Awards 2023

The Susan Cromwell Coslett Traveling Fellowship

Established in memory of former Assistant Dean Susan Coslett, and awarded to a student with an interest in traveling to fine gardens, a passion of Coslett’s.

Awarded to: Kelvin Vu

Bonnie and Gary Sellers Summer Internship Fellowship

Established by Bonnie (CW’73) and Gary Sellers to allow students to pursue unfunded or under-funded summer internships or jobs in the design fields.

Awarded to: Aislinn Pentecost-Farren

AAD Prize in Design Excellence

This prize is awarded annually to students in the Master of Science in Design: Advanced Architectural Design concentration degree program whose work is judged by the design faculty to be excellent, in consideration of the GPA and design portfolio.

Awarded to: Xinhui Zhang and Dongjun Wang

The Aedas Fellowship

Awarded to up to two rising second- or third-year graduate students to support the University's policy of promoting student body diversity. Consideration is given to students who enhance the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the School, and who have prior work experience or attended an undergraduate institution in China.

Awarded to: Ruiqi Han and Penghui Zhang

Albert F. Schenck-Henry Gillette Woodman Scholarship

Awarded to students in the first year of the professional degree program on the basis of a competition.

First Place: Qinming Hou, Yuwei Yang, Simone Yang, Sahil Pranay Shah, Joyce Zhang, Harris Hao

Honorable Mentions: Nathan Nhan Hyunh, Haley Simone Tavares, Breland Marie Land, Ruoxi Li, Tianqi Han, Austin White, Regina Nicole Ganano, Benjamin Scott Oliver, Holly Nicole Smithberger, Loopz Lopez

Alpha Rho Chi Medal

Awarded to a graduating architecture student for leadership, willing service, and promise of professional merit.

Awarded to: Jamaica Reese-Julien

American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal

The first prize medal is awarded to the top-ranking student in the professional degree program with the highest record in all courses.

First Prize: Jamaica Reese-Julien

Arthur Spayd Brooke Memorial Prize

Established in 1900 in memory of Arthur Spayd Brooke, a graduate of the School of Architecture, and awarded to graduating architecture students for distinguished work in architectural design.

First Prize: Cherie Wan

Second Prize: Joseph Depre

The Atkin Fellowship

The Fellowship supports graduate students in Architecture or Landscape Architecture enrolled in their last year of studies and is awarded based on the ideas in Professor Vittorio Gregotti’s article “On Modification” in his book, Inside Architecture. Made possible by the estate of adjunct professor Tony Atkin.

Awarded to: Jessica Paige Wong and Clayton Monarch

Charles Merrick Gay Scholarship

Awarded to the student who has shown outstanding ability in architectural construction and a realization of its relationship to design.

Awarded to: Ariel Koltun-Fromm

The Donald Prowler Memorial Prize

Awarded in memory of Donald Prowler, a member of the faculty in the Department of Architecture for many years, the prize is for a student with an outstanding record in required environmental courses and a desire to further sustainable architecture.

Awarded to: Hemant Diyalani

E. Lewis Dales Traveling Fellowships

Established under the will of E. Lewis Dales for travel abroad during the summer prior to a student’s final year as a candidate for the first professional degree in architecture.

First Prize: Courtney Ward

Second Prize: Marjorie Tello Wang, Francisco Anaya, Grace Infante, Khang Truong

Third Prize: Bohan Lang, Clayton Monarch, Cheuk Ming Ng, Daniel Lutze, Penghui Zhang

Fourth Prize: Danny Thomas Jarabek, Jessica Paige Wong, Kirah Cahill, Jiayu Huang, Alexa Rojas

Faculty Prize

Awarded to students who have demonstrated exceptional growth and development.

Awarded to: Jorge Couso, Kyle Troyer, Yasmin Goulding

Frank Miles Day Memorial Prize

Named for Towne School graduate and the architect of Penn’s Houston Hall, University Museum, Weightman Hall, and Franklin Field. Awarded to the architecture student submitting the best essay in courses in the history and theory of architecture.

Awarded to: Holly Nicole Smithberger

Harlan Coornvelt Memorial Medal

Established in memory of Harlan Coornvelt, who served as an associate professor of Architecture at the School of Design from 1968 until his death in 1973. Awarded to the student who achieved the most outstanding record in required architectural structure courses.

Awarded to: Tianqi Han and Ariel Koltun-Fromm

James Smyth Warner Memorial Prize

Established in 1938 by Professor George Walter Dawson for a second-year student in architecture with the highest record in required studio courses. The award is to be used for a trip to see and study American architecture.

Awarded to: Bohan Lang

The Kanter Tritsch Prize in Energy and Architectural Innovation

Awarded to a second-year student pursuing a Master of Architecture degree who demonstrates transformational thinking on the built environment and innovation in his or her approach to energy, ecology, and/or social equity.

Awarded to: Kyle Troyer (2022)

Mario J. Romanach Fellowship

Established in memory of one of Penn’s most beloved teachers, the fellowship is awarded to a student entering the final year in the professional degree program, for demonstrated excellence in design, a love for architecture, and the determination to develop as an architect.

Awarded to: Courtney Ward

Mr. and Mrs. William L. Van Alen Traveling Fellowship

Awarded to one landscape architecture student and one architecture student, in the second year of their programs, for summer travel to Europe.

Awarded to: Cheuk Ming Ng

MSD-RAS Prize for Design & Robotic Fabrication

Awarded to the most outstanding final semester projects by students in the Master of Science in Design: Robotics and Autonomous Systems concentration degree program, for innovative research in design and robotic fabrication.

Awarded to: Franklin Wu, Shunta Moriuchi, Amber Chen, Sihan Li

The Muscoe Martin Green Building Fellowship

Awarded to a student in the Master of Science in Design: Environmental Building Design concentration program, the winner will continue the work Martin Muscoe began at Penn and in Philadelphia. The Fellowship will provide a student with funding for the final semester of study in the program and the opportunity to pursue research and projects at Green Building United.

Awarded to: Ming Yan

Paul Philippe Cret Medal

Founded by the Architectural Alumni Society, awarded to the graduating student who has consistently demonstrated excellence in design in the Master in Architecture professional degree program.

Awarded to: Rhea Nayar

Samuel K. Schneidman Fellowship

Established in memory of Samuel K. Schneidman and awarded to second- or third-year students in the professional degree program on the basis of demonstrated excellence.

Awarded to: Danny Thomas Jarabek and Sharlene Yulita

T-Square Club Fellowship

Awarded annually for excellence in design to a student who has just completed the first year. Among the patrons and members of the T-Square Atelier were Penn professors Paul Philippe Cret, Walter P. Laird, John Harbeson, Jean Hebrand, and Norman Rice.

Awarded to: Sahil Shah

Warren Powers Laird Award

Named for Warren Powers Laird (1861–1948), the first dean of the School of Fine Arts (now Weitzman School of Design). Awarded to students with the highest standing in all courses in the first year of the professional degree program in architecture.

Awarded to: Qinming Hou and Ariel Koltun-Fromm

Walter R. Leach II Fellowship

Established in memory of Walter R. Leach II (MArch’67) this fellowship is awarded on the basis of academic merit to students in their second or third year of study.

Awarded to: Jenna Nicole Arndt, Andrew Gerard Atwood, Danny Thomas Jarabek, Dongni Li, Kelvin Vu, Ruifeng Wang Jessica Paige Wong, Sharlene Yulita, Luqi Zhao

Will M. Mehlhorn Scholarship

Established through a bequest by Will M. Mehlhorn (BFA’30) former architectural editor of House and Garden. Awarded to the students who have done the best work in the theory sequence.

Awarded to: Ebbi L. Boehm, Loopz Lopez, Wanze Li, Basak Eren, Hussain Alkazemi, Jamaica Reese-Julien, Kirah Cahill

AICP Outstanding Student Award

Awarded in recognition of outstanding attainment in the study of planning.

Awarded to: Micah Epstein and Helen Lea

Ann Louise Strong Leadership Award

Named for the former chair of the Department of City & Regional Planning and associate dean. Awarded for demonstrated leadership among his/her peers.

Awarded to: Henry Feinstein and Lindsey Hover

Brian C. West Award

Brian, an architect, who received his Master of City Planning and a Certificate in Real Estate in 2001, was an exceptional student and proud graduate of Penn. In his memory, this award recognizes a second-year student who embodies the talent and interests—urban design, planning, and real estate development—that Brian had during his lifetime.

Awarded to: Shawn Li and Julius Venuti

Bruce J. Hansen Award

Given every year to the student whom their classmates think is the “Best Person to Have on Your Team.” The criteria include work ethic, leadership, humor, professionalism, and commitment to quality.

Awarded to: Gabriel Orduña

C. Britton Harris Award

Named for the Penn faculty member and transportation planning and regional science pioneer. Awarded for excellent work in transportation planning.

Awarded to: Nata Kovalova

David A. Wallace Award

Named for a founding partner of the groundbreaking urban design firm Wallace McHarg Roberts & Todd who was a professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning for eighteen years. Awarded for the highest academic performance in the second-year class.

Awarded to: Morgan Griffiths, Kylee Pierce, Kate Poor, Jamaica Reese-Julien, Charlie Townsley

David Crane Award

An influential mentor to many of his Penn colleagues and students, David Crane was affiliated with the Department of City & Regional Planning from 1957–1972. Awarded for excellent work in urban design.

Awarded to: Kylee Pierce

Department of City & Regional Planning Special Award for Excellence in Student Publications

Awarded to: Riddhi Batra, Micah Epstein, Anastasia Osorio, Jackson Plumlee

The Gaia Award

Awarded for excellent work in environmental planning.

Awarded to: Zoe Kerrich

Paul Davidoff Award

Named for former Professor of City Planning Paul Davidoff. Awarded for excellent work in housing, community, and economic development.

Awarded to: Amanda Peña and Jackson Plumlee

The Smart Cities Award

Awarded for excellent work in the Smart Cities Concentration.

Awarded to: Henry Feinstein

William L.C. Wheaton Award

Awarded for highest academic performance after first year of study (academic year 2021-22).

Awarded to: Lynn Chong, Morgan Griffiths, Yihong Hu, Helen Lea, Anastasia Osorio, Kylee Pierce, Kate Poor, Jamaica Reese-Julien, Charlie Townsley

The Witte-Sakamoto Family Prize in City & Regional Planning

Recognizes an outstanding planning student entering the final year in the Master of City & Regional Planning program for innovation and impact in planning.

Awarded to: Jasmine Siyu Wu (2022)

Albert Binder Travel Fellowship Fund

The Fund is used to support attendance at academic conferences, professional meetings, or special research projects. Each year students benefit from the generosity of the anonymous donors giving to this award.

Awarded to: Aislinn Pentecost-Farren, Sammy Purnell, Calvin Tran Nguyen, Ruby Nwaebube

The Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan Award for an Outstanding Thesis

Named in honor of Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan, a great historian and professor in Penn’s Department of American Civilization who helped create the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, and awarded to the most outstanding completed thesis projects.

Awarded to: Faye Margaret Messner, Jane Isabel Nasta, Calvin Tran Nguyen, Elizabeth Mary Donison

The Charles E. Peterson Award 

Charles E. Peterson was an architect, scholar of historic building technology, creator of the Historic American Building Survey and long-time Philadelphia resident. The Peterson Award is given in his memory by The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia to outstanding students who have distinguished themselves by specialized study of historic building technology.

Awarded to: Jiwen Fan and Yi Ju Chen

Dawn and Brian Gonick Architectural Conservation Professional Development Fund

Made possible through the generosity of Brian Gonick (W’86) and Dawn M. Gonick (MSHP’94), the Fund enable students studying architectural conservation to travel to conferences, symposia and other professional events.

Awarded to: Monique Robinson, Cameron Elea Moon, Jingyi Luo, Carrick W. Reider

The Elizabeth Greene Wiley Award for Outstanding Promise

Established in memory of Elizabeth Greene Wiley, Smith graduate, Penn preservation student and founding partner of ACP Enterprises, a business whose underlying theme was the celebration of architectural history. The Fellowship is awarded to students whose primary interest is historic preservation in an urban setting.

Awarded to: Danele Kristin Bugayong Alampay, Scott Gerlica, Cameron Elea Moon, Priyanka Naresh

The Faculty Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Recognizes the graduating student who has most consistently performed at the highest levels of academic achievement as reflected by the faculty’s recognition of excellence in the student’s completed work.

Awarded to: Allison Ijeoma Nkwocha

American Society of Landscape Architects Awards

Awarded to graduating landscape architecture students who have demonstrated outstanding potential for contribution to the profession.

Honor: Azarai Hernandez, Allison Ijeoma Nkwocha, Jackson Plumlee

Merit: Lian Xu, Arisa Lohmeier, Yuehui Gong

Eleanore T. Widenmeyer Prize in Landscape and Urbanism

Awarded to a graduating student who has achieved a high level of design synthesis between landscape and urbanism.

Awarded to: Roger Yang

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Design Progress

Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrably advanced the furthest in their design capability across the course of their years of study.

Awarded to: Daniel McGovern

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Design Progress (First Year Student)

Awarded to a first-year student in the three-year Master of Landscape Architecture program who has demonstrably advanced the furthest in their design capability across the course of their first year of study.

Awarded to: Joseph Bondi

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Experimentation and Innovation

Awarded to a single graduating student who has applied a particularly high level of innovation and experimentation in their design projects.

Awarded to: Aaron O’Neill

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Service

Awarded to a single student or small group of students who have made an exceptional extracurricular contribution to the program.

Awarded to: Vyusti Agarwalla, Madeline Barnhard, Sanjana Purohit, Sara Sterchak

Faculty Medal in Landscape Architecture

Awarded to graduating students with a high academic record in landscape architecture and outstanding leadership in contribution to the School.

Awarded to: Azarai Hernandez

Faculty Medal in Regional Planning

Awarded to a graduating student with a high academic record in landscape architecture and outstanding contribution to the School in leadership.

Awarded to: Marissa Sayers

George Madden Boughton Prize

Awarded to a graduating student in landscape architecture for excellent design with environmental and social consciousness, and evidence of potential for future effective action in the field of landscape architecture.

Awarded to: Jackson Plumlee

The Ian L. McHarg Prize

Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated excellence in design which best exemplifies ecological ideals in contemporary and culturally pertinent ways. This prize is awarded in memory of Ian L. McHarg, 1920-2001, distinguished professor of landscape architecture, pioneer of ecological design and planning, and one of the most influential landscape architects of the twentieth century.

Awarded to: Ari Vamos and Arisa Lohmeier

The John Dixon Hunt Prize in History, Theory and Criticism

Awarded to a graduating student who has shown particular distinction in the theoretical and critical understanding of landscape architecture.

Awarded to: Isobel Zoe Wilbur Morrison

The Laurie D. Olin Prize in Landscape Architecture

Awarded to a graduating student who has achieved a high academic record and demonstrated design excellence in the making of urban places. Laurie D. Olin is one of the world’s foremost leaders in contemporary landscape architecture and founder of the internationally acclaimed OLIN studio in Philadelphia. The studio designs some of the world’s most significant urban public spaces. The prize was established by the OLIN studio in honor of Practice Professor Emeritus Olin who has served on Penn’s faculty of landscape architecture since 1974.

Awarded to: Lian Xu

Mr. and Mrs. William L. Van Alen Traveling Fellowship

Awarded to one landscape architecture student and one architecture student, in the second year of their programs, for summer travel to Europe.

Awarded to: Caroline Schoeller

Narendra Juneja Medal

Awarded in memory of Associate Professor Narendra Juneja, who served the department with distinction from 1965 until his death in 1981, to a graduating student who has demonstrated deeply that they care for the ideas and ideals of the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Awarded to: Elliot Bullen

OLIN Work Fellowship

A prize and fellowship is awarded to an outstanding student entering their final year of study.

Awarded to: Illa Ashley Labroo

The Robert M. Hanna Prize in Design

Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated great care for the craft, making and construction of landscape architecture. Established in 2010 by the OLIN studio in memory of Robert M. Hanna (1935-2003).

Awarded to: Yuehui Gong

Ken Steif Award

Awarded for excellent work in the Masters of Urban Spatial Analytics (MUSA) program.

Awarded to: Rebekah Adams

The G. Holmes Perkins Teaching Awards are presented annually, based on nominations by students at the Weitzman School of Design, to recognize distinguished teaching and innovation in the classroom, seminar, or studio.

Distinguished Teaching in the Undergraduate Programs

Awarded to: Natalie Kuenzi, Lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts

Distinguished Teaching by a Member of the Non-Standing Faculty

Awarded to: James Billingsley, Lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture

Distinguished Teaching by a Member of the Standing Faculty

Awarded to: Allison Lassiter, Assistant Professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning