Architecture and Planning Department Announces New Faculty Members for 2025
New Faculty Strengthen MIT's Research in Social Media, AI, and Sustainable Architecture
MIT's School of Architecture and Planning has welcomed a group of distinguished scholars for the academic year 2025. Each brings a unique background and research focus, enriching the institution's work in social media, artificial intelligence, computational design, digital fabrication, sustainable architecture, and health-focused building technologies.
Karrie G. Karahalios joins the MIT Media Lab as a full professor in the media arts and sciences program. An expert in social media studies, Karahalios investigates the communication processes influenced by algorithmic mediation. Her interdisciplinary research bridges computer science, artificial intelligence, anthropology, sociology, psychology, game theory, design, and infrastructure studies. Karahalios earned all her degrees from MIT, including her PhD.
Pat Pataranutaporn is an assistant professor at the MIT Media Lab, specializing in human-AI interaction. His research focuses on inventing AI systems that enhance human cognition in areas such as learning, decision-making, self-development, reflection, and well-being. Pataranutaporn will co-direct the Advancing Humans with AI Program.
In the Department of Architecture, Mariana Popescu joins as an assistant professor. Popescu is a computational architect and structural designer with a focus on digital fabrication and sustainable design. She holds degrees from Delft University of Technology and a PhD from ETH Zurich.
Holly Samuelson joins the Department of Architecture as an associate professor in the Building Technology Program. Samuelson's teaching and research centre on building design's impacts on human and environmental health. Previously an associate professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Samuelson earned her degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard GSD.
Samuelson has co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed papers and has been recognised as an expert in architectural technology. She has been featured in news outlets including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the BBC, and The Wall Street Journal. Samuelson holds a doctor of design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
These new faculty members will undoubtedly contribute significantly to MIT's ongoing research and innovation in various fields, further cementing its position as a global leader in education and research.
[1] MIT News Article [2] MIT Media Lab Article [3] MIT Department of Architecture Article [4] MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Article
- The technological advancements in social media, a focus of Karrie G. Karahalios' research, are significant in understanding communication processes influenced by algorithmic mediation.
- The environment, particularly in relation to building design's impacts on human and environmental health, is a crucial aspect of Holly Samuelson's work in the Department of Architecture at MIT.
- Pat Pataranutaporn's research in human-AI interaction explores AI systems that enhance human cognition, focusing on areas such as learning, decision-making, and self-development.
- Mariana Popescu, an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture, specializes in computational design and sustainable design, with a focus on digital fabrication.
- Researchers at MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, including the new faculty members, are contributing to the institution's work on sustainable architecture and health-focused building technologies.
- The ongoing research and innovation at MIT in various fields, such as technology, engineering, science, and education-and-self-development, is strengthened by the addition of these distinguished scholars.
- The faculty at MIT, including the new fellows in the Media Lab, Department of Architecture, and other labs, are driving innovation in areas like AI, social media, computing, and materials.
- By studying the mentality of users in social media, Karahalios' interdisciplinary research contributes to the intersection of computer science, artificial intelligence, anthropology, sociology, psychology, game theory, design, and infrastructure studies.
- The Advancing Humans with AI Program, co-directed by Pataranutaporn, aims to invent AI systems that promote reflection, well-being, and other aspects of human cognition.
- Journals and scholarly publications across diverse fields will benefit from the research conducted by these new faculty members at MIT, adding significant new insights to existing knowledge bases.
- In addition to their research, these faculty members will contribute to the teaching of various courses, sharing their expertise in areas like social media, AI, materials, architecture, and computing, thereby nurturing the next generation of researchers and professionals.
