Regan Interdisciplinary Faculty Prize presented to arch prof Geva

Anat Geva, associate professor of architecture at Texas A&M is the 2011 recipient of the J. Thomas Regan Interdisciplinary Faculty Prize, an award recognizing faculty who are committed to interdisciplinary teaching, research and service in the built and virtual environment disciplines.

Geva joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1991. Her scholarly interests focus on architectural design in an international, historic and environmental context, sacred architecture, historic preservation and building technology history.

Dr. Geva has a ‘real world’ understanding of the value and professional necessity of collaboration between the built-environment disciplines, said James Smith, professor of construction science. “She has taught interdisciplinary design-build teams since 1999 and has always assumed a leadership role in defining work requirements for the students. There is no doubt in my mind,” he said, “that the students leave these classes better prepared for the interdisciplinary demands of the real world.”

The Regan Prize was established by members of the College of Architecture’s Dean’s Advisory Council to honor former dean J. Thomas Regan, a champion of interdisciplinary education in the built environment disciplines who still serves as a professor in the Department of Architecture. The prize is awarded annually to a faculty member selected by a faculty committee from a pool of nominees.

Geva recently authored a new book, “Frank Lloyd Wright Sacred Architecture: Faith, Form, and Building Technology,” the first comprehensive study of Frank Lloyd Wright’s sacred architecture and the first to introduce a theoretical framework of the conceptual model illustrating the relationship between faith, form and building technology in sacred architecture.

An associate member of the American Institute of Architects and a registered architect in Israel, Geva is co-editor of the scholarly journal [Preservation Education and Research] (http://www.ncpe.us/per.htm) and president of the [Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians] (http://www.sesah.org/) , which promotes scholarship on architecture and related subjects.

She is also a faculty fellow at Texas A&M’s [Center for Heritage Conservation] (http://archone.tamu.edu/chc/) and in religious studies at the [Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research] (http://glasscock.tamu.edu/) .

The many awards Geva has garnered over the years include the prestigious James Marston Fitch National Award for innovative research in historic preservation in America, earned for her project, “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architecture: A Computerized Energy Simulation Study.”

Geva holds Ph.D. M.Arch and BS degrees in architecture from Texas A&M (1995), Ohio State University (1975) and the Israeli Institute of Technology (1973).