Awards

ACADIA Awards of Excellence

Inaugurated in 1998, the ACADIA Awards of Excellence represent recognition, by colleagues worldwide, of consistent contributions and impact on the field of architectural computing.

Through 2005, awards were given in three categories: Teaching, Service, and Research. In 2006 an award was added in Emerging Digital Practice and the prior three were renamed as Teaching Excellence, Innovative Research, and Society. In 2007, an additional award for an innovative academic program was added to recognize individual or collective efforts in the establishment of an innovative academic program that contributes to the education of students in the field of digital design.

At most one award is presented each year in each category, to an individual or academic program that, in the eyes of the review committee, exhibits "evidence of exceptional and innovative achievement."

Categories

ACADIA Digital Practice Award of Excellence

This award recognizes creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through development and use of digital media.

ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence

This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. The award distinguishes research with the potential to transform contemporary architecture.

ACADIA Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence

This award recognizes an innovative academic program that contributes to the education of students in the field of digital design. The award distinguishes one or more individuals responsible for the establishment, success, growth, or management of the academic program.

ACADIA Teaching Award of Excellence

This award recognizes innovative teaching in the field of digital design in architecture. Teaching approaches that can be adopted by other educators are recognized in particular.

ACADIA Society Award for Leadership

This award recognizes extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community.

Grants

The ACADIA Board of Directors is actively working on developing a Grant opportunities for our members. Please check back soon for more information on our grants.

Scholarships

Each year ACADIA awards several scholarships to students who have had papers accepted at the annual conference to help enable them to attend and present their research. For more information on the scholarship application process, please email the ACADIA membership officer at membership@acadia.org

Current Recipients

Year	Award Title	Name	Affiliation
2023	Design Excellence Award	Odile Decq	Studio Odile Decq and Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture
2023	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Joseph Choma	Director and Professor, Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture
2023	Teaching Award of Excellence	Terry Knight	William and Emma Rogers Professor of Design and Computation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	NADAAA	Nader Tehrani, Principal
2023	Society Award for Leadership	Kathy Velikov	Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Creative Practice, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Co-Founder rvtr

Past Recipients of the ACADIA Awards of Excellence

Year	Award Title	Name	Affiliation
2022	Design Excellence Award	Höweler + Yoon	Höweler + Yoon Architects, Harvard Graduate School of Design + Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Rajaa Issa	Robert McNeel and Associates, Adjunct Professor, NewSchool of Architecture and Design
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Felecia Ann Davis	Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University and Director of SOFTLAB, Stuckeman Center for Design and Computation
	Society Award for Leadership	Jason Kelly Johnson	FUTUREFORMS and Professor, California College of the Arts
2021	Lifetime Achievement Award	Wolf dPrix	Co-founder, CEO, and Design Principal, Coop Himmelb(l)au
	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Alvin Huang	Associate Professor and Director of Graduate and Post-Professional Architecture, USC and Founder of Principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Caitlin Mueller	Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
	Society Award for Leadership	Brian Slocum	Founder of tresRobots and Adjunct Professor, Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Axel Kilian	Visiting Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Nervous System	Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Founders
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	DigitalFUTURES Program, Tongji University	Represented by Co-Organizers Philip F. Yuan, Professor at Tongji University and Founder of Archi-Union Architects, and Neil Leach, Professor at Tongji University, FIU, and EGS
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Sean Ahlquist	Associate Professor, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
	Society Award for Leadership	Mike Christenson	Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University of Minnesota
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Jane Burry	Professor and Dean, School of Design, Swinburne University
2019	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Roland Snooks	Studio Roland Snooks / RMIT University in the School of Architecture and Urban Design
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Master of Science in Digital and Material - accepted by Catie Newell	University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Jose Sanchez	USC School of Architecture / Plethora Project
	Society Award for Leadership	Chris Yessios	The Ohio State University / AutoDesSys, Inc.
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Dana Cupkova	Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture / EPIPHYTE Lab
2018	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyler	Oyler Wu Collaborative
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Institute of Advanced Architecture Catalonia - accepted by Areti Markopoulou	Institute of Advanced Architecture Catalonia
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Madeline Gannon	NVIDIA Robotics
	Society Award for Leadership	Sigrid Brell-Cokcan and Johannes Braumann	Association for Robots in Architecture
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Mónica Ponce de León	Princeton University School of Architecture
2017	Design Excellence Award	Thomas Heatherwick	Heatherwick Studio
	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott	IwamotoScott Architecture / UC Berkeley / California College of the Arts
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	B-Pro Program	Bartlett School of Architecture
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Wesley McGee	University of Michigan / Matter Design
	Society Award for Leadership	Bob Martens	TU Wien
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Heather Roberge	UCLA
2016	Lifetime Achievement Award	Elizabeth Diller	Diller, Scofidio and Renfro / Princeton University
	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Ron Rael and Virginia San Fratello	Emerging Objects / UC Berkeley / San Jose State
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA) - Accepted by Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen	The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Andrew Payne	Autodesk
	Society Award for Leadership	Chuck Eastman	Georgia Tech
	Teaching Award of Excellence	J. Meejin Yoon	MIT
2015	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	KieranTimberlake	KieranTimberlake
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Institute for Computational Design (ICD) - Accepted by Achim Menges	University of Stuttgart
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Skylar Tibbits	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
	Society Award for Leadership	Branko Kolarevic	University of Calgary
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Andrew Kudless	California College of the Arts / Matsys
2014	Lifetime Achievement Award	Zaha Hadid	Zaha Hadid Architects
	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Jenny Sabin	Jenny Sabin Studio
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Columbia Building Intelligence Project (CBIP) - Accepted by Scott Marble	Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Martin Bechtold	Harvard University Graduate School of Design
	Society Award for Leadership	Nancy Cheng	University of Oregon
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Neil Gershenfeld	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2013	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Cecil Balmond	Balmond Studio
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	AADRL Design Research Laboratory - Accepted by Brett Steele and Theodore Sypropoulos	The Architectural Asssociation (London)
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Elena Manferdini	Atelier Manferdini / SCI-Arc
	Society Award for Leadership	Mahesh Daas	Ball State University
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Greg Lynn	University of California, Los Angeles / Greg Lynn FORM
2012	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Gehry Technologies - Accepted by Dennis Shelden	Gehry Technologies
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) - Accepted by Anna Dyson	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute / Skidmore Owings and Merrill
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	David Rutten	Robert McNeel and Associates
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Lira Nikolovska	Autodesk
2011	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Phillip Beesley	Phillip Beesley Architect / University of Waterloo
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Ellen Do	Georgia Institute of Technology
	Teaching Award of Excellence	John Frazer	Queensland University of Technology
2010	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Kostas Terzidis	Harvard University Graduate School of Design
	Society Award for Leadership	Brian Johnson	University of Washington
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Robert J. Krawczyk	Illinois Institute of Technology
2009	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler	Gramazio Kohler Architects
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Paul Coates	School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, University of East London
	Society Award for Leadership	Tom Seebohm	School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Mark D. Gross	School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University
2008	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Fabian Scheurer	Design to Production
	Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence	AA Emergent Technologies and Design - Accepted by Michael Weinstock	The Architectural Association (London)
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Robert Woodbury	Simon Fraser University
	Society Award for Leadership	Tom Maver	Mackintosh School of Architecture
2007	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Achim Menges	The Architectural Association (London)
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Branko Kolarevic	University of Calgary
2006	Digital Practice Award of Excellence	Evan Douglis	Evan Douglis Studio
	Innovative Research Award of Excellence	Mark Burry	RMIT University
	Society Award for Leadership	Robert Aish	Bentley Microsystems
	Teaching Award of Excellence	Julio Bermudez	University of Utah

2012 ACADIA Awards of Excellence Recipients

Past Recipients

2011 Recipients

2011 ACADIA AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGTIAL PRACTICE
Philip Beesley
Professor University of Waterloo

This award recognizes creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through development and use of digital media. The award honors extraordinary individuals at the beginning of their careers.

Phillip Beesley’s architecture, sculpture and design practice presents a rich body of digitally enabled work that goes well beyond digital technique to digital enablement of practice. His projects feature interactive kinetic systems that use dense arrays of microprocessors, sensors and actuator systems arranged within lightweight ‘textile’ structures. These environments pursue distributed emotional consciousness within synthetic and near-living systems. His mesmerizing exhibit, “Hylozoic Ground” transformed the Canadian Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Biennale with an environment made of tens of thousands of digitally-fabricated components fitted with meshed microprocessors and sensors.

Phillip’s work is widely published and exhibited, and has been distinguished by awards including VIDA 11.0 and FEIDAD, and by the Prix de Rome in Architecture (Canada). He was educated in visual art at Queen’s University, in technology at Humber College, and in architecture at the University of Toronto. He is currently a professor in the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo. Phillip has consistently involved students in his professional work. Many have been gifted with an accelerated start to their careers through Philip's graceful guidance. In addition we are fortunate to note that Philip has been a leader in the ACADIA community for several years.

2011 ACADIA AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Ellen Do
Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. The award distinguishes research with the potential to transform contemporary architecture.

Ellen Yi-Luen Do has been creating design tools that incorporate user needs since the mid-90's, connecting design thinking and cutting edge technology. Her work engages designers, programmers and interdisciplinary partners in creating new interfaces that feel natural. Her research comes from careful observation, insightful analysis, a can-do attitude and a persistence that allows her work to reach the highest standards of excellence. Her careful analysis of conceptual sketching in architectural design allowed her to translate specific sketch actions into computer input for tools such as the Electronic Cocktail Napkin. The initial program spawned a whole set of prototype applications (such as 2D glyph recognition for database retrieval, 3D annotation, 3D modeling) which proved that sketch input could be a natural, viable way to design with computers.

Ellen smoothly transitioned from sketching applications to gesture-based computing and tactile interfaces. Her teams have been agile at incorporating motion detectors and cameras into design tools and healthcare applications. She has effectively worked with inter-disciplinary teams to make environments for improved patient outcomes.

Ellen is an associate professor in the College of Architecture, and the College of Computing, at Georgia Institute of Technology. Before joining Georgia Tech in 2006, Ellen co-directed the Computational Design Laboratory CoDe Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. and the Design Machine Group at University of Washington. Prior to UW, Ellen worked at University of Colorado at Boulder (94-99) as a researcher and instructor for the Sundance Lab for Computing in Design and Planning.

2011 TEACHING EXCELLENCE
John Frazer
Professor and Chair of Design Science, Queensland University of Technology

This award recognizes innovative teaching in the field of digital architecture. Teaching approaches that can be adopted by other educators are recognized in particular.

Professor John Hamilton Frazer is a pioneer of the use of computers in architecture specifically with the development of intelligent and interactive building design systems and evolutionary design computation. He created of one of the first tangible construction kits for creating virtual models, and has been an inspiration for much work in our field. His work has been instrumental in developing many methodologies that are used today. His first book, An Evolutionary Architecture, published in1995, documents his early teaching at the AA in London and is regarded as the seminal work in the field.

John holds the Chair of Design Science at Queensland University of Technology where he is in both the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and where previously he was the Head of the School of Design. He trained as an architect at the independent Architectural Association in London and started his career as a lecturer at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association. He was Head of School and Professor at the University of Ulster before moving to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he was Swire Chair Professor and Head of School of Design. He was then appointed as International Research Co-ordinator for the Gehry Technologies Digital Practice Ecosystem. He holds honorary Professorships from the Universities of Dalian, Fudan and Shandong in China as well as being a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Salford and Brighton. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow the Chartered Society of Designers.

2010 Recipients

2010 ACADIA AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Kostas Terzidis
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University

The selection of Kostas Terzidis for the award in Innovative Research recognizes his contribution to research in design computation and the use of computation for expressive form. As a professional computer programmer he is the author of many computer applications on form-making, morphing, virtual reality, and self- organization. His most recent work is in the development of theories and techniques for using permutations in architecture. He is the author of three books: His first book Expressive Form: A Conceptual Approach to Computational Design, published by London-based Spon Press (2003), offers a unique perspective on the use of computation as it relates to aesthetics, specifically in architecture and design. His second book, Algorithmic Architecture (Architectural Press/Elsevier, 2006), provides an ontological investigation into the terms, concepts, and processes of algorithmic architecture and provides a theoretical framework for design implementations. His third book, Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language (Wiley, 2009) provides students, programmers, and researchers the technical, theoretical, and design means to develop computer code that will allow them to experiment with design problems.

Kostas Terzidis is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He teaches courses in Kinetic Architecture, Algorithmic Architecture, Permutation Design, and Design Research Methods. Kostas is the head of research and development at THE MEME, a user-experience design company based in Cambridge MA. His research work at the company focuses on language syntax analysis for the purpose of automated storytelling.

2010 ACADIA AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
Robert J. Krawczyk
College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology

The selection of Robert J. Krawczyk for the award in Teaching Excellence recognizes his 28 years of teaching at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) with a focus on digital craftsmanship. He has developed and taught a series of digital design courses covering 2D and 3D CAD, image composition, animation, and form generation methods. These courses became the preparation for a course that could introduce algorithmic methods in architectural design. The Digital Form Generation/Algorithmic Design course has first taught in the Fall of 1995 and continues today. Its concepts have been the basis of over 20 conference papers and presentations; two PhD and one Master's thesis research. It has also been the basis for exhibited artwork and architectural studies since 1999. In 2009 Princeton Architectural Press published the contents of the course as The Codewriting Workbook: Creating Computational Architecture in AutoLISP.

Robert is an Associate Professor, an advisor in the PhD and Master's programs and currently serves as Director of the Undergraduate Program. He has mentored many students whose letters of support for his nomination indicated the positive and lasting influence he has had on their education.

2010 ACADIA SOCIETY AWARD
Brian Johnson
Department of Architecture, University of Washington

The selection of Brian Johnson for the Society Award recognizes Brian's long term service to ACADIA. As an all-volunteer organization, it relies on its members to help steer, maintain and expand its mission. Brian Johnson exemplifies what it means to be a committed ACADIAN. He has set the bar very high and serves a model for other to follow. Brian began his association with the organization by attending its first workshop at RPI in 1984. Thereafter he has served on and off on the Steering committee starting in 1990 until 2008. He is a past ACADIA president serving from 1999-2000 and Site Coordinator for ACADIA'95 in Seattle. In addition, Brian has served as ACADIA's webmaster for most of the last decade, as webmaster for the ACADIA Online Competition in 1998 and as CAMEO 2.0 development lead and administrator. He was awarded the 2002 ACADIA Award for Excellence in Research. He remains an active member and "history consultant" of ACADIA.

Brian Johnson is an associate professor in the Department of Architecture. His interests include developing computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) tools for small groups, constructing better digital support systems for design decision making in both co-located and distributed situations, assessing the impact of digital technologies on architectural space, and assembling an outstanding design-computing curriculum.

2009 Recipients

2009 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler
Gramazio-Kohler, Architecture and Digital Fabrication, Zurich, Switzerland

ACADIA recognizes Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler for their innovative work on "digital materiality," the interconnection of data and material and the resulting implications on architectural design. Their award-winning Zurich practice, which combines the expertise of architects, craftsmen, physicists and computer programmers, pushes the boundaries of digital fabrication.

2009 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Paul Coates
School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, University of East London, London, UK

The selection of Paul Coates for this award recognizes his influence on the field of Computation in Architecture since the 1970s. Coates's early interests lay within the combination of cybernetics and the structure and growth of unplanned settlements. In the late 1970 Coates developed the first Space Syntax applications with Bill Hillier and John Peponis at the University College London. Coates is particularly well known for his forays into Genetic Programming, L-systems and 3D Cellular Automata. In 2004 Coates set up the Centre for Evolutionary Computing in Architecture with Christian Derix at the University of East London, where research also includes implementation of research into live projects with large UK based architectural companies.

2009 AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
Mark D. Gross
School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University

Mark Gross's commitment to teaching as mentoring is evidenced by his long and substantial record of papers co-authored with students. Together with longtime collaborator and research partner Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Gross has co-authored papers with students and assisted these students in bringing their work to the attention of national and international audiences. Gross's recent work on Modular Robotics is pioneering a potentially profound new direction in the application of architectural computation

2009 ACADIA SOCIETY AWARD
Tom Seebohm
School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

This award recognizes Thomas Seebohm posthumously for his positive spirit of collaborative inquiry. Thomas brought an openness to others as he saw "collaboration as a wellspring for creative design". He inspired his peers through his appreciation of historical, cultural and aesthetic aspects as well as the technical innovations behind new architectural representations. He wanted us to incorporate the human spirit in our digital dreams. His spirit lives on in those who knew him.

2008 Recipients

2008 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
Fabian Scheurer
Design to Production

Fabian Scheurer is a computer scientist with Design to Production, an interdisciplinary consultancy for the digital production of complex architectural designs based in Zurich.

2008 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Robert Woodbury
Simon Fraser University

Dr. Woodbury was the founding Chair of the Graduate Program in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at SFU and a founding member of the Master of Digital Media program jointly offered by four Vancouver institutions.

2008 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Michael Weinstock
Architectural Association

Professor Weinstock is the Academic Head of the Architectural Association, London, and co-director of AA's Emergent Technologies program.

2008 SOCIETY AWARD
Tom Maver
Mackintosh School of Architecture

Professor Maver is currently Research Professor in the Mackintosh School of Architecture at the Glasgow School of Architecture and is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Strathclyde.

2007 Recipients

2007 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
Achim Menges

The Awards Committee recognizes professor Menges, for his innovative design and pioneering research into evolutionary computing and parametric design. In particular the Awards committee has noted that in his emerging practice professor Menges has been able to synthesize his theoretical and academic endeavors, developing a series of small but critical projects and installations. His work has become an important reference in the design and computing community.

2007 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Branko Kolarevic

This distinction testifies to the lasting contributions professor Kolarevic has made to the substance of contemporary architecture and to his outstanding ability to synthesize and clearly delineate various architectural research programs.

2006 Recipients

2006 AWARD FOR EMERGING DIGITAL PRACTICE
Evan Douglis

This award is conferred to creative design work that advances the discipline of architecture through the development and use of digital media. Evan Douglis has been widely recognized for his innovative design and pioneering research into self-generative techniques and fabrication methods. In particular the Award committee has noted that Evan in his emerging practice has been able to synthesize his theoretical and academic endeavors developing a series of small but critical projects and installations. The Awards Committee has found Evan Douglis projects, made under the pragmatics of practice, provide an exemplary route for an emerging generation of designers that are engaged in the implementation self-generative techniques and fabrication processes in design. His work has become an important reference in the design and computing community. Douglis work has been widely published in periodicals such as: Frame, Architectural Design, NY Magazine, Domus, Metropolis, Dialogue, A+U, Space, and 32. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his design work including the FEIDAD merit award in 2006, Architectural Record Design Vanguard 2005, Emerging Voices of the Architectural League 1999. He is currently the chair of Undergraduate Studies at Pratt Institute and a frequent lecturer, visiting professor and guest juror at many institutions including Sci-Arc, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Columbia University, Huebi Institute of Fine arts, Tulane University, and others.

2006 AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Mark Burry
RMIT

This award recognizes innovative research that contributes to the field of digital design in architecture. It is presented to Mark Burry in recognition for his years of research into the area of spatial information architecture as Professor of Innovation at RMIT. In particular the Committee would like to distinguish Mr. Burrys outstanding ability to integrate collaborations between education, practice and industry in the realm of architectural research. Mr. Burry has provided a model for how architectural research can advance through dedicated and persistent explorations. The Awards Committee is pleased to present this award on behalf of ACADIA, as well as the entire field of Architecture, for the outstanding inspiration Mr. Burry has provided.

2006 AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
Julio Bermudez
University of Utah

This award recognizes distinguished contributions to pedagogy related to the digital practice of architecture. Julio Bermudez, who is currently Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Utah, has had a long productive teaching career characterized by his passion, dedication, and sensibility to investigate with his students a timeless architecture. Bermudez has written extensively on the design studio, foundational education in architecture, has promoted the idea of interdisciplinary data representation practices, interdisciplinary approaches to design, interface between the digital and the physical, and hybrid representation media: analog and digital. In collaboration with colleagues has presented the Analog-Digital workshop at schools of architecture in the United Sates, Chile and Argentina. Bermudez has conducted interdisciplinary work on medicine, finance, and computer science among others; his work has been exhibited widely, he has been actively involved with organizations dealing with computing internationally, has lectured at many universities, and presented his work at conferences hosted by organizations in many disciplines other than architecture. The Awards Committee considers Bermudezs trajectory and contributions are of tremendous significance to a mature architectural digital pedagogy.

2006 SOCIETY AWARD
Robert Aish
Bentley Microsystems

This award recognizes extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community. Robert Aish is a founding member of the SmartGeometry group an "Educational Charity" which examines the geometric relationships in architecture and places Computer Aided Design as the central agent for examining those relationships. The Awards Committee considers Aishs workshops at ACADIA and academic institutions have served spark the field of generative systems, and has proven influential in the current discourse of computing in architecture. The groundbreaking research of SmartGeometry Group has contributed to ushering in a new era of architectural production, an era that is central to the aims and ideas of ACADIA. Most significantly is Robert's genuine interest in our society and the network of individuals that comprise our organization. His meritorious career and genuine commitment to furthering the cause of Computer Aided Design in Architecture is worthy of one of our most highly distinctive awards: the ACADIA Society Award. Robert Aish is the Director of Research and Senior Scientist at Bentley Systems. He has been leading the development of GenerativeComponents parametric extension to Microstation. In that capacity he has formed key relationship with a number of professional, research, and academic institutions including ACADIA, MIT, The Architectural Association, Foster and Partners, Greg Lynn Form, Morphosis, Arup, Buro Happlod, KPF, NBBJ, SOM and Grimshaw.

2002 Recipients

2002 AWARD OF EXECLLENCE IN TEACHING
James A. Turner
University of Michigan

James A. Turner, Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan, had been selected to receive the Award of Excellence in Teaching. The award was presented to Prof. Turner on behalf of ACADIA by Dr. Ted Hall (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Prof. Wassim Jabi (New Jersey Institute of Technology), Prof. Filiz Ozel (Arizona State University), and Prof. Carmina Sanchez-del-Valle (Hampton University) The package submitted in support of Prof. Turner's nomination included an unexpectedly large number of enthusiastic letters of recommendation, praising his knowledge of the subject matter, geniality, accessibility, helpfulness, and ability to tie together research and education. Letters came from current students and from long-time colleagues, as well as from former students, many of whom had themselves gone on to become professors, directors of laboratories, or in one case, a department chair. The volume of letters received and the care devoted to each one indicated that his students and colleagues hold Prof. Turner in special regard. One student credited him with giving the student's career a new direction. Another wrote, "Of all the professors I have studied with, no one was able to communicate the subject matter to me with such skill, succinctness, lucidity, efficiency and humor." Still another wrote, "My life and work has been truly blessed by knowing and working with Jim Turner." One colleague wrote that "In many ways, Jim has been the 'unsung hero' of the graduate program at his school." Clearly, his supporters feel that while a school may have many valued instructors, Prof. Turner is truly exceptional.

2002 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
John Tector
North Carolina State University

John Tector was a founding member of ACADIA more than 20 years ago. He has tirelessly served ACADIA as an elected Board of Directors member for several terms and has served as the host of the 1987 ACADIA Conference. The award was presented to Prof. Tector by Prof. Ganapathy Mahalingam, the President of ACADIA.

2002 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
Brian R. Johnson
University of Washington

The award was presented to Professor Johnson on behalf of ACADIA by Prof. Loukas Kalisperis of Penn State University. Professor Johnson's recent research has focused on web-based collaboration environments. In addition to participation in two virtual design studios, he has developed a number of innovative applications, including the web-based discussion system (ConferWeb) which is used by ACADIA's Board of Directors for its internal communications. He also developed the review and evaluation system (EVAL) used for ACADIA's first on-line competitions, ACADIA's online voting system and protocols, and the Compadres collaboration (groupware) system. Prof. Johnson was the site chair of the 1995 ACADIA conference. He has been elected to the ACADIA Board of Directors several times, and served as ACADIA's President from 1999 to 2000.

2001 Recipients

2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
William J Mitchell
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dean Mitchell started his education with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, worked for a couple of years as an Architect with Yuncken-Freeman Architects, Melbourne, Australia, and then came to the United States to earn a Master of Environmental Design degree at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

His teaching career began at UCLA, and he soon headed the Architecture and Urban Design Program of that school. During his time at UCLA he started a program of computing in architecture which became internationally known because of the achievements by individuals that passed through it. In those early years of his academic career, while writing the fundamental work Computer Aided Architectural Design, the book that put the double-A in CAAD, Dean Mitchell managed to round out his education with a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he also lectured for a few years. He stayed connected with practice as President of The Urban Innovations Group in Los Angeles, and later as Founding Partner of The Computer-Aided Design Group in Marina Del Rey, California.

In the mid-eighties Dean Mitchell moved from the West to the East to become the Director of the Master in Design Studies Program at Harvard's Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the early nineties he moved within the neighborhood and added another university of high renown to his curriculum vitae. He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences and Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, positions he still holds at present.

During all these years Dean Mitchell found time for numerous commitments as a visiting critic or visiting professor allowing even more students to benefit from his teaching at institutions like Yale, Carnegie-Mellon, and in Australia and Hong Kong.

His list of publications is too long to mention more than his fundamental work "Computer Aided Architectural Design" from 1977, and his popular "City of Bits" from 1995.

The awards program at ACADIA is new, therefore, ACADIA at this time seems to be last in line to bestow yet another honor onto Dean Mitchell, after his fellowships at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, his honorary doctorates from the University of Melbourne and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and his winning of the Appreciation Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan for his "achievements in the development of architectural design theory in the information age as well as worldwide promotion of CAD education."

ACADIA wants to sincerely thank Dean Mitchell for his achievements in teaching computer aided design in architecture.

2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
Charles M. Eastman
Georgia Institute of Technology

Professor Eastman started his education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned both a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture in the mid-1960's. Chuck Eastman began his pioneering career as a teaching assistant for Christopher Alexander. This experience piqued Chuck's interest in design decision making which was the subject of his Master's thesis. His work continued at the University of Wisconsin with research on protocol analysis. In 1967 he joined the faculty at CMU where he remained for 15 years greatly affecting the future of design computing. Eastman's students from this period have defined the state of the art in Computer-Aided Design. During his years at CMU Chuck Eastman was the mentor for a number of the most prominent researchers in the area of computer applications in architecture. At Carnegie Mellon he directed several laboratories, including the Center for Building Sciences and CAD-Graphics Lab.

In 1987 he joined the faculty at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA where he served as the Director of the Center for Design and Computation. In 1995 he joined the faculty of Architecture and Computer Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he heads the Ph.D. program in Design Computing.

Professor Eastman is the author of over 90 papers and five books in the areas of CAD, engineering and geometric modeling. His research in design data management is shaping the future of design computing. In 1999 he published an authoritative volume on building product models. He currently holds editorial positions on five journals in the area of design computing and is the representative in the International Alliance for

Professor Eastman was one of the founders and the first President of ACADIA.

ACADIA at this time wants to recognize and thank Professor Eastman for his achievements and contributions to the field of computer aided design in architecture.

2001 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
BJ Novitski

B.J. Novitski had been selected to receive the 2001 ACADIA Award of Excellence in Service. The award was presented to BJ Novitski by Prof. Brian Johnson (University of Washington) and Prof. Anton Harfmann (University of Cincinnati). Ms. Novitski's contributions to the early years of ACADIA, during which she served as Membership Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, Annual Conference Technical Chair, and member of the Board of Directors represented one set of contributions, but the Awards Committee also recognized her contributions as an author (for her book "Rendering Real and Imagined Buildings") as a journalist (the Progressive Architecture "Technology" series), and an editor (for the Architecture-Week eZine).

2000 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE
Karen M. Kensek

The second award ever given by ACADIA in the 20 year history of the organization was given to University of Southern California School of Architecture Adjunct Associate Professor Prof. Karen M. Kensek. Kensek has placed a great emphasis on service throughout her career, supporting ACADIA in a number of roles: she served as Editor of the ACADIA Quarterly, Vice-President and President, and active Board of Directors member, serving several terms. She also served as the Technical Chair of the 1992 ACADIA conference held in Charleston, South Carolina and has been a frequent reviewer for ACADIA, as well as organizations and journals outside of ACADIA. In addition to her ACADIA service, Karen has served in leadership positions with the Los Angeles AIA Computer committee and was a co-founder of the East Bay Computer Committee. She has taught hundreds of architects. She has also taught architectural computing to high school and elementary school students, Girl Scouts, and dozens of faculty members. At USC, she helped to establish the CLIPPER Lab, and has created several new courses, and served on the USC Architecture computer committee.

1998 Recipients

1998 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
Chris Yessios

The career and contributions of Dr. Chris Yessios have inspired many, including those who voted to create this series of awards in 1998. As an educator in the Department of Architecture at Ohio State University, he led much significant research into modeling and representation of the built environment. Later, as the founder of auto-de-sys, Inc., the developers of the form-Z software package, Dr. Yessios and auto-des-sys adopted policies that helped schools gain and maintain access to their software at prices that slim budgets could handle. Throughout his career, Dr. Yessios has been a strong supporter of ACADIA (of which he is a founding member).