Celebration of Learning:
Reimagining the Future
A COA50 Special Event
A series of presentations celebrating the past, present, and future of all of the college's disciplines. RSVP today for an exciting day of discovery and interactive learning, full of panels, lectures, and workshops led by outstanding alumni, beloved former faculty, and current faculty. Registration includes breakfast, lunch and closing social.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Langford Architecture Center, Texas A&M University
Cost: $25/person (all ages)
Schedule of Events
NOTE: Schedule is subject to change as details are finalized
8:00 — 8:30
Check-in and Continental Breakfast
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
8:30 — 8:45
Opening: An Aggie Welcome with the Texas A&M Yell Leaders
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
8:45 — 9:00
Welcome from Dean Jorge Vanegas
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
9:00 — 9:50
Morning Keynote Panel
Jean Mah '71, Tom Owens '73, and Michelle Robinson '91
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
10:00 — 10:50
Concurrent Master Teacher Sessions: Choose 1 of 3 Speakers
George J. Mann: The Practice Based “Research and Architectural Design Studio", Geren Auditorium, Langford B
Donald House: Hurricane Prediction Visualization: Can We Do Better?, Langford C 105
Michael Murphy '61: Design, Creativity, and the Genius of Ed Romieniec, Adams Presentation Room, Langford A second floor
10:30 — 11:30
Optional Tour of Langford Architecture Center
Meet at Student Services, Langford A
10:30 — 11:30
Optional Campus Walking Tour
Leave from Aggieland Visitor Center, Rudder Tower
11:00 — 11:50
Concurrent Master Teacher Sessions: Choose 1 of 3 Speakers
David Woodcock: The Heritage of Texas A&M: A Personal Perspective 1962-2019, Adams Presentation Room, Langford A second floor
Rodney C. Hill: 2020-2050, Geren Auditorium, Langford B
Bob Segner '69, '70: Materials and Methods of Construction, Then and Now, Bob Segner Auditorium, Fancis Hall 102
12:00 — 12:45
Lunch
Langford Living Wall Courtyard
12:45 — 1:45
Keynote
Keynote Speaker: The Honorable Secretary Henry G. Cisneros '68
Langford Living Wall Courtyard
1:30 — 2:30
Optional Campus Walking Tour
Leave from Aggieland Visitor Center, Rudder Tower
2:00 — 3:00
Optional Tour of Langford Architecture Center
Meet at Student Services, Langford A
2:00 — 2:50
Concurrent Futurist Panel Sessions: Choose 1 of 2 options
Was, Is, Could Be: A Panel on Sustainability
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
Dr. Ahmed Ali, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Dr. Stephen Caffey, Instructional Associate Professor of Architecture
Dr. Weiling He, Associate Professor of Architecture
Dr. Ray Pentecost, Professor of the Practice, Architecture
Preservation Futures
Adams Presentation Room, Langford A second floor
Dr. Brent Fortenberry, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Professor Priya Jain, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Dr. Andrea Roberts, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
3:00 — 3:50
Concurrent Futurist Panel Sessions: Choose 1 of 2 options
Mobility and Health
Langford C 105
Dr. Chanam Lee, Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
Dr. Wei Li, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
Dr. Katie Turnbull, Executive Associate Director, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Dr. Xuemei Zhu, Associate Professor of Architecture
Hazards Reduction & Recovery Center Roots and Growth
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
Ms. Jaimie Hicks Masterson, Associate Director, Texas Target Communities
Dr. Michelle Meyer, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
Dr. Nathanael Rosenheim, Associate Research Scientist, Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center
Dr. Shannon Van Zandt, Department Head and Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
4:00 — 4:50
Concurrent Futurist Panel Sessions: Choose 1 of 2 options
Engagement through Interactive Experiences
Langford C 105
Professor Hadeel Ramadan, Assistant Instructional Professor of Visualization
Professor Courtney Starrett, Associate Professor of Visualization
Dr. Wei Yan, Professor of Architecture
3D Printing, Robots, & Drones
Geren Auditorium, Langford B
Dr. Ryan Ahn, Associate Professor of Construction Science
Dr. Brent Fortenberry, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Dr. Zofia Rybkowski, Associate Professor of Construction Science
5:00 — 6:30
Closing Social: Hors d'oeuvres and entertainment by College of Architecture student band: Evyn & the Hot Cocoas
Langford Living Wall Courtyard
Presenters
Henry G. Cisneros '68 (Keynote Speaker)
Henry Cisneros served as mayor of San Antonio from 1981 to 1989 and as U. S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997. Cisneros currently leads CityView, an organization he founded that works to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas, and he is chairman of American Triple I, an infrastructure investment firm. He was a member of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents from 1985 to 1986 and president of Univision Communications from 1997 to 2000. He has received the Outstanding Alumni Award from Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture, and as a student he was combined band commander of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. In 2018, Texas A&M-San Antonio outlined plans for its Henry G. Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders, established with Cisneros’s support. He is chairman of the Texas A&M University-San Antonio President’s Advisory Committee and is a past chair of both the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.
Rodney C. Hill
Rodney Hill, FAIA, holds a joint appointment between Texas A&M University’s Department of Architecture, where he is the Harold Adams Interdisciplinary Professor of Architecture, the Department of Visualization, and the Department of Humanities in Medicine in the College of Medicine. In 2000, Hill received the Award for Outstanding Educational Contributions in Honor of Edward J. Romieniec by the Texas Society of Architects. He received the Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award at Texas A&M University in 2010, where he serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Applied Creativity in the College of Architecture. In 2011, the State of Texas gave Hill a Piper Professor award, which is given annually to professors for their superior teaching. The Design Futures Council named Hill one of 2012’s “25 Most Admired Educators” in the United States. In 2014, Hill received the President’s Call to Service Award from the White House. In 2019, Design Intelligence named Hill as one of the top 10 most admired architecture educators.
Donald House
Donald House, Ph.D., served on faculty in the Department of Visualization in the College of Architecture for sixteen years. At Texas A&M, he played a key role in the development of the curriculum and research agendas of the visualization graduate program. In 2008, he moved to Clemson University, where he recently retired as the Visual Computing Division Chair in their School of Computing. Earlier he was with the Computer Science Department at Williams College. As an educator and researcher, he has contributed to a number of visually-oriented computational disciplines, including animation and visual effects, computer graphics, and visualization. He is coauthor of the recently published book Foundations of Physically Based Modeling and Animation and was coeditor of the seminal book Cloth Modeling and Animation. His recent research develops more effective visual presentations of hurricane predictions. House holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Jean Mah ’71
Jean Mah is a principal with Perkins+Will, where she is the Global Healthcare Practice Leader and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. She has been recognized for her contributions to architecture and healthcare design by being named a Fellow in both the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects. Mah has served on design juries, has presented at a number of conferences, and has organized healthcare oriented summits for clients and practitioners. Her clients include The Johns Hopkins Hospital, UCLA Medical Center, University Hospital System, San Antonio, and Vedanta University Hospital in Orissa, India. Mah found her passion in healthcare planning and design early in her career and has become one of the leading healthcare architects in the country, committed to the practice of architecture and the betterment of environments for people. She continues that commitment to design and planning, her profession, and her work through her innovative projects, collaboration with clients, and mentorship of young professionals.
George J. Mann
George Mann has fifty years of experience designing health facilities through his practice, teaching, and research. He has established an international reputation as a leader in health facilities design, has taught over 4,000 students, and has undertaken over 800 architecture for health projects internationally.
Michael Murphy '61
Michael Murphy was a professor of landscape architecture in the College of Architecture since its inception in 1969 (when it was known as the College of Architecture and Environmental Design) until his retirement in 2012. He earned his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture at Texas A&M, his master’s in landscape architecture at the University of California, and his Ph.D. at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. In addition to teaching design, he served in a number of capacities during his career, including a few years as a department head at the University of Pretoria and at Texas A&M.
Tom Owens ’73
Tom Owens is Chief Product and Services Officer at Hines Owens, where he serves as a member of the firm's Executive and Global Investment Committees. He previously served as the firm's Chief Risk Officer. He helps coordinate and monitor expansion into the firm's multifamily platform. Owens is also involved in financing initiatives, investment oversight, and capital ventures. Previously he served as fund manager for a variety of funds, all of which have been monetized. He has extensive experience in project, construction, and property management. Owens graduated from Texas A&M with a B.S. in building construction and received his M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Michelle Robinson ’91
Michelle Robinson received her B.E.D. from Texas A&M's Department of Architecture and continued with graduate studies in the Department of Visualization, producing animated short flims that were shown at the Walker Art Center, the Dallas Museum of Art, Imagina in Monaco, and the AFI National Video Festival. She has been an artist with Walt Disney Animation Studios for 26 years. Her film credits include "Pocahontas," "Fantasia 2000," "Chicken Little," "Bolt," "Tangles," and "Wreck-It Ralph." She served as Character Look Development Supervisor for Disney's "Ralph Breaks the Internet," as well as their Oscar-winning flims "Frozen" and "Zootopia." She has been a mentor in Disney's Artist Development Program, taught compuer lighting and texturing at the California Institute for the Arts, and served as a visiting instructor at Texas A&M. Robinson was nominated for a VES award for Animated Character on "Wreck-It Ralph" and was named an Oustanding Alumni by the College of Architecture in 2013.
Bob Segner '69, '70
Bob Segner is a professor emeritus in Texas A&M’s Department of Construction Science. He joined their faculty as a half-time instructor when the department was known as the Department of Architectural Construction and retired after forty-six years of service. He served in a number of administrative roles, including Associate Department Head, Interim Department Head, and Associate Dean for the College of Architecture. He has published extensively, authoring three construction management textbooks and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. Segner has authored and taught continuing education programs for construction industry practitioners. He has served in a number of professional associations and was elected to be vice president and then president of the American Council for Construction Education, the primary international accreditation agency for construction management programs in higher education. Segner received regional and national awards for outstanding teaching throughout his career at Texas A&M, including the Outstanding Faculty Award from the College of Architecture, the University-Level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching from the Association of Former Students, and the Outstanding Educator Award from the Associated General Contractors of America.
David Woodcock
David Woodcock earned professional qualifications in architecture and in town and country planning from the University of Manchester (England), where he began his teaching career. After teaching at the A&M College of Texas in 1962 on a Fulbright grant, he returned to England in 1966 to teach and practice architecture in Canterbury. He returned to Texas A&M University in 1970. From 1977 onward, he guided the development of cross-disciplinary graduate education in historic preservation, as well as the College of Architecture’s Center for Heritage Conservation, a system-recognized research, teaching, and outreach unit. He received the University-Level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching from the Association of Former Students in 1980. He has served as president of the Association for Preservation Technology International and chaired the American Institute of Architects Historic Resources Committee. Named a Texas A&M professor emeritus of architecture in 2011, Woodcock is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Association for Preservation Technology International, as well as a distinguished professor of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.
