Congratulations to Dorit Aviv who has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Architecture!
Dorit Aviv is an architect and building scientist who directs the Thermal Architecture Lab, a cross-disciplinary laboratory at the intersection of thermodynamics, architecture, and materials science.
Collaborating with urban communities most affected by extreme heat, Aviv explores how architecture can mitigate heat stress without relying on air conditioning. Her work has been supported by federal agencies, foundations, and industry partners, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Microsoft, and the Ramboll Foundation. Her passive and low-energy cooling prototypes have received international recognition, including a Holcim Award for Sustainable Design and Construction for a prototype combining evaporative and radiative cooling in dry climates in 2021, and an AIA New York State award for the first publicly accessible, solar-powered open-air cooling shelter, built in New York City in 2025.
A licensed architect, she holds a Ph.D. in architectural technology from Princeton University, a master’s degree in architecture with a certificate in urban policy from Princeton University, and a B.Arch. from The Cooper Union. Her research examines the synergies between renewable environmental forces and architectural materials and forms, and their impact on building energy performance, air quality, and human health. Her research papers have been published in leading scientific journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Applied Energy, Nature Scientific Reports, Indoor Air, and Urban Climate. She has also written for the Scientific American and been interviewed by The New York Times and NPR.
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