On February 3 and 4, Professor Juan Miró, FAIA LEED AP, participated in the Mayors’ Institute on City Design Southwest Regional Session in Houston. His lecture, titled “Landscape City: Nature and the Regeneration of American Cities,” discussed strategies to integrate higher density in American cities, while embracing their unique relationship to nature.

Assistant Professor Matt Fajkus‘ essay, “Marking the Land,” about The University of Texas at Austin Landmarks Public Arts Program, appears in the March/April 2012 edition of Texas Architect.

On Friday, March 16, Assistant Professor Fernando Lara was a keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Colombian Association of School of Architecture (ACFA) in Cartagena de Las Indias.. Lara’s presentation (delivered in pure Brazilian Spanish) was an overview of architectural education in Brazil since 1816, “Desarollo ins ir al Grano, 200 anos de ensenanza de arquitectura en Brasil.” 

Assistant Professor Talia McCray has been selected to receive a 2012-2013 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant to the United Kingdom.

Associate Professor Mirka Benes has received a 2012-2013 Fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., where she will be in the Center for Landscape and Garden Studies. 

Assistant Professor Allan Shearer has been recognized for his superior performance by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) with a 2012 Excellence in Research & Creative Works Award (junior level).

Dean Fritz Steiner and UTSOA Fulbright Senior Visiting Scholar/Researcher Ayman G. Abdel Tawab are scheduled as program presenters at the 2012 US/ICOMOS International Scientific Symposium: “Confluence of Cultures: World Heritage in the Americas,” to be held May 31 through June 2, in San Antonio. The symposium is an official event of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention 40th Anniversary Celebration. Associate Professor Michael Holleran, director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, serves on the Scientific Committee planning the symposium and co-editing the book expected to come from it.

Jason Sowell, Assistant Professor in landscape architecture, had his essay, “systems | site | program | place,” recently published in Representing Landscapes, an edited collection of essays and student representation models from over twenty landscape programs around the world. Compiled by Nadia Amoroso, Ph.D., the work discusses and illustrates relationships between pedagogy, communication, and techniques within contemporary landscape representation.