Alumni News
September 2008
70s
Barbara White Bryson, FAIA (Arch 1977) was one of 116 American Institute of Architecture members elevated to the institute’s prestigious College of Fellows on May 16, 2008. As associate vice president for Facilities, Engineering, and Planning for Rice University, Barbara is currently overseeing a billion dollar building program including the Collaborative Research Center, two new residential-colleges, and a new recreation center. Barbara was recognized by the AIA for her pioneering efforts in the development of innovative planning and management processes that are impacting the design and construction industry. A member of the Association of University Architects and Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society, Barbara also serves on the boards of AIA Houston, the Rice Design Alliance, and the Rice Building Institute.
Cindy Harden (Arch 1976) has received a distinguished alumna award from Washington University, from which she received a master's degree in architecture in 1979, and has been recognized for community activism by the Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Harden's firm, Harden Van Arnam Architects in Brooklyn, New York, has won several preservation awards and its work has been featured in books and articles on affordable housing. The firm specializes in the design of low- and moderate-income housing and community-related projects.
80s
Anne K. Smith (Arch 1985) was re-elected as president of the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers for 2006-07. Smith is a partner in the firm of Lominack Kolman Smith Architects. She previously served as president of the Savannah and Georgia Chapters of the American Institute of Architects.
Ronnie Taste, AICP (MCP 1986) was promoted to senior airport engineer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in January 2007. Currently his work covers John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty Airport, Teterboro Airport, and Stewart International Airports.
Gary Bryant (ID 1987) is director of global industrial design at Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois.
George Mike Nicholos (M Arch 1984) joined the law firm of Vandeventer Black LLP in Norfolk, Virginia, in October 2005 as an attorney/architect practicing construction, architectural and public contracts law.
90s
Merrill Romanik, AIA, IIDA, NCARB (M Arch 1994) was promoted to regional managing principal for Cubellis, a global architecture firm with more than 350 design professionals. Romanik oversees the southern region which includes offices in Fort Lauderdale, Naples and Atlanta. In addition, she is continuing in her role as operating principal of the Fort Lauderdale office.
Alan J. Levine (Arch 1991), of Smyrna, Ga., has published a book, The Adventures of Short Stubbly Brownbeard (2006).
Stephanie Sommovigo (ID 1998) was appointed to project & marketing manager at Forever Forests, LLC.
00s
Allison Gander (Arch 2002; M Arch 2006) is a project architect at House & Robertson Architects, Inc. in Los Angeles, California working on the expansion and renovation of the Autry National Center.
Timothy Scott Aebie (M Arch 2000) received his Florida Architectural Registration and was promoted to Vice President of Architecture at Ground Floor Engineering in January, 2008.
Over the past two years, Erika Molina McGinley (Arch 2001) has been working as a Military Master Planner for Department of Defense clients in the Middle East. In 2007, Erika co-led a team of 16 people to Iraq to perform Base Camp Master Plans for seven bases. In January 2008, she led another team in Iraq to kick off additional base planning work. She has been working for the architecture-engineering firm, CH2M HILL, from the Atlanta office since 2004.
David Edward Durovy (Arch 99; MSID 02) recently returned from a year-long assignment with Citibank in Stockholm, where he managed eBusiness initiatives for the four-country Nordic Cluster. He returns to a role as Senior Manager and Vice President of Client Development for Citi's commercial credit card division. Among his leisure travels while abroad, he was able to retrace steps taken on the College of Architecture’s Art and Architecture summer program in Rome in 1998.
A campaign design by Mia Deng (ID 2003) is a finalist in ARCHIVE magazine's student work contest. The campaign titled "Spark their imagination," was designed for National Geographic Kids at Creative Circus in Atlanta. Show your support! Online voting is open until Friday, September 5. (See second and third row, "2.0803 Deng, Mia").
Anu Akkineni (Arch 2006) was part of a design team honored with a prize awarded by the Emerging Green Builders Association of the Green Building Council.
Lynn Deaton (Arch/INTA 2007) was promoted to strategic planner on a seminal project - The Maneuver Center Realignment Coordination Cell at Fort Benning. Deaton’s team is responsible for the program management of more than $3.1 billion in construction that will be programmed over the next 10 years as part of several bills from Congress. The work involves the relocation of more than 80,000 soldiers, contractors, and families from cities all over the United States to Columbus, GA – nearly a 50 percent growth in 18 months.
Obituaries
Uriel Abraham Levi, 54 (PhD 1993), of Shipman, Va., died on March 16, 2008. An inspired and visionary artist, Levi believed strongly that art was an effective vehicle for positive change, both personal and global. "I believe our collective as well as individual salvation," he wrote, "rests at our legitimate attempts as aesthetic gestures that transform the way in which we understand and act in the world." Additionally, Uri was a talented chef and musician, a passionate naturalist, and a dedicated advocate for environmental and social justice. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies. He earned his PhD from Georgia Tech in 1993 with his thesis entitled The Spatial Logic of Animal Culture: Implications for Bioexhibit Design. For those who wish to contribute, the family requests that donations be made to Costeau Society, Creative Capital Inc., or the American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. – From Daily Progress, March 21, 2008
Christian “Shawn” Allen, AIA, 35 (Arch 1995), passed away peacefully at home on May 7, 2008 after a five-year battle with brain cancer. Allen ran a successful practice as principal of Allen Architects, LLC in Atlanta, serving a diverse range of commercial and residential clients. A member of the American Institute of Architects and a volunteer for Junior Achievement, Allen enjoyed sharing his love of architecture with others. He attended Piedmont High School, in Indian Trail, North Carolina, where he was an active member of the Civil Air Patrol and the National Honor Society. He was awarded first place in the 1990 Vocational Industrial Clubs of America state-wide architectural drafting competition. An accomplished undergraduate student in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech, Allen also was a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Ramblin’ Wreck Club. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.
Paul Michael Jean (M CRP 1984) passed away Sunday, April 20, 2008 in Atlanta. Paul graduated from the University of Las Vegas with a Bachelor’s Degree and from Georgia Tech with a Master’s in Urban Planning. He was a PhD candidate at Emory University in Sociology, and was employed at Emory as a research analyst for strategic planning within the Provost’s Office. Paul was also a well-known professional musician having played with numerous groups throughout the Atlanta area for nearly 30 years. He was loved by many and he brought joy and humor into the lives of all who met him. Donations to a Parkinson’s association or foundation of your choosing are greatly appreciated.
Page last edited on September 3, 2008