Paul J. Donnelly, the Rebecca and John Voyles Chair in Architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has received the Distinguished Professor Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
Donnelly is one of only five professors to receive the annual honor, which recognizes sustained creative achievement in architectural education through teaching, design, scholarship, research and service. An awards ceremony will be held March 9 during the 95th ACSA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
“As both engineer and architect, Paul brings his engineering discipline and his architectural creativity to his teaching,” Cynthia Weese, former dean of the School of Architecture, wrote in her nomination letter. “He is perhaps the most respectful person I have seen as he works with students. He appreciates and understands the work of all; he is engaged in the goals the students set for themselves and encourages and challenges them every step of the way.”
A registered architect and professional engineer, Donnelly teaches courses in advanced building systems as well as upper-level design studios focusing on emerging technology integration related to both the design process and the making of architecture.
He also teaches technology-transfer seminars that explore the architectural potential of emerging technologies and processes in other fields ranging from the automotive and aerospace industries to robotics.
Donnelly has won national and international competitions focusing on the architectural implications of emerging technologies and technology integration, his main research interest. His design proposals have been published in numerous professional journals and exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia.
His pedagogical strategies related to technology education for architects have been presented in papers and lectures to practitioners and educators, and his students have won numerous awards, including the Renzo Piano Fellowship.
During a recent accreditation visit for the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, the accreditation team, which judged the overall program as excellent, sighted the technology curriculum and technology integration in the design studio as two aspects of the program worthy of the highest distinction.
Donnelly joined the University in 1996 after teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Roger Williams University. A fellow in the American Institute of Architects and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the national civil engineering honor society Chi Epsilon, he has more than 20 years of experience in private practice and is a vice president of and the architect for advanced technologies at Hellmuth, Obata Kassabaum Inc. in St. Louis.
Donnelly earned a master’s degree in engineering mechanics from Columbia University, where he was a NASA fellow; a bachelor’s in structural engineering from Northeastern University; and a bachelor’s in architecture from the Boston Architectural Center. He also was a graduate student and research assistant in structural engineering at McGill University.
The ACSA is a non-profit membership association founded in 1912 to advance the quality of architectural education. Members include 125 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities that offer accredited degree programs in architecture. The organization represents more than 4,700 architectural faculty. In addition, the ACSA includes more than 500 supporting members composed of architecture firms and practitioners, product associations, individuals and students.