Faculty appointments and promotions

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is thrilled to announce new faculty appointments and promotions and to welcome our 2028–28 Joseph F. Thomas Visiting Professor.

Appointments
Ruben Alcolea has been appointed Associate Professor. 

Rubén is co-founder and principal of alcolea+tárrago architects in Spain. His developed his academic, teaching and research work at the University of Navarra in Spain, the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London (AA), Cornell University, and Roger Williams University. He is the author of several books, and has produced and curated exhibitions, cultural events, public seminars and conferences. Rubén received his M.Arch. and Ph.D. from the School of Architecture at the University of Navarra, Spain.

Sarosh B. Anklesaria has been appointed Associate Professor.

Sarosh serves as the Track Chair of the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program. He is interested in an expansive notion of architectural agency, one that synthesizes architecture's formal and tectonic capacities with questions of socio-ecological pertinence. He worked as a practicing architect with Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York City), Herzog & de Meuron (Basel) and with Sangath, the office of B.V. Doshi (Ahmedabad). In addition to his practice Studio Sarosh Anklesaria, he co-founded Anthill Design, a collaborative architecture firm in India. Sarosh received his M.Arch. from Cornell University and Diploma in Architecture from CEPT University, India.

Neal Lucas Hitch has been appointed Professor of Practice.

Neal is a founding principal of the research and design collaborative i/thee, chief curator of the Bethel Woods Art and Architecture Festival, and director of Part Lab (Participatory Design Laboratory) at CMU. His research focuses on a radical understanding of participatory design, inviting in each project's associated environments, communities, and technologies as active participants in the design process. His work has been published internationally in digital and print media. He practiced internationally at Sou Fujimoto Architects (Tokyo) and Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (Chicago). Neal holds an M.S. in Design Technology from Cornell University and an M.Arch from Judson University, and he studied at the AA in London.

Matthew Huber, Special Faculty in Architectural Design, has been appointed Assistant Track Chair of the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program.

Matthew teaches in the core undergraduate and graduate design studios, focusing on issues of ecology, environmental ethics, ontology and tectonics, building performance, and construction methods. Integrated with studio-based design teaching, Matthew provides computational support through advanced modeling, simulation and parametric skills workshops. Matthew spent over eight years in practice with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) from CMU and studied as a visiting student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Yiwei (Lucy) Lyu has been appointed Assistant Teaching Professor.

Yiwei's teaching and research focus on building technology, architectural simulation, and carbon-aware design, exploring how computational tools and environmental science can empower architects to build resilient, sustainable environments. With professional experience across architectural practice and interdisciplinary research, she brings a rigorous, mathematically grounded, yet design-centric perspective to architectural education. She is currently completing her Doctor of Design (DDes) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has a Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) in Building Technology from MIT and dual bachelor's degrees in Architecture and Mathematics from the University of Southern California.

Rich Nisa has been appointed Associate Teaching Professor.

Richard is Associate Dean of CMU's Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe) program and its Program Director in Sustainability. He teaches courses on ethics, urbanism, and infrastructural history and theory. His research explores the intersections of architecture, technology and power in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His work has been published in various journals, reviews, and edited volumes. Richard earned a Ph.D. in geography from Rutgers University and a BArch from the Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Joseph F. Thomas Visiting Professor
Tekena Koko joins as the 2026–28 Joseph F. Thomas Visiting Professor. 

Tekena is a designer and educator whose interests span architecture and the arts. His teaching and research frame architecture as both a social practice, expressed through the design and repair of buildings, and a cultural practice that engages the built environment through critical aesthetic reflection. His current projects focus on experimental architectural media, data center aesthetics, and the activation of underutilized buildings in Pittsburgh. Adjacent to his design practice, he established Hotel, a gallery dedicated to exhibiting works of art and architecture in L.A. Tekena has exhibited nationally and internationally, and most recently co-organized the exhibition "Slouchers" at Kotti-Shop, Berlin.

Reappointments & promotions
Vicky Achnani is renewed as Special Faculty in Architectural Design. Theodossis (Theo) Issaias is renewed as Professor of Practice. Jongwan Kwon, Assistant Teaching Professor, is reappointed. Vernelle A. A. Noel is promoted to Associate Professor without indefinite tenure. Azadeh O. Sawyer is promoted to Associate Professor without indefinite tenure.

Staff hires
Clara Allison joined the school as ArchShop Assistant Director in spring 2026.