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 Augmented and Virtual Reality 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	Urbanism, public space, politics of space, urban democracy, commons, Latin America, Brazil, post-industrial cities, urban palimpsest, art and activism, curatorial works, cultural frameworks, design studies, design theory, preservation and herritage, refugee and migration studies.
YING-FEN CHEN	M.S. of Engineering: Building and Planning, NTU, Taipei, Taiwan B.S. of Engineering: Civil Engineering, NTU, Taipei, Taiwan	Chinese Urbanism, Cinema and Cities, Social Activism in East Asian context, Participatory Planning. My recent research focuses on the cultural process of urban imaginary making, film-induced tourism, and decentralized Chinese identities, particularly taking place in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the two major culturally Chinese locales beyond Mainland China. Dissertation working title: "The Contemporary Chinese Cinematic Urbanism in Taiwan and Hong Kong".
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; Inequality and Difference in Cities; Urban History and Theory; Architecture Theory and Criticism; Decolonizing Pedagogies; Peripheral Urbanization; Brazil; Global South.
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.
Jihyun Kim
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
Michelle Min	B.A. History, University of California, Berkeley	History of American school architecture; Social construction of childhood; Purpose-built spaces for children and learning; Possibilities for intersection between critical pedagogy, architectural history, and contemporary design practice
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	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	Design processes, the appropriation of spaces, methods of representation, architecture as an archive, design genealogies, Mexican identity, mestizaje, cultural landscape studies, critical race theories, women and gender studies.
Eric Peterson	PhD, Architecture, UC Berkeley (2021) Master of Environmental Design, Yale University (2015) Bachelor of Arts, Hampshire College (2010)	Architectural and Urban History, Racial Capitalism, Political Economy, Urban Theory, U.S. Cultural History
Kara Plaxa	M.Arch., Wentworth Institute of Technology B.S. Architecture, Wentworth Institute of Technology	My research is structured around the places where sex happens and how sex is spatialized. I am currently investigating the spaces of the kink community with an emphasis on queer sexuality and subcultures. I am also interested in aesthetics, materiality, and fashion. I aim to enrich current discourse on gender and sexuality & through architsexture
Elaina Present	B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Building energy use; data-based energy analysis; grid modernization; occupant behavior; existing buildings; fans
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"
Trude Renwick	MDesS History and Philosophy of Design - Graduate School of Design at Harvard University B.A. Anthropology from Brandeis University B.A. Urban Studies from Brandeis University	Urban Ethnography in Bangkok, Thailand; Currently Examining the Space of the Market in Bangkok, which includes Malls, Street Markets, and Abandoned Buildings; Urban Conflict and Political Movements; Urban Theory; Non Governmental Organizations; Anthropology
Emily J. Rosen
Valentina Rozas-Krause	MS in Urban Planning, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Professional Degree in Architecture, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile BArch, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile	Valentina Rozas-Krause is interested in the History of Architecture and Urbanism, Memorials and Monuments, Cultural Memory, Theories of Urban Design and Planning, Landscape Design and Cultural Geography. Her dissertation research focuses on the representation of memories of twentieth century traumas in public urban space in Argentina, Germany and the United States. She studies monuments on two levels: as an emerging global practice of memorialization and as places for everyday life. Valentina grew up in Berlin and Santiago.
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.
Cailin Shannon
Shahrzad Shirvani	M.S. in Architecture, University of California, Berkeley Master of Architecture, Islamic Azad University (Central Tehran Branch) Bachelor of Architectural Engineering, Islamic Azad University (Central Tehran Branch)	Contemporary urban history of developing countries with a focus on Iran; Politics of everyday life in the Middle Eastern cities with a focus on Tehran; Construction of national identity through practices of shared memory and commemoration in Iran; Contemporary histories and narratives of monuments, Traditions and Modernities in the context of the Middle East; Cities, citizenship, and urban transformations; gendered segregation and urban politics of social control; Publicity and ‘freedom’; Public spaces of leisure and entertainment.
Noam Shoked	Master of Architecture, The Cooper Union Master of Architectural History, McGill University	History of architecture and urbanism, ordinary landscapes, urban anthropology, and Middle Eastern studies
Alec Stewart	M.A. Geography, 2011, George Washington University B.A. Geography, 2005, UC Berkeley; Minor in City and Regional Planning	US metropolitan history and life Twentieth century North American built environment studies Cultural landscape studies American consumer culture Spaces and theories of citizenship and public space Immigration and immigrant space
ELAINE BROWN STILES	BA, Art History, Smith College MA, Preservation Studies, Boston University	Twentieth-century U.S. architecture and urbanism, nineteenth and twentieth-century U.S. and European suburban development and design, the history of consumerism and spaces of consumption, material culture, vernacular architecture, and cultural landscape studies
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.
Jonathan Woolley	M.S. Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering, 2008, University of California, Davis B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 2005, University of California, Davis	Jonathan Woolley studies energy efficient mechanical systems for buildings. Most broadly, his research encompasses hybrid solutions that integrate various system types to facilitate comfortable and healthy indoor environments with minimal energy consumption. Jonathan advances climate appropriate strategies that embrace the unique needs and opportunites associated with local environmental condiitions. He has conducted research on passive solar design, natural ventilation, radiant cooling and heating, indirect evaporative cooling, advanced heat pump systems, heat recovery, occupancy based learning thermostat controls, and many other energy efficiency strategies.
JIONG (ABINGO) WU	M.Arch., Berlage Institute, Rotterdam B.Engineering, ( South China Univ. of Technology, Guangzhou)	Histories and Approaches of 20th Century Mass Housing; Theories and Histories of 20th Century Urbanism; Interdisciplinary China Study; China urbanizing villages. Dissertation: “Alternative Housing and Living in Guangzhou Peri-urban Villages”
Stathis G. Yeros	Master of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley MA (honours) History of Art and Theatre Studies, University of Glasgow, UK	My doctoral research focused on the spaces that queer and transgender people have historically inhabited in the United States, what they reveal for cultural representations of gender, race, and sexuality, and what lessons they hold for designers and planners. My dissertation, From Queer Spaces to Insurgent Citizenship, probed into the histories of a number of queer and transgender spaces in San Francisco and Oakland, which demonstrate that the bifurcation of these spaces into assimilationist and separatist in much of the existing literature does not capture their complexity. I argue that particular demands were articulated as citizenship rights on the basis of both sexuality and urbanity. These demands changed over time, and with regard to the particular characteristics of each space. The genealogy of queer and trans struggles for space and citizenship in the Bay Area recovers old tools that can assist current fights. More broadly, in my dissertation and published work I employ the concept of “queer urbanism” to contextualize insurgent spatial practices and discourses in effective coalitional politics. I argue that for this to be possible, urban theory and spatial practice have to account for non-binary conceptualizations of space beyond the public/private, male/female, grassroots/institutional dichotomies. Before my doctoral studies I obtained a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley and worked as a designer in the Bay Area in the field of housing and education. Besides my professional and scholarly work I have developed solo and group experimantal performances.