Adil Sharag-Eldin, Museum of Arts Cleveland
The Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2025–2027 Board of Directors. This election will fill five (5) positions: Treasurer, Secretary, two At-Large Directors, and one Ph.D. Student Representative. Each ARCC member institution is entitled to cast one vote per position.
Voting will be open to ARCC Institutional Representatives from September 22 through September 30, 2025.
The ARCC Board plays a vital role in shaping the direction of the organization, strengthening research networks, and supporting the advancement of architectural scholarships. We encourage all member institutions to participate fully in this important election process.
MEET THE CANDIDATES
Meet the Candidates
Nominee for Treasurer
Madlen Simon, University of Maryland
Madlen Simon is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Maryland and an At-Large ARCC Board Member. Recipient of the AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Award, she applies neuroscience to study human response to the built environments. Simon’s collaboration with colleagues in Iraq was recognized with the Architect Magazine Studio Prize and has led to grants and publications, including a forthcoming book chapter on urban design in Iraq and a Best Paper Award at a recent EAAE-ARCC international conference. A Fellow of UMD’s Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, she coaches design thinking workshops for faculty at the Stanford d.school.
Madlen Statement of Interest
Nominee for Secretary
Mahyar Hadighi, Texas Tech University
Mahyar Hadighi is an Assistant Professor of Architecture (recently promoted to tenured Associate Professor) and Director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at Texas Tech University. He received his Ph.D. in Architecture from Penn State University, a post-professional Master’s degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University, and a Master of Architecture degree from Azad University of Tehran. His work concentrates on modernism understood in relation to historical and contemporary contexts. In particular, he documents examples of modern art and architecture and analyzes them via computational design methodologies in order both to preserve them and to consider them for additional locales and purposes.
Mahyar’s Statement of Interest
Nominees for the At-Large Board Directors (4 Candidates)
Hui Cai, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Hui Cai is a Professor of the School of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she served as the Chair of the Department of Architecture, and the Director of Research at the Institute of Health and Wellness Design at the University of Kansas. She also previously served as the Health + Science research leader and designer at CallisonRTKL Associates in Dallas. Cai received her Ph.D. degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology after several years of architectural education and practice in China and Singapore.
Dr. Cai’s research focuses on using a performance-driven and evidence-based design approach to analyze the relationship between culture, human behavior, and the physical environment, especially in healthcare settings and healthy communities. Dr. Cai combines various analytical tools in her research, such as space syntax analysis, discrete event simulations, and behavioral mappings. Cai disseminates her work extensively through numerous publications and presentations. Her work in healthcare research has received several awards, including the International Academy Award for Best Research project, AIA-AAH/AAH Foundation Burgun Fellowship, and the Inaugural Wilbur H (Tib) Tusler, Jr. Health Design Research Prize awarded by the Foundation for Health Environments Research. She is recently named as 2021 HCD 10 Healthcare Design Educator. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).
Hui’s Statement of Interest
Seung Ra, Oklahoma State University
Seung Ra is a licensed architect and Full Professor at the Oklahoma State University School of Architecture, where he has taught since 2009. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Seoul National University and has previously held appointments at the Korea National University of Arts, Yonsei University, the University of Nebraska, and the New York Institute of Technology. Ra is the director of raSTUDIO, an architectural practice engaged in projects in Korea and international competitions. His research centers on urban resilience, public space, and the cultural dimensions of architecture and design. Professionally, he has contributed to international practices, including Studio Daniel Libeskind and Friedrich St.Florian Architects. Ra holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Oklahoma State University.
Seung’s Statement of Interest
Farzaneh Soflaei, Hampton University
Dr. Farzaneh Soflaei is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Hampton University. She holds dual Ph.D. degrees in Architecture and Urban Design & Theory and a master’s in architectural engineering. With over 25 years of teaching experience across Iran, China, and the U.S., she has developed courses on architecture, urban design, and sustainability. Dr. Soflaei is a LEED AP faculty member and active researcher focusing on resilience and climate adaptation in underserved coastal communities. She has led multiple funded projects and published extensively and is committed to advancing sustainable design education and community engagement.
Farzaneh’s Statement of Interest
Alexandra Staub, Penn State University
Alexandra Staub, Ph.D., is a Professor of Architecture at Penn State University, where she teaches design studio, research methods, and courses on architectural ethics. She has served on the ARCC Board since 2019, with a focus on organizational networking and outreach. After training as a professional architect at the University of the Arts in Berlin, she completed her Ph.D. at the Brandenburg Technical University at Cottbus, Germany. Her research focuses on how our built environment shapes, and is shaped by, our understanding of culture. She has lectured and published widely in the field, including three books published by Routledge.
Alexandra’s Statement of Interest
Nominees for the Ph.D. Student Representative (2 Candidates)
Nooshin Esmaeili, University of Calgary
Nooshin Esmaeili is a registered architect in Canada, a sessional instructor, and a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary. Her interdisciplinary research bridges architecture, neuroscience, environmental psychology, and mysticism to explore how the built environment can foster human flourishing and transcendence towards a sense of self. A 2023 OBEL Award Teaching Fellow, Nooshin taught “Architecture and Well-being” at the Royal University of Bhutan. She is the current President of the Canada Chapter of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) and serves on national research initiatives focused on equity, sustainability, and social value in architecture. Her work advocates spaces that enrich, heal, inspire, and connect.
Nooshin’s Statement of Interest
Houman Riazi, Penn State University
Houman Riazi is an emerging historian, architect, and educator whose research examines the intersections of architecture, politics, and media. Riazi has contributed to the field of design and gained international experience, working with leading architects including Stefano Boerr, Pier Paolo Tamburelli, Alireza Taghaboni, and Homa Farjadi, as well as Arup Italy on national and international projects, including the award-winning urban regeneration master plan for Pavia in 2020.