class acts

Charles Davis Smith ‘90, an architectural photographer who expertly weaves design training and camera skills into memorable images that illuminate a designer’s thoughts and vision, is Texas A&M’s newest member of the prestigious AIA College of Fellows.

William Merriweather Peña ‘42, one of the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s most revered former students whose legendary architectural career followed a heroic tour of duty in World War II, died in Houston Feb. 10, 2018. It was his 99th birthday.

Former students are invited to submit items for the Class Acts section of the arch|one e-newsletter, which highlights professional achievements, as well as news briefs about marriages, births, retirements and whatever else former students care to share with the college community. News and photos may be e-mailed directly to the editor.

David L. Pugh, who headed of the former Department of Urban and Regional Planning and helped shape dozens of Texas cities and thousands of minds throughout his four-decade teaching career, passed away Dec. 26, 2017 at 75.

Reaching new heights, and velocities, College of Architecture graduate and U.S. Marine Kyle Lobpries ‘06 recently broken the North American record for speed skydiving, an extreme sport in which people free fall headfirst toward the earth as fast as possible.

Nominations for the 2018 College of Architecture Outstanding Alumni Awards, which honor exemplary leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence, exceptional talents and numerous accopmlishments, are due by March 1, 2018.

As many plan their year-end charitable giving, the College of Architecture is focused on completing projects launched by former students in honor of faculty members who played a very special role in their education and in their personal and professional lives.

Bryan Trubey — an innovator in the field of sports architecture, having designed the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium among many other major arenas around the world—was apparently born with an innate sense of his destiny.

In “Zootopia,” the Oscar-winning animated film where thousands of anthropomorphic animals coexist, Disney artist Brandon Jarratt, a former Texas A&M visualization student, used geographic information system software to craft the movie paradise.

Dallas’ new civic jewel, A Tasteful Place, a verdant, 3.5-acre edible garden and a sparkling, 3,700-foot glass-walled building housing a teaching kitchen and event space, was designed by two former students from the Texas A&M College of Architecture.

Texas A&M construction management graduate, James DeLapp ‘03, a colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is leading efforts to restore electricity to critical facilities in Puerto Rico after the island’s electrical grid was destroyed by Hurricane Maria’s 150-mph winds.

Former students are invited to submit news items for the Class Acts section of the arch|one e-newsletter, which highlights professional achievements, as well as news briefs about marriages, births, retirements, or whatever else former students care to share with the college community. News and photos may be e-mailed directly to the editor.

A multimedia exhibit honoring five World War II Aggie heroes, including William Merriweather Peña ‘42, an Outstanding Alumnus of the Texas A&M College of Architecture, runs through Dec. 16, 2017 at the Memorial Student Center’s J. Wayne Stark Galleries.

Nine former students from the Texas A&M College of Architecture, distinguished humanitarians and leaders in their respective fields, were honored as outstanding alumni at a Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 banquet in College Station.

Futuristic bridal gowns, haute couture costumes and tech-inspired fashion accessories, all made with 3-D printers, have garnered international recognition for Rachel Nhan ’11, who crafts costumes suggestive of avant-garde armor and shows them worldwide.