The AIAS Honor Awards were developed to publicly recognize outstanding achievements by students, educators, and practitioners who have exhibited an exemplary commitment to the education and development of architecture students. Each year the AIAS honors individuals and groups for their exemplary work in areas such as leadership, collaboration, scholarship and service.
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is pleased to announce a jury with diverse expertise for the 2017 AIAS National Honor Awards. The jury will be chaired by National Vice President, Rachel Law, AIAS, Assoc. AIA and includes:
- Rachel Minnery, FAIA LEEDap | American Institute of Architects
- Robert S. Livesey, FAIA | Ohio State University
- Joel Pominville, Assoc. AIA, AIAS National Past Vice President | AIA New Orleans + the New Orleans Architecture Foundation
- Michael Jewett, AIAS | University of Hartford
- Kelsey Kauffman, AIAS | Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Jason Hanna | Corgan
- Cameron Kayne, AIAS | Georgia Institute of Technology
- Elizabeth Seidel, AIAS, 2016-2017 AIAS West Quad Director, 2017-2018 AIAS Vice President | Montana State University
Nominations close and applications are due May 26, 2017.
Award winners will be announced at Grassroots 2017 in July.
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RACHEL MINNERY
Rachel Minnery, FAIA LEEDap is the Senior Director of Sustainable Development Policy at the American Institute of Architects. As a practicing architect, Rachel focused on environmentally and socially responsible design in the public and private sector and earned national recognition. She has created positive change in communities through her volunteer service, community organizing, and advocacy at local, national and international levels. As former-chair of the national American Institute of Architect’s Disaster Assistance Committee and co-founder of Architects Without Borders Seattle, Rachel advocates for architects to contribute volunteer design services to communities in great need. She has led volunteer response efforts in disaster-stricken places, including Washington, Mississippi and Haiti, responding to floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.
ROBERT S. LIVESEY
Robert S. Livesey is a professor and head of the Architecture Section at the Knowlton School of Architecture. He is the former chair of the Department of Architecture and the former director of the Knowlton School of Architecture. He has taught at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania and Syracuse University.
He has won several teaching awards including the Judith Capen Teaching Award at Yale University, the AIA Ohio Teaching Award, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching at The Ohio State University and the AIAS Educator Honor Award. In addition he is an honorary member of the Sphinx Senior Honorary at OSU.
He is a principal of Robert Livesey, Architect and has won numerous design awards including a Citation from Progressive Architecture and American Institute of Architects Honor Awards. His work has been published in national and international journals and been exhibited widely. He has lectured at numerous universities. He holds an B.A. in Architecture from Princeton University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University. He is registered to practice architecture in Connecticut and Ohio and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
In addition to other recognitions, he is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the American Academy in Rome.
JOEL POMINVILLE
Joel Pominville is Executive Director of AIA New Orleans and the New Orleans Architecture Foundation (NOAF), the organization focused on enhancing public appreciation of architecture and design as vital community assets that enrich the quality of life in New Orleans. In this role, Joel is responsible for organizational support of Board initiatives, programs and activities related to their respective missions.
Joel brings a wide array of experience and innovation within the organizational structure of architectural education, practice and regulation. His past positions include National Vice President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), Student Director on the Board of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), AIAS Representative on the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards’ (NCARB) Internship Advisory Committee, AIAS Liaison on the AIA National Associates Committee and Student Team Member on two Substantial Equivalency visits for the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in Bahrain and Cyprus.
A designer, leader and advocate, Joel places community and people at the core of his work. Throughout his study at Clemson University School of Architecture and College of Business and Behavioral Science, his practice in the field of architecture and his multiple roles within organizational leadership, Joel has developed sensitivity to the importance of the designer’s role in their communities. Over the last six years, he has been instrumental in the local and national development of Freedom by Design, AIAS’ community design+build program.
MICHAEL JEWETT
Michael Jewett is a full-time undergraduate student in the University of Hartford’s Architectural Engineering and Technology program, graduating May 2017. Post-Graduation, he looks to pursue a career in Corporate Branding and Design. Michael currently serves as the Chapter President at AIAS University of Hartford, and is also a Student Representative on the Connecticut Counsel for the Construction Institute. Besides his leadership and representative roles on campus, Michael is also a National Honor Society Member of Sigma Alpha Pi and Tau Sigma Delta. Over the past 4 years, AIAS has become an immensely important aspect of Michael’s day-to-day life. Not only has it broadened his horizons, architecturally and geographically speaking, but it has also instilled an invaluable skill of leadership and confidence within himself.
KELSEY KAUFFMAN
Kelsey Kauffman is finishing her final semesters of graduate school at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and thesis on how architecture can positively impact a person’s health. She has served on the AIA Illinois Board as the Illinois Student Director and has actively served on two different AIAS Board of Directors in Illinois. Kelsey is hoping to work in Saint Louis upon graduation, become a licensed architect, and receive her WELL certification.
JASON HANNA
Jason Hanna, a Vice President at Corgan, concentrates on data center design with a focus on customer service. His experience in both the co-location and enterprise data center markets brings a unique and value added design expertise that generates an efficient and reliable product for his clients.
Jason has worked with a range of clients on projects located in the United State and around the world. His projects incorporate complicated building systems into architectural expression marrying form and function. In this unique sector of architecture, the building form can have an extreme impact on the efficiency and sustainability of the building. He strives to always provide the best product solving each site’s unique challenges.
CAMERON KAYNE
Cameron Kayne is the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s AIAS Chapter, in his third year of study for his B.S. in Architecture. When he’s not down in the trenches of his studio work, he enjoys gymnastics, martial arts, soccer, ping pong, having spirited philosophical/moral debates with his friends, and taking leisurely drives through Midtown Atlanta. Cameron is also a current member of the AIAS Advocacy Task Force, hoping to improve the conditions of the academic and professional realms of architecture.
During his service as President to the Georgia Tech chapter of AIAS, Cameron has stressed the necessity for face-to-face interaction between his members (as well as the other students in the School of Architecture) and the professional community. With the help of his amazing mentors and executive board, he has established a precedent for fundraising through professional outreach, has begun the process of establishing a Freedom By Design chapter at Georgia Tech, and has secured an annual patron-sponsorship with one of Atlanta’s largest firms. Cameron’s dedication to AIAS has also translated to the national level, and has reinvigorated an interest at Georgia Tech for attending national conferences.
ELIZABETH SEIDEL
Elizabeth Seidel is a Master of Architecture candidate at Montana State University and has been involved with AIAS since 2009. She serves currently as the 2016-2017 West Quadrant Director, and is the National Vice President-elect.
Elizabeth strives to act as an ambassador for positive work environments throughout the school and creating relationships that reach into the local community. She enjoys working hard to see others succeed all while finding plenty of lighthearted laughter to fill the air.
RACHEL LAW
Rachel Law currently serves as the 2016-2017 National Vice President at the AIAS, and is a recent graduate from Ryerson University in Toronto. Her passion for design — its process, how it is presented, and most importantly, how it has the ability to better communities — brought her to the AIAS as an involved member, leader, and advocate.
Throughout her involvement with the AIAS, Rachel has advocated for an environment of mentorship and camaraderie, and strived to advance leadership, design and service amongst architecture students by providing opportunities for students to find and reach their potential.
