Awards 2025

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: Fanessa de la Rosa and Annie Parker

The Susan Cromwell Coslett Traveling Fellowship

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

Awarded to: Shay Myerson and Dagny Carlsson

AAD Prize in Design Excellence

This prize is awarded annually to a student 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.

First Place: Amir Motavaselian

Runner Up: Changsi Wang

The Aedas Fellowship

Provides financial support each year for rising second- or third-year graduate students in the Department of Architecture.

Awarded to: Meng Ji

Alpha Rho Chi Medal

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

Awarded to: Carlotta de Bellis

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 Teams: 
Xinyao Yu and Yutong Zhao
Tony Chen, Baorui (William) Chen, and Yung Le Hsiao
Jacob Geile, Sam Gandhi, and Cindy Wang

Honorable Mention Teams:
Arthur Cheng, Edward Liang, and Wenjun Zhang
Elyse Jiang, Xinyi (Cheryl) Qiu, and Evelyn Tan

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: Ariel Koltun-Fromm

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.

Gold Prize: Brennan Chase Flory

Silver Prize: Tia Yu

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: Dongsheng Li and Junxi Liu

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: Qing He

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 students with an outstanding record in required environmental courses and a desire to further sustainable architecture.

Awarded to: Eliott Elias Haddad and Hong Wei

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: Jonathan Bonezzi, Fasai Chainuvati, Meng Ji, Ryan Lane, and Junxi Liu 

Second Prize: Mu Cao and Ziyang Chen

Third Prize: Ricardo Alvarado, Laura Ellis, Jesus Frias, Gyo Sun Hwang, Jiapeng Sun, Wang Xi, Chendou Zhu, and Yuzhu Zi

Faculty Prize

Awarded to students who have demonstrated exceptional growth and development.

Awarded to: Zhangfan He, Qinming Hou, Yuju Kang, Benjamin Oliver, and Sahil Pranay Shah

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: Emma Robertson

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: Qing He

Harry E. Parker Prize

Awarded to the student who has an outstanding record in architectural construction.

Awarded to: Tylor Chu

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: Jack Bradley

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.

Prize: Ariel Koltun-Fromm

Honorable Mention: Dillon Day

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: Gyo Sun Hwang

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: Congrui Gao, Jiaming Li, Siyao Zhang, and Daxler Zou

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: Navya Pandey

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: Regina Nicole Gonano

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: Edward Liang, Hailey Quinn, and Spring Yu

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: Tony Chen

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: Jack Bradley, Mu Cao, Tylor Chu, Colin Clark, Gyo Sun Hwang, Veronica Moore, Spencer Relihan, Joohyun Shin, Rain Yang, and Spring Yu

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: Edward Liang

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: Liza Aldridge, Jonathan Bonezzi, Clarisse Figueiredo de Queiroz, Hailey Quinn, and Veronica Raga Widell

AICP Outstanding Student Award

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

Awarded to: Brianna Belo

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 their peers.

Awarded to: Khulan Enkhbold, Lucie Powers, and Maho Sakuma

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: Von Rogers

Bruce J. Hansen Award

Given every year to the student(s) 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: Sarah Curry and Viva Wan

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: Viva Wan

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: Miranda Ayres

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

Awarded to: Revathi Machan and Claudia Schreier

The Gaia Award

Awarded for excellent work in environmental planning.

Awarded to: Mariya Lupandina

Paul Davidoff Award

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

Awarded to: Sara Lepley

The Smart Cities Award

Awarded for excellent work in the Smart Cities Concentration.

Awarded to: Emily Zhou

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.

Prize: Elam Boockvar-Klein

Honorable Mention: Spencer Welch

The Charles Addams Memorial Prize

Awarded to a graduating MFA student who shows promise of outstanding talent and achievement as an artist. It memorializes the work, spirit, and interests of Charles Addams (FA’34, Hon’80), who made a giant contribution to the world of art.

Awarded to: Alvin Luong

Christopher Leland Lyon Memorial Fund Award

Chris (MFA’99) was a prolific artist and dedicated painter. In memory of the spirited life he led, his friends and family have joined together to create this award in his honor for second-year students in the program.

Awarded to: Eissa Attar

Halpern-Rogath Independent Travel Award

The award provides fine arts students with funding to allow them to travel nationally and internationally to exhibitions, museums, and art centers.

Awarded to: Mike D’Ippolito, Dylan Li, Jingyi Ling, Noa Machover, Shay Myerson, and Cacie Rosario

The Lawrence Shprintz MFA Award

Established by a gift from Lawrence Shprintz (ChE’50), this award is presented to one graduating and one first-year MFA student for outstanding performance in any medium.

Awarded to First Year: Cacie Rosaro

Awarded to Second Year: Eissa Attar

The Oakley Medal of Achievement 

Awarded to one first-year MFA student who has shown distinctive achievement in creative art. 

Awarded to: Noa Machover

The Stuart Egnal Scholarship Award

Donated in honor of Stuart Egnal and awarded to a first-year MFA student for outstanding performance in any medium.

Awarded to: Ambika Trasi

The Aaron Wunsch Award for Public History of the Built Environment

Established in memory of Aaron Wunsch, Penn preservation professor who fought with quill and brawn to preserve Philadelphia’s historic structures and public memory. He marshalled diligent research, incisive writing, vocal advocacy, and physical repair to advance his case. This award recognizes students who embody some or all of this same spirit in stewarding the public history of the built environment. 

Awarded to: Marian Glebes

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: Sallishah Ali, Ke-An Chiang, Qingrou Dai, Nour Jafar, and Yanjie Zhang

The Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan Award for an Outstanding Thesis or Capstone

Named in honor of Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan, a great historian and professor in Penn’s Department of American Civilization who helped create the Department of Historic Preservation, this is awarded to the most outstanding completed theses or capstone studio projects.

Awarded to: Priyanka Amin-Patel, Amy Gonzalez, Frances Hutchins, Anna Veilleux, and Yuzheng Wu

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: Shen Tzu Chen and Katharine Whitney-Schubb

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 enables students studying architectural conservation to travel to conferences, symposia and other professional events.

Awarded to: Donglin Chen, Dan Lu, and Di Wu

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 award is given to students whose primary interest is historic preservation in an urban setting.

Awarded to: Sallishah Ali, Ke-An Chiang, Frances Hutchins, and Nour Jafar

The Faculty Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Recognizes the graduating students who have 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: Priyanka Amin-Patel, Daniel Alonso Saldaña Ayala, and Anna Veilleux

Robin M. Beckett Fund 

The purpose of the fund, generously supported by Robin Beckett (MCP’75), is to provide financial support to students studying historic preservation. 

Awarded to: Anna Veilleux
 

American Society of Landscape Architects Awards

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

Honor: Maria Fairchild, Kelvin Vu, and Chun-Cheng Yeh

Merit: Clarasophia Gust, Mariya Lupandina, and Sandra Saw Yu Nwe

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: Wenshu Huang and Shuying Rong

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: Joyce Gu

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Design Progress

Awarded to graduating students who have demonstrably advanced the furthest in their design capability across the course of their years of study.

Awarded to: Fabienne Bick

Faculty Acknowledgement Award for Experimentation and Innovation

Awarded to graduating students who have applied a particularly high level of innovation and experimentation in their design projects.

Awarded to: Zuren Kikon and Ravina Puri

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: Sierra Caley, Shubhra Goel, Nitya Patel, and Kelvin Vu

Faculty Medal in Landscape Architecture

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

Awarded to: Andreina Sojo

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: Sandra Saw Yu Nwe

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: Joseph Bondi

The Ian L. McHarg Prize

Awarded to graduating students who have 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: Maria Fairchild and Clarasophia Gust

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: Kelvin Vu

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: Mariya Lupandina

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: Lillia Schmidt

OLIN Work Fellowship

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

Awarded to: Gabe Webber

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: Chun-Cheng Yeh

Wallace Roberts and Todd Fellowship

Awarded to an outstanding student who has finished the second year of the three-year program.

Awarded to: Andrew Kennedy

Ken Steif Award

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

Awarded to: Claudia Low

G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Teaching Awards

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: Rudy Gerson

Distinguished Teaching by a Member of the Non-Standing Faculty

Awarded to: Leah Kahler

Distinguished Teaching by a Member of the Standing Faculty

Awarded to: Robert Pietrusko

2024 Awards

2023 Awards