Ph.D. and Master of Science Students

Name	Degrees	Research Interests/Specializations
Arfa Aijazi	B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2013) M.S. in Building Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017)	building performance simulations, data visualization, machine learning, and climate change adaptability.
Heba Alnajada	M.A. Urban Design (Distinction), The University of Sheffield B.S. Architecture, The University of Jordan	Refugee Camps; Refugee settlements; ethnic and migration studies; modern history of the Middle East; late Ottoman Empire; Levantine studies; Informality; Global South; Legal Pluralism; Human Rights; Humanitarianism; Border studies
Elnaz Bailey	Master in Design Studies, Harvard University Graduate School of Design Master of Architecture, University of Utah Bachelor of Architectural Engineering, University of Art, Tehran	Generative Design Participatory Design Augmented and Virtual Reality User Experience Research Building Performance Analysis
Laura Belik	M.A. Design Studies - Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY B.Arch. Architecture and Urban Planning – Escola da Cidade, Sāo Paulo Brazil	Modern and contemporary history and theory of architecture and urbanism / 19^th, 20^th and 21^st Centuries Exhibitions and curatorial practices Design studies/ Theory of Design Public spaces, spatial politics Preservation and heritage Refugee and migration studies Geographical area of interest: Latin America \| Brazil
Frederik Braüner	BA in Art History, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen BA and MA in Architecture, Political Architecture - Critical Sustainability, The Royal Danish Academy	Welfare Architecture and Colonialism in the Arctic
Barrak Darweesh		Digital Fabrication / Computational design
Giuseppina Forte	M.S. Architecture, University of California, Berkeley B.A. Architecture, La Sapienza University, Rome (Summa cum Laude) M.A. Equiv. Architecture Licensure, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, U.S.A. Professional Degree in Architecture, Ministry of Education and Research, Italy	Spatial Justice; More-than-Urban Ecologies; Inequality and Difference in Cities; Urban History and Theory; Architecture Theory and Criticism; Innovative Design Pedagogies; Peripheral Urbanization; Brazil; Global South.
Eric Futerfas	Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture - North Carolina State University Bachelor of Architecture - North Carolina State University	Parametric Design, Landscape Urbanism, Lightweight Structures, Biophilic Design, Biomaterials, Built/Natural Hybridization, Retrofitting Vegetation into the Built Environment, Passive Energy Efficiencies
Kent Johnson	B.Arch - University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture	authenticity in architecture, housing, automotive culture, primitive urbanism, ecology, film and architecture, pedagogy and practice, history and theory of urban form, Los Angeles
Danay Kamdar	MS. BSTS, UC Berkeley B.ARCH, University of Mumbai	Sustainable Design, Thermal Comfort, Flexible Structures, Digital Fabrication
Shelby Kendrick	BA, History, University of New Orleans MA, Public History, California State University, Sacramento	Californian everyday urbanism; historic preservation; public history, including memory; local histories of the built environment; environmental history and regulation; gentrification and displacement; small-scale social movements (e.g. neighborhood organizations); place-based storytelling; modern and contemporary history and theory of architecture
Mohammad Keshavarzi	Bachelor of Architectural Engineering - University of Tehran MS of Architecture - UC Berkeley PhD of Architecture - UC Berkeley (Current)	Generative Modeling, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Collaborative Telepresence, Design Computation
Antony Kim	M.S. in Architecture, University of California Berkeley B.S. in Industrial Engineering, Humboldt State University	Behavioral neurobiology and architecture, lighting for circadian health, post-occupancy evaluation, affordable housing policy, circular economy, and indoor environmental quality in animal research.
Chandra M. Laborde	B.Arch. Architecture Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City MAAD-HTX California College of the Arts, San Francisco M.S. Architecture, University of California Berkeley	California history: radical environmental communes in Northern California, genealogies of spiritual environmentalism. Gender and Women Studies: ecofeminism, decolonizing queer aesthetics, queer and trans ecologies, lesbian lands. Environmental Studies: posthuman ecologies, degrowth, climate collapse and the built environment.
Emily Lamon	Architectural Engineering with Honors, University of Texas at Austin	Emily’s research focuses on reducing natural gas use in large commercial buildings through improved boiler operation and electrification retrofits.
Jolene Lee	B.A.(Arch), National University of Singapore M.Arch, National University of Singapore M.Des, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University	History of Architecture and Urbanism (20th Century), Architecture and Art Exhibition Histories, Ecocriticism, Comparative Asian Studies, Global Modernisms, Environmental Histories
Chitra Nambiar	M.S. Sustainable Architecture, New Jersey Institute of Technology B.Arch, College of Engineering, Trivandrum	Building Energy, Building Resilience, Occupant-driven Design, Grid Integrated Buildings, Data driven policy, Codes and Standards
Thomas Oommen	B.Arch (Professional), National Institute of Technology Calicut, India M.Arch (Professional), Texas A&M University Master of Urban Planning (Professional), Texas A&M University	Histories of the Indian Ocean, Modern South Asia, Labor and Expertise, History and Philosophy of Science, Post colonial theory, Subaltern Studies
Tania Osorio Harp	MS, University of California, Berkeley B.Arch, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City	My current research examines the history of the relationship between reproductive work and domestic architecture in Mexico City. I look at the effects of colonial legacies, patriarchal domination, forms of production, and Mexican racism in shaping such spaces, while also focusing on the everyday practices around housework and their meanings for those who perform and depend on them. It aims to make visible the labor dynamics that domestic architecture constitutes and occludes and question claims of modernization as a sign of social progress. Using domestic labor as an organizing device, I analyze how gender, race, and class create asymmetric relations to the city and the home.
Rina Priyani	M.S. in Architecture, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia B.Arch. in Architectural Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia Certificate in Cultural Heritage Preservation, Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO, Nara, Japan	History of architecture and urbanism in the 20th century; National identity in developing countries; Ethnicity and territoriality; Colonial and Postcolonial cities; Politics of heritage; Collective memory; Southeast Asia; Indonesia. Dissertation working title: "Remaking Bandung: Ethnic Identities, Colonialism and Building Practice in an Indonesian City"
Alberto Sanchez-Sanchez	M.S. in Historic Preservation, Columbia University, 2016 Professional Degree in Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 2012	Modern architecture; vernacular architecture; infrastructures and public works; historic preservation; media studies; anthropology; demography; human rights; material culture; public policy; rural areas; Spanish and European studies.
Ettore Santi	B.S. Architecture, Polytechnic University of Milan M.Arch., Polytechnic University of Milan M.Arch., Tongji University of Shanghai	Global Agrarian Histories; Urban Design Theory and Criticism; Land and Space; China Rural-Urban Studies.
Haripriya Sathyanarayanan	M.Sc in Building Science, School of Design & Environment, National University of Singapore (2010) B.Arch, University of Madras, India (2001)	Research Interests: Evidence-based Design, Immersive Environments and Experience in Healthcare Spaces, Enhanced Patient and Family Experiences, Human-Centric Design, Smart Hospital Environments, Digital Technology and Disruptions in Healthcare, User Behavior, Healthcare Quality Care & Delivery. Specializations: Total Building Performance, Sustainable Healthcare Design, Building Performance Simulations, Passive Design Strategies, Healing Environments.
Nathan Shui	MsArch, University of Florida, Gainesville MArch, National Institute of Applied Sciences, Strasbourg, France	Queer Space in Post-socialist China
Keebaik Sim	Industrial Design (BID), Graphic Design and Illustration (AAS) Pratt Institute Art, Design, and the Public Domain (MDes), Harvard University Graduate School of Design	My current research aims to depart from the universal conceptualization of smart cities and argue for a culturally specific materialization of smart cities through case studies. In particular, how ideas of smart cities are developed by corporate, governments, and citizens and how their meaning-making of smart cities come together, clash, and conflict. Through these studies, I engage with democratic ways using digital technologies and designing cultural programs for the people who reside in smart cities.
Ruiji Sun	Master of Science in Sustainable Design, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Bachelor of Energy Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, China	Ruiji Sun is a Ph.D. student in the Building Science program at UC Berkeley. He is the President of ASHRAE & IBPSA at UC Berkeley. Ruiji’s research focuses on integrating HVAC systems and personal comfort systems to provide energy efficient comfort and smart control. Ruiji is involved in developing Brick and gbXML, which are open-source and uniform metadata schema for IoT in the building. He earned an MS in Sustainability (2019) from Carnegie Mellon University and received a fellowship from ASHRAE RP-1810 for his graduate thesis. He double-majored in Energy Engineering and Architecture at Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China (2017).
Chai Yoon Um	M.S. in Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University B.S. in Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University	Indoor air quality, Ventilation, Healthy building
Desirée Valadares	M.Arch (Post-Professional), Urban Design and Housing, McGill University MLA (Professional) Landscape Architecture, University of Guelph MLA-Exchange, Coursework in M.Sc. Architectural Conservation, University of Edinburgh B.Arts Sc. (Combined Hons.) Arts and Science and Art History, McMaster University	Critical heritage studies: sub-surface cultural property, war commemoration Legal geography: land tenure, jurisdiction, territoriality and empire Settler colonial studies: Asian North American/Indigenous relationality, sovereignty Carceral studies: camps, carceral infrastructure, military geographies Transitional justice: redress social movements, judicial accountability in settler states Transpacific / Oceanic studies: Pacific Island, Arctic and Pacific Canadian studies
Swetha Vijayakumar	MS Architecture in Environmental Design, UC Berkeley B Arch, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, India	Architectural history and historiography, Postcolonial theories in architecture and urbanism, Subaltern architecture, Politics of memory in urban enviroments, Patronage and production of contemporary Hindu sites, Colonial historiographies of Hindu temples, Anthropology of urban tourism, Religious nationalism and emergence of modern religious movements in 20th and 21st century India.
Erica Vinson	B.Arch RPI	I am primarily interested in examining the idea of constructed environments, particularly focusing on air as an active material within these constructions. My current thesis is focused on the history of consumer technologies related to air, looking at air-fresheners, particle filters, and compound machines which advertise themselves as creating a completely new interior environment. My aim is to be sensitive to the various intersections of perception and health; particularly in the context of technologies which link the perceivable changes they make to the environment to more difficult to detect health impacts.
Yasaman Yavaribajestani	Mater of Science(MS) in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Specialization Field: Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials(SEMM), UC Berkeley	Shell and Gridshell Structures, Generative Design, Bending-active Structures, Low-emission Structures, Structural Analysis, Concrete Shell Formwork, Performance-based Design, Digital Fabrication
Xinwei Zhuang	B.S. in civil engineering, Edinburgh Napier University M.S. in Architectural Computation, University College London	Her research interests focus on data driven design, machine learning aided design and optimization, environmental sustainability, and implementation of virtual/augmented reality in the design process. She is also interested in novel structrual design and optimization.