Seven faculty members from the MIT School of Architectural Planning (SA+P) have been praised for their contributions through promotions on July 1st. There are three faculty promotions in the Department of Architecture. Three are located in the Urban Research and Planning Bureau. And one is a Media Arts and Science program.
“Whether you’re an architect, an urbanist, a computer scientist or a nanotechnology scholar, they represent our school to the best with the breadth of research and mission to improve the relationship between humans and the environment,” says SA+P Dean Hashim Sarkis.
Architecture Bureau
Marcelo Coelho He was promoted to associate professor of practice. Coelho is Director of Design Intelligence Lab, exploring the intersection of human and mechanical intelligence across design, AI, and manufacturing. His work ranges from light-based installations to physical computing. His recognition of his work included two Prix Ars Electronica Awards and First CompanyInnovation through design awards. Coelho’s experimental approach redefines creative processes and changes the way in which we imagine and interact with intelligent systems. Coelho teaches courses that combine industrial design, user experience and artificial intelligence.
Holly Samuelson He was promoted to associate professor without having to work. Samuelson co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed papers and won the Best Paper Award from the Journal Energy and buildings. As an architectural technology expert, she has been featured in media outlets such as: Washington Post, Boston GlovesBBC, and Wall Street Journal.
Raffic Sigal He has been promoted to full professor. Award-winning designer Segal works across architecture and urban scales, from Villa 003 in the Ordos 100 Series to the Kitugham Peace Museum in Uganda, the Ashdod Museum in Israel, and the winning design proposal for the National Library of Israel at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. His current works include curating Alfred Neumann’s first exhibition on architecture in the 1960s, planning a new community neighbourhood for the kibbutz in Israel.
Urban Research and Planning Bureau (dusp)
Carlo Rutty He was reappointed as a professor of practice. Ratti is the director of Sensable City Lab and is the founding partner of Carlo Ratti Associati, the international design office. He has co-authored over 500 publications and has obtained several patents. His works are exhibited around the world, including the Venice Biennale in New York City, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Design in Barcelona. His two projects, the Digital Water Pavilion and the Copenhagen Wheel, Time Magazine“The Best Invention of the Year.” He is the curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2025 Venice Biennale.
Albert size He has been promoted to full professor. Size is the director of MIT’s Institute of Urban Economics, which conducts research into real estate economy, urban economy, housing markets, local finances, zoning regulations, global real estate and demographic trends that affect urban and real estate developments around the world. He also contributes to the broader research community as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, researcher at the Institute of Labor Analysis, and editorial visiting scholar. Journal of Housing Economics.
Delia Wendel He was promoted to associate professor without having to work. Wendell’s research is three main areas: forms of community repair after conflict and disaster, urbanism in Africa, and spatial politics. Her interdisciplinary work brings together urban studies, critical peace studies, architectural history, cultural geography and anthropology. At MIT Dusp, she leads the plan for the critical group of peace and oversees the Memorial Atlas to repair the MIT Center for Art Atlas for research and exhibition projects funded by the Mellon Foundation and MIT Art, Science and Technology. She also serves as the managing editor. projection, Annual peer-reviewed journal of the department on key issues in urban research and planning.
Media Arts and Science Programs
Deblina Sarkar He was promoted to associate professor without having to work. As director of the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek Lab at MIT Media Lab, she integrates nanoelectronics, physics and biology to create groundbreaking technologies, from ultra-thin quantum transistors to first antennas operating within living cells. Her interdisciplinary work has earned her major honors, including the National Health Director’s New Innovator Award and the IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology.
