Diana Darling

President

The Architect’s Newspaper

Darling is CEO and cofounder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 12th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

Niknaz Aftahi

Founder & CEO

aec+tech

Niknaz is the CEO and co-founder at aec+tech, an all-in-one innovation platform and community connecting AEC/O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations) professionals with the latest tools and technologies. Prior to launching aec+tech Niknaz practiced architecture in the bay area, California, both as a design professional as well as a design technologist. Niknaz is passionate about technology and innovation in the AEC space, and she has been a keynote speaker at various international aec-tech events. Niknaz is a member of AIA San Francisco design technology committee, and has also been developing curriculum and teaching architecture courses online to Bahai students in Iran who continue to be deprived of access to universities in their own country.

Michael Siegel

Principal

Stantec

Mr. Siegel is a Principal with Stantec Architecture. He has over three decades of experience with large, complex, cultural, institutional, corporate and mixed-use development projects. He has worked with prominent international architects around the globe, Tadao Ando, Ricardo Legoretta, Gert Windgardh and Ma Yansong.

His recent work has lead the design teams for the Swedish Embassy in Washington DC, Pioneer Park in Shenzhen China and Roosevelt Universities Vertical Campus in Chicago.

Michael is a designer, builder and athlete. Fascinated with the process of design connecting vision to craft, he has built a yacht and lives in endless renovation projects. As an athlete he is challenged by unfathomable events like the Ironman triathlon. The process of realizing the unfathomable comes to bear in his leadership of the design and engineering team on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.

Cory Hill

Associate

Stantec

Cory is an associate at Stantec specializing in the design and delivery of complex buildings. His work combines an expertise in computational design with deep investigations of specialty materials and assemblies. He has designed buildings, public spaces, and artworks with internationally acclaimed firms. Currently he is the lead architect for the façade and complex interior spaces of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Ben Petuchowski

Creative Professional

Canvas

Ben is a creative professional with over fifteen years of experience in television development and marketing. He leads marketing for Canvas, the iOS app that’s the most efficient way to create as-built drawings and models. Instead of spending hours measuring spaces and even more time modeling them, architects can scan houses in minutes and get accurate, editable as-builts in as little as one day. Focus on designing the future instead of measuring the past.

Joe Eichenseer

Building Solutions Manager

Imaginit

Joe leads a team of IMAGINiT’s dedicated services professionals who ensure that the people, technology and processes exist to provide the best possible solution for clients every time. Joe and his team provide leadership to building design firms through the process of selecting, implementing, and optimizing software solutions. They engineer new workflow processes that dramatically improve productivity and efficiency, managing cultural change necessary for firms to be successful.

Alloy Kemp

Sr. Associate

CORE Studio – Thornton Tomasetti

Alloy Kemp joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2011. As a long standing member of the firm’s Façade Engineering practice, she is responsible for structural engineering of façades, detail / prototype development, parametric modeling and fabrication planning. Her multi-disciplinary education and dual licensure as an Architect and Engineer enables her to adapt easily to the creative nature of engineering of non-traditional elements; such as tensile membranes, structural glass, and long-span gridshells. Alloy has experience in US and UK / Europe markets.

Sila Gulgec

Senior AI/ML Engineer

Thornton Tomasetti | CORE studio

My research interests include deep learning, machine learning, big data, structural health monitoring, anomaly detection, sensor networks, compressed sensing, digital image correlation, mobile sensing

Thomas Kearns

Digital Innovation Strategist

Perkins&Will

I’m Thomas. I am a trans-disciplinary experience designer + builder. My work employs a user centered design process, driving thoughtful programming from deep context sensitivity. As a designer I craft rich narratives for stakeholders, as a builder I ensure the clarity of the narrative pushes through the experience. Being a builder extends the reach of my design thinking through applied knowledge. My skills are even more diverse than my potential titles: designer, strategist, researcher, technologist, developer. I craft experiences. From buildings to objects to services to businesses.

In over 20 years of professional practice I have managed multi-million dollar architectural projects, designed and developed websites during each of the 5 versions of HTML, built interactive mixed reality experiences, developed custom data driven design software, grown a unique educational design/technology startup to multiple locations + expanded B2B services, and most recently built a home on wheels for 2 young adventurers,.

Rohan Jawali

Founder and CEO

Joist.ai

Rohan Jawali is founder and CEO of Joist.ai, a marketing enablement platform for the built world. Prior to founding Joist.ai, Rohan worked for more than 12 years with Hensel Phelps, where he focused on innovation and Virtual Design and Construction.

Nikhil Choudhary

Founding Partner

Nirman Ventures

Nikhil Choudhary is a Silicon Valley based venture capitalist and general partner of Nirman Ventures (www.nirman.vc), a VC fund focused on prop-tech, construction-tech, clean-tech, web3+real-estate, and blockchain tech shaping real estate. Previously, Nikhil has founded several award-winning AEC companies in the United States and has been an investor for over a decade. Nikhil is a highly published figure in the real estate industry and has been covered in notable publications such as Business Collective, Forbes & Inc.com. Some of Nikhil’s notable awards include getting the former firm he led as its CEO to #1 growth rank in Inc500, Top 40 Thought Leaders on LinkedIn 2023, & Indian Achiever Award – Entrepreneur of the Year.

Curtis Rodgers

Partner

Brick & Mortar Ventures

Curtis Rodgers is a construction technologist and investor at Brick & Mortar Ventures, with six years of construction operations experience across federal, energy, industrial, infrastructure, and commercial markets at both Kiewit and McCarthy Construction. Curtis founded The Society for Construction Solutions (SCS) in 2014, contributed to the NASA Centennial 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, and participated as a lecturer for the US DOE’s Project Leadership Institute.

Vivin Hegde

GP and Founding Partner

Zacua Ventures

Zacua Ventures is an early stage global VC specialized in investing in the Built Environment sector. We work with exceptional founders from the conception of the idea and work to make them successful. We are backed by top tier corporates across the globe and help startups tap into their expertise to build best in breed companies

Niknaz Aftahi

Founder & CEO

aec+tech

Niknaz is the CEO and co-founder at aec+tech, an all-in-one innovation platform and community connecting AEC/O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations) professionals with the latest tools and technologies. Prior to launching aec+tech Niknaz practiced architecture in the bay area, California, both as a design professional as well as a design technologist. Niknaz is passionate about technology and innovation in the AEC space, and she has been a keynote speaker at various international aec-tech events. Niknaz is a member of AIA San Francisco design technology committee, and has also been developing curriculum and teaching architecture courses online to Bahai students in Iran who continue to be deprived of access to universities in their own country.

Vaishnavi More

Co-Founder and CEO

Archslate

Vaishnavi More, an Architect by profession is an exceptional entrepreneur and visionary as the Co-Founder and CEO of Archslate. Vaishnavi holds a Masters in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Masters in Architecture from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She has previously served as the Founding president of the American Institute of Architecture Student, Harvard chapter and a board member of Sustainability Council at Harvard.

Prior to founding Achslate, Vaishnavi worked at organizations such as HDR.inc, Zack De Vito in San Francisco and Christopher Charles Benninger Architects in India. Along with being a recipient of multiple fellowships and grants, Vaishnavi holds several accolades including promising Women in Architecture awards and was a nominee at 2020 Forbes 30 under 30. With a passion for revolutionizing the architecture and construction industry, she has successfully built Archslate into a leading platform that disrupts traditional talent management processes.

As a forward-thinking leader, Vaishnavi is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology and exploring emerging trends such as AI, machine learning, and cloud computing to enhance Archslate’s capabilities. Her ability to foresee market needs and adapt the platform accordingly has solidified Archslate’s competitive edge and put them at the forefront of industry innovation.

Campbell Yule

Founder & CEO

Codesign

Campbell currently leads the Codesign team who are reinventing conceptual design with the Concepting app for iPad. Codesign combines the power of sketching with the power of the iPad platform to allow fast, fluid and flexible conceptual design for architects. Over his 25 year career Campbell has worked in a number of businesses including Cadimage, Buildmedia, GRAPHISOFT SE and BIMObject.

Kathleen Hetrick

Associate

Buro Happold

Kathleen Hetrick is an Associate at Buro Happold and is a Bloomberg Fellow at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. As part of the Buro Happold Los Angeles Sustainability team, Kathleen combines her passion for regenerative design with a technical background in Architectural Engineering. She leads the sustainable design process on a wide range of cutting-edge projects including LEED Platinum, ILFI Zero Carbon and Living Building Challenge buildings, portfolio-wide scope 3 emissions reduction plans, social impact studies, resiliency analysis and corporate sustainability implementation workshops. She also facilitates Buro Happold’s regional outreach initiatives to encourage local K-12 students to pursue sustainability-focused careers in STEM. She is currently a board member of USGBC-LA and is one of the founding instigators of Carbon Leadership Forum – Los Angeles.

Laura Karnath

Senior Technical Designer

Walter P Moore

Laura Karnath is a registered architect and Senior Enclosure Technical Designer at Walter P Moore’s Los Angeles office. She is a leader in computational design and holds broad global experience in the organizational models and technical challenges involved in the delivery of large international projects. Having overseen the delivery of highly complex building envelopes on four continents, Laura applies her knowledge and experience to the burning question of embodied carbon in the built environment. An impassioned advocate for computationally driven building data management and for high-performance facades, she believes both to be central in the ultimate decarbonization of the built environment.

Laura is co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the Carbon Leadership Forum. She holds a Master’s degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University at Buffalo.

Alvin Huang

Architect, Designer, And Educator

Synthesis Design + Architecture

Alvin Huang, AIA, NOMA is a Los Angeles-based architect with a global profile. He is an award-winning architect, designer, and educator who explores the intersections between technology and culture to produce innovative design work that challenges convention and expresses universal values. He is a vocal advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in design culture. His work spans all scales ranging from hi-rise towers and mixed-use developments to temporary pavilions and bespoke furnishings. He is the founder and principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture and an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, where he is also the Director of Graduate and Post-professional Architecture. Prior to establishing SDA, he gained significant experience working in the offices of Zaha Hadid Architects, Future Systems, AL_A and AECOM. He received an M.Arch from the Graduate Design Research Laboratory at the Architectural Association in London and a B.Arch from the USC School of Architecture in Los Angeles.

His design work has been published and exhibited widely and has gained international recognition with over 40 distinctions at local, national, and international levels including being selected as one of 50 global innovators under the age of 50 by Images Publishing in 2015, being featured as a “Next Progressive” by Architect Magazine in 2014, and being named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Best Inventors of 2013. He has been an invited critic, guest lecturer, and keynote speaker at various institutions in the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and China.

Wendy W Fok

Director

WE-DESIGNS

Wendy W Fok (she/them), trained as an architect, is interested in design, technology, and creative solutions for the built environment. They have experience in Product Development and Program Management from Zero to Launch, Design-Build, Manufacturing, Hardware/Software, and Digital Fabrication.
Fok holds a Doctor of Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) in partnership with the Harvard Law School, obtained a Master of Architecture and Certification of Urban Policy/Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a Concentration in Economics (Statistics) from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Matt Conway

Lecturer

USC Architecture

Matt Conway is a Computational Design Leader with experience in a range of AEC softwares, technologies, and programming languages with a focus on parametric design, geometric approaches, interactive and immersive technologies, and integrated practice. He is also co-founder of HomeMakeLabs, a video game, interactive installation, and visualization studio. He received a Master of Architecture (M.Arch.I) from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He has worked with DLR Group, Gehry Technologies, MAD, Behnisch Architekten, and NBBJ. Building programs and programming buildings. He is a lecturer at USC School of Architecture where he teaches seminars on Coding, Computational Design, and Geometry. His research work focuses on programming literacy and exploring architectural design through contemporary digital methods such as scripting, animation, and game engines.

Lisa Little

Adjunct Associate Professor

USC Architecture

Lisa Little holds a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Little integrates her engineering and architecture backgrounds to create an atypical approach to research and design. Her work strives to engage ambient phenomena through built form while questioning the role of technology in contemporary architectural practice. She is the principal and founder of the award-winning firm Vertebrae.

Recent projects include large scale artworks, commercial interiors, and private residences. The work has been widely published and exhibited, appearing in the LA Times, Interior Design Magazine, The California Design Biennial and numerous museums, galleries, and books. Before founding Vertebrae, Little co-founded the design practice Layer, an interdisciplinary design firm. She has also worked as the director of software development teams and as a hardware design engineer in the field of film and television postproduction. Little currently teaches graduate and undergraduate level design studios at the University of Southern California and is a licensed architect in the state of California.

Jia Zhou Zhu

Lecturer

USC Architecture

Jia Zhou Zhu is a registered architect in California and British Columbia. He received his M.Arch from SCI-Arc in 2013. He had worked for Griffin Enright Architects led by Margaret Griffin and John Enright. During his time at Griffin Enright Architects, as a project manager, he assisted the partners leading the project teams to design and execute several award-winning residential projects. Joined MAD Architects in 2019 as a project manager, Jia Zhou Zhu was responsible for several large-scale landmark projects both internationally and locally. In addition, he has helped both firms implement VR/MR using real-time engines such as Unreal Engine.

Jia Zhou Zhu founded the architectural design firm DS4 in China in 2018. DS4 is currently working on multiple large-scale architectural and urban design projects, including the urban planning and design of a 260,000 square feet residential development.

Jia Zhou Zhu’s research involves using advanced simulation and scripting tools such as Houdini to generate highly complex and abstract architectural forms that are unimaginable in traditional 3d modeling software. He is also a python programmer and a data science and deep learning enthusiast. He is currently researching how to utilize deep learning in architectural design.

Sarah Hammond

Lecturer

USC Architecture

Sarah Hammond is a designer currently based between Philadelphia and Portland, OR. She received her architectural training here at the University of Southern California. Her building experience ranges from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) expansion at Buro Happold Engineering, to a pediatric neurology clinic at Synthesis Design + Architecture. Further shifting scales, Sarah has now entered the world of fashion and sport at Nike’s World Headquarters as a computational designer. Joining its Digital Innovation studio has allowed Sarah to explore the intersection of the arts and technology. Her recent releases include engineered textiles for the ESC SS21 Made in Italy collection, 2021 WNBA jerseys, and 2022 NBAAll-Star Game uniforms. Sarah’s personal research focuses on translating digital tools to the textile crafts of her Persian and Ghanaian culture. She is also studying the artistry of apparel construction at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. As a lecturer at USC SOA, Sarah continues to share computational thinking with her students while also advancing efforts to broaden perspectives in our design community.

Kais Al-Rawi

Associate Director

Eckersley O’Callaghan

Kais Al-Rawi is an Associate Director in Eckersley O’Callaghan’s Los Angeles office, Kais is an established architect with a reputation for working on a diverse range of projects from art-forms to towers, stadia and aviation developments. His expertise lies at the intersection of architecture, engineering and technology – with a focus on solving complex design challenges through digital design. Kais’ expertise has been leveraged on several world-class projects including SoFi Stadium, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Orange County Museum of Art. In 2022, Kais was listed as one of Aviation Pros’ Top 40 under 40 in the Airport Business.

A keen educator, he serves as an adjunct lecturer at the USC School of Architecture where he teaches parametric design to undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, he is a visiting critic and guest speaker at USC, UCLA, CalPoly Pomona, Sci-ARC, and the AA.

Thesla Collier

Design Technology Manager

HNTB

Thesla Collier is a Design Technologist at HNTB. Her background is in Architecture, and she works with designers, architects, engineers, and contractors in all phases of building, design, and construction. Thesla uses design technology to develop methods and workflows to improve project outcomes and processes. She also holds leadership positions in AIA Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) National Knowledge Community at both the National and Los Angeles Chapters.

Cesar Escalante

Architecture Technical Marketing Manager

Autodesk

Cesar leads storytelling efforts for the architecture industry—creating and evangelizing compelling content on new and emerging technologies to Autodesk customers worldwide.
Cesar is a registered architect and spent the past 18 years in the architectural industry, holding design technology leadership roles at large international firms, including Gensler, HOK, and Flad Architects. He is a member of the AIA Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) leadership council & a board member of the AIA San Francisco. He teaches BIM at the California College of the Arts. He is currently training to run a half-marathon in May.

Wendy W Fok

Director

WE-DESIGNS

Wendy W Fok (she/them), trained as an architect, is interested in design, technology, and creative solutions for the built environment. They have experience in Product Development and Program Management from Zero to Launch, Design-Build, Manufacturing, Hardware/Software, and Digital Fabrication.
Fok holds a Doctor of Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) in partnership with the Harvard Law School, obtained a Master of Architecture and Certification of Urban Policy/Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a Concentration in Economics (Statistics) from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Laure Michelon

Architectural Technologist

UCLA AUD

Laure Michelon is a creative and architectural technologist based in Los Angeles, CA. Laure’s research and practice focus on digital simulation and algorithmic mutations with focused interests in infrastructure systems, climate engineering, and fashion.  Laure is faculty at UCLA AUD, has an M.S. in Architectural Technologies from SCI-Arc and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Columbia University SEAS.

Biayna Bogosian

Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology

Florida International University (FIU)

Architectural Technologist FIU / USC
Spatial and Physical Computing for Improving the Built Environment

Biayna Bogosian is an Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology at Florida International University (FIU). Her interdisciplinary research explores the intersection of design, technology, and the environment, focusing on data-driven, participatory, and citizen-centric approaches to improving the built environment.

In addition to her research and teaching role at FIU, Biayna holds various positions, including affiliate faculty in FIU’s Institute of Environment and School of Computing and Information Sciences, Director of Immersive Media for the Environmental Explorations Lab, and Associate Program Director of the Robotics and Digital Fabrication Lab. Her research is supported by grants from NSF, NASA, SOM Foundation, Dr. Seuss Foundation, The Stevens Initiative, and other organizations.

Biayna holds a Ph.D. in the Media Arts and Practice program from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. She also earned a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Woodbury University. Prior to joining FIU, she taught architecture and media arts at Columbia University, Cornell University, and USC.

Biayna is deeply committed to advancing the field of architectural technology. She serves on the Board of Directors for the ACADIA Organization and currently chairs its steering committee. She has also been actively involved with the DigitalFUTURES Organization for many years and as a co-organizer of its free online events from 2020 to 2022. In addition, she co-chaired the ACADIA 2021 conference, titled “”Realignment: Toward Critical Computation,”” and the CAAD Futures 2021 conference, titled “”Design Imperatives: The Future is Now.””

Julia Koerner

JK Design

Founder
JK Design

Assistant Adjunct Professor
UCLA AUD

Julia Koerner is an award-winning Austrian designer working at the convergence of architecture, product and fashion design, specialised in 3D-printing. She is founder of JK Design and the JK3D brand and is a faculty member at UCLA. Her recent collaborations include 3D-Printed Haute Couture and Academy Award winning costumes for Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther and Wakanda Forever.

Hassan Ragab

Computational Designer

HSNRGB

Hassan is an Egyptian interdiscisplary designer/artist based in southern california. He holds a bachelor degree in architectural design and his experiences vary between Museography, Exhibition design, Computational design, Furniture design, Architecture and Construction, Digital Fabrication and Conceptual art. Alongside his work as a computational designer for the AEC industry; Hassan is currently exploring the digital art scene using artificial intelligence

Dionne Darling

VP of Brand Partnerships

The Architect’s Newspaper h

Dionne Darling has been with The A|N Media Group for over five years. As A|N’s Associate Publisher, she manages A|N’s Texas headquarters and handles accounts in the West, Southwest and Chicago territories.

Dionne has over 25 years of direct B2B sales and business development experience. Dionne holds an Associate Degree from El Centro Junior College at Dallas, Texas.

Niknaz Aftahi

Founder & CEO

aec+tech

Niknaz is the CEO and co-founder at aec+tech, an all-in-one innovation platform and community connecting AEC/O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations) professionals with the latest tools and technologies. Prior to launching aec+tech Niknaz practiced architecture in the bay area, California, both as a design professional as well as a design technologist. Niknaz is passionate about technology and innovation in the AEC space, and she has been a keynote speaker at various international aec-tech events. Niknaz is a member of AIA San Francisco design technology committee, and has also been developing curriculum and teaching architecture courses online to Bahai students in Iran who continue to be deprived of access to universities in their own country.