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2021 Graduating Student Award Recipients

Black background with text that reads: 2021 Graduating Student Award Recipients

Each year at commencement, the Harvard Graduate School of Design confers awards on graduating students who demonstrate exceptional scholarly achievement, leadership, and service. Congratulations to the student award recipients, and to all of the 2021 graduates for your tremendous accomplishments.

School-wide Awards

Gerald M. McCue Medal: Robert Morris Levine (MDes ADPD ’21)

The Gerald M. McCue Medal is awarded each year to the student graduating from one of the school’s post professional degree programs who has achieved the highest overall academic record.

Digital Design Prize: Matthew Pugh (MArch II ’21) for “Animated Spaces, Creature-Like Objects: Animistic Interactions With Smart Buildings + IOT Objects
Digital Design Prize: Ana Gabriela Loayza Nolasco (MArch II ’21) for “Center – Periphery: Encoding New Processes in Shenzhen’s Boundaries

The Digital Design Prize is presented by the Graduate School of Design to the student who has demonstrated the most imaginative and creative use of computer graphics in relation to the design professions.

Plimpton Poorvu Prize: Ian Grohsgal (MArch I ’21), Sarah Fayad (MLAUD ’20), and Dixi Wu (MDes REBE/ MArch I ’22) for “Building a Scalable Business in Data Centers”

The Plimpton-Poorvu Design Prize recognizes the top team or individual for a viable real estate project completed as part of the GSD curriculum that best demonstrates feasibility in design, construction, economics, and in fulfillment of market and user needs.

Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design: Isabel Dunham Strauss (MArch I ’21) for “Up from the Past: Housing as Reparations on Chicago’s South Side”
Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design: Shaina Yang (MArch I ’21) for “Cripping Architecture”

The Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design aims to help re-establish the essential role of architects in society to provide not only the fundamental needs of human shelter but to meet the challenge of designing creative solutions for improving living environments. The Prize is awarded for the multi-family housing design that incorporates the most interesting ideas and/or innovations that may lead to socially-oriented, improved living conditions.

Peter Rice Prize: Erin Linsey Hunt (MDes Tech ’21) and Yaxuan Liu (MArch I ’21) for “NuBlock

The Peter Rice prize honors students of exceptional promise in the school’s architecture and advanced degree programs who have proven their competence and innovation in advancing architecture and structural engineering.

Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellowship: Brittany Alexis Giunchigliani (MLA I ’21) for study in Galicia, Spain
Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellowship: Sam E. Valentine (MLA II ’21) for study in Brazil and Africa

The Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellowships support a full academic year of research at destinations outside of the United States. 

Fulbright Grant: Sam E. Valentine (MLA II ’21) for study in Brazil and Africa
Fulbright Grant: Ciara Stein (MLA I/MUP ’21) for study in Kosovo

The Fulbright US Student Program is an international exchange program in the fields of education, culture, and science, offering advanced research, study, and teaching opportunities in over 140 countries.

Alumni Award: Deanna Van Buren (Loeb Fellow ’13), Jack Dangermond (MLA ’69), and Everett Fly (MLA ’77)

The inaugural Alumni Award honors outstanding leadership by GSD alumni, underscoring that our students don’t stop being amazing after they graduate. 

Architecture Awards

American Institute of Architects Medal: Hannah Connolly Hoyt (MArch ’21)

The American Institute of Architects Medal is awarded to a professional degree student in the Master in Architecture graduating class who has achieved the highest level of excellence in overall scholarship throughout the course of their studies.

Alpha Rho Chi Medal: Kofi Akakpo (MArch I ’21)

The Alpha Rho Chi Medal is awarded to the graduating student who has achieved the best general record of leadership and service to the department and who gives promise of professional merit through their character.

James Templeton Kelley Prize MArch I: Shaina Yang (MArch I ’21) for “Cripping Architecture
James Templeton Kelley Prize MArch I: Calvin Ray Boyd, II (MArch I ’21) for “Pair of Dice, Para-dice, Paradise; A Counter-Memorial to Police Brutality
James Templeton Kelley Prize MArch II: Yuming Feng (MArch II ’21) for “American Brick and the Difficult Whole

The James Templeton Kelley Prize recognizes the best final design project submitted by a graduating student in the architecture degree programs.

Julia Amory Appleton Traveling Fellowship in Architecture: Hannah Connolly Hoyt (MArch ’20)

The Julia Amory Appleton Traveling Fellowship is given to a student in the Department of Architecture on the basis of academic achievement as well as the worthiness of the project to be undertaken.

Kevin V. Kieran Prize: Arta Perezic (MArch II ’21)

The Kevin V. Kieran Prize recognizes the highest level of academic achievement among students graduating from the post-professional Master in Architecture program. 

Dept. of Architecture Faculty Design Award MArch I: Anna Kaertner (MArch I ’21)
Dept. of Architecture Faculty Design Award MArch I: Sarah Sum In Cheung (March I ’21)
Dept. of Architecture Faculty Design Award MArch II: Zhonghan Huang (MArch II ’21)

The Department of Architecture Faculty Design Award was established by the faculty of the Department of Architecture with the aim of recognizing significant achievement within a body of design work completed by a student at the GSD. This award is given to graduating students from each of the department’s two programs.

Landscape Architecture Awards

Thesis Prize in Landscape Architecture: Gracie Villa (MLA I ’21) for “City|Forest: Reordering Plant-Human Relationships Towards Healthy Cities
Thesis Prize in Landscape Architecture: Joanne Li (MLA I ’21) for “Ovis Versatilis: Icelandic Sheep Farm as Land Art Museum and Evolution Lab

The Landscape Architecture Thesis Prize is given to the graduating student who has prepared the best independent thesis during the past academic year.

American Society of Landscape Architects Certificate of Merit: Shira Grosman (MLA/ MDes ULE ’21)
American Society of Landscape Architects Certificate of Merit: Maxwell Smith-Holmes (MLA I ’21)
American Society of Landscape Architects Certificate of Honor: Kira Bre Clingen (MLA I/MDes RR ’21)
American Society of Landscape Architects Certificate of Honor: Koby Moreno (MLA ’21)

Each year the faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture nominates students for the American Society of Landscape Architecture Awards

2020 Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar: Jaline Esther-Mae McPherson (MLA I ’21)

Each year the faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture nominates a student for the Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholars Program. The program recognizes and supports students with exceptional leadership potential.

Norman T. Newton Prize: Brittany Giunchigliani (MLA I ’21)

The Norman T. Newton Prize is given to a graduating landscape architecture student whose work best exemplifies achievement in design expression as realized in any medium.

Pete Walker & Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture: Gena Morgis (MLA II ’21)
Pete Walker & Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture: Dominic Baitoo Riolo (MLA I ’21)

The Peter Walker and Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture is awarded to support travel and study for a graduating GSD student to advance their understanding of the body of scholarship and practices related to landscape design.

Jacob Weidenmann Prize: Alysoun Irwin Wright (MLA I AP/ MUP ’21)

The Jacob Weidenmann Prize is awarded to the student of the most distinguished design achievement graduating from the Department of Landscape Architecture.

The CELA Fountain Scholar Program: Jaline Esther-Mae McPherson (MLA I ’21)

The CELA Fountain Scholar Program is an endowed annual award in recognition and support of Black, Indigenous, and persons (students) of color in landscape architecture with exceptional design skills and who use their skills and ideas to influence, communicate, lead and advance design solutions for contemporary issues in a manner aligned with the original goals of Dr. Charles Fountain.

Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship in Landscape Architecture: Ciara Stein (MLA I/MUP ’21)

The Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship is awarded annually as the highest honor by the Department of Landscape Architecture to one of its graduates.

Urban Planning and Design

Academic Excellence in Urban Planning: Anna Carlsson (MUP ’21)
Academic Excellence in Urban Design: Alia Bader (MAUD ’21)

The Award for Academic Excellence in Urban Planning and Urban Design honors graduating students from each of the programs who have achieved the highest academic record.

Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Planning: Kyle Miller (MUP ’21)
Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Planning: Alia Bader (MAUD ’21)

The Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Planning and Urban Design honors graduating students from each of the programs who have demonstrated outstanding leadership during their time at the Graduate School of Design.

Urban Planning Thesis Prize: Mary Louise Chatters Taylor (MUP ’21) for “Urban Planning and Mental Wellness in Black Communities
Urban Design Thesis Prize: Adam Mekies (MLAUD ’21) for “Aggregate, Aggregation + Geotechnical Urbanism

The Department of Urban Planning and Design Thesis Prize is given to the graduating students in each of the programs who have prepared the best independent theses during the past academic year.

The Award for Excellence in Project-Based Urban Planning: Anne Lin (MUP/MPH ’21)

The Award for Excellence in Project-Based Urban Planning is given to students who have demonstrated exceptional ability in urban planning projects including research and design studios throughout their course of study. 

The Award for Excellence in Urban Design: Christopher D’Amico (MAUD ’21)

The Award for Excellence in Urban Design is given to students who have demonstrated exceptional design ability throughout their course of study in the Urban Design program.

American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award: Steven Yuan Gu (MUP ’21)

The American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award recognizes outstanding attainment in the study of planning by students graduating from accredited planning programs. The recipient of the award is chosen by a jury of planning faculty at each school.

Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies: Jiae Hasina Azad (MUP ’21)
Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies: Julian Martin Huertas (MUP ’21)
Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies: George Zhang (MArch ’21)

The Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies is awarded annually to a graduating student from any program who has exhibited superior academic accomplishment and leadership in real estate studies.

Druker Traveling Fellowship: Sam Naylor (MAUD ’21)

Established in 1986, The Druker Traveling Fellowship is open to all students at the GSD who demonstrate excellence in the design of urban environments. It offers students the opportunity to travel in the United States or abroad to pursue study that advances understanding of urban design.

Design Studies

Dimitris Pikionis Award: Emma Lewis (MDes CC ’21)

The Dimitris Pikionis Award recognizes a student for outstanding academic performance in the Master in Design Studies degree program.

The Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability: Sunghwan Lim (MDes EE ’21)
The Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability: Joon Haeng Lee (MDes Tech ’21)

The Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability honors the memory and legacy of Professor Daniel Schodek and the standards of excellence he established during his 40 years of teaching and mentoring at the GSD. The award is given annually in recognition of the best Master in Design Studies thesis in the area of technology and sustainable design.

The Design Studies Thesis Prize: Juan David Grisales (MDes ULE ’21) for “From Humboldt to Caldas: Environmental Liberations through Tropical Altitudes
The Design Studies Thesis Prize: Proey Liao (MDes HPDM/MArch II ’21) for “An Attempt to Approach a Void: Georges Perec, Cause commune, and the Infraordinary

The Design Studies Thesis Prize is given annually for the best thesis by a Master in Design Studies student. 

Outstanding Leadership in Real Estate Award: Jan Joseph Voitehovich (MDes REBE ’21)

The Outstanding Leadership in Real Estate Award offers recognition to students who exemplify academic excellence in real estate study, lead through self initiative, with generous efforts in promoting the mission of the MDes real estate program.

Design Engineering

Overall Academic Performance: Sarah Christine Kovar (MDE ’21)

The Overall Academic Performance award recognizes a graduating MDE student for outstanding academic performance in the Master in Design Engineering degree program.

Leadership and Community Prize: Cate Tompkins (MDE ’21)

The Leadership and Community award recognizes one or more graduating students who have displayed outstanding leadership and community building within the Design Engineering cohort and who have represented MDE values to the larger world.

Outstanding Independent Design Engineering Project: Sarah Christine Kovar (MDE ’21) and Ed Bayes (MDE ’22)

The Outstanding Design Engineering Project award honors one or more graduating MDE students who have presented the Design Engineering Project that contributes, in the most compelling way, to understanding and addressing a complex societal problem.