the RSA faculty this fall.  Troy Schaum and Reto Geiser will be joining us as Assistant Professors, and Bryony Roberts and Neeraj Bhatia will be the 2011-2013 Wortham Fellows.

Schaum was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the RSA this past year, and a Wortham Fellow prior to that. He is a founding partner of the architecture practice Schaum/Shieh, and previously practiced with OMA as well as Jim Jennings.  Geiser comes to Rice from the ETH Zurich, where he obtained his Ph.D. and has been teaching studio as well as courses in history, theory, and criticism. He writes extensively and is half of the firm MG&Co.   Roberts is completing her M.Arch. at Princeton and has worked for the architecture firms Mansilla Tunon and WORKac. She brings an interest in architecture’s intersection with contemporary art, as well as issues of modern and contemporary preservation.  Bhatia will be extending his current fellowship. He is a partner in The Open Workshop and the Director of InfraNet Lab.

Dean Sarah Whiting was a respondent at the symposium ‘Private Places, Public Power,’ held at Rice’s Humanities Research Center. Whiting lectured at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture and also gave a talk at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, along with R.E. Somol, entitled ‘Doppler Redux.’ Additionally, she participated on a panel at the RPA’s Urban Systems Symposium in New York and a panel at MIT on ‘Pedagogical Practices.’

Professor Farès el-Dahdah delivered the lecture ‘Architecture and Anthropophagy: Lucio Costa et al’ at the MIT School of Architecture.

Professor Ron Witte gave a lecture entitled ‘Track Jumping’ at Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture.

Wortham Fellow Neeraj Bhatia will lead a group of recent graduates at Archiprix, a biennial international competition for the best graduation projects in architecture, urban design and landscape architecture.  The group will participate in a weeklong competition examining radical speculations on the future of Manhattan.  As part of this event, Bhatia will also give a lecture entitled “Territorial Ecological Form” at MIT and engage in a series of debates moderated by Michael Kubo.  Bhatia also published an Op-Ed in the most recent issue of DOMUS magazine entitled “The Urban Project of Plurality.”

Professor Carlos Jimenez and Visiting Studio Critic Derek Dellekamp were respondents on panel discussions at LATITUDES, a two-day symposium at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture that reflected on architecture in the Americas.

Professor Carlos Jimenez is also serving as an invited jury member on a number of competitions this spring.   Additionally, works and writings by Professor Jimenez were featured in the following publications: ARCHITECT’S SKETCHBOOKS, ARQUINE, and ATLAS: ARCHITECTURES OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

Assistant Professor Neyran Turan has recently published a chapter on the contemporary urbanism of Istanbul in MEGACITIES. Turan also published an article in 20/20: EDITORIAL TAKES ON ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE.

Professor Mark Wamble gave a lecture at the School of Architecture at Auburn University entitled ‘Just a Moment’ that focused on five projects produced by Interloop-Architecture between 2008 and 2010.

Professors Nonya Grenader and Danny Samuels received the 2010-2011 ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award for their CORE HOUSES projects, which include the Extra-Small (XS) House, New Core/Existing Row Houses, and the ZeRow House.

‘Cuttings,’ an 11-image series by Lecturer in Architecture Frank White, was recently acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. White’s work was also honored at last year’s AIGA Texas Show.