honors

Five graduate students pursuing certificates in facility management at the Texas A&M College of Architecture earned scholarships from the International Facility Management Association, as well as travel/attendance packages for an October conference.

Honors earned by former college students, faculty and staff are noted in the July/August 2011 issue of Texas Aggie, published by The Association of Former Students. The magazine included Harold Adams ’61, Jim Thompson ’68, Ron Skaggs ’65 and others.

Brandon Vento, a third-year environmental design student at Texas A&M and his brother Coulton, a Kingwood High School student, have developed FlashPics, a free iPhone photo application that’s drawn raves from reviewers and an article in The Tribune, their hometown newspaper.

Southern Ellis, who holds two design degrees from Texas A&M, will be at HKS Inc.’s Dallas office working on healthcare projects and performing research as its 2011-12 healthcare fellow. “I have found an amazing opportunity to directly affect the lives of people through the creation of healing environments,” said Ellis.

Tall Furniture, a new kind of stage furniture designed and built by former student Bob Turek ’08, won first place in the do-it-yourself category of the Core77 Design Awards, which recognizes excellence in all areas of design enterprise.

Governor Rick Perry, EA Games President Frank Gibeau and COO Daryl Holt offered praise for the significant talent pool offered by programs such as the undergraduate and graduate degrees in visualization at Texas A&M during a press conference announcing EA's expansion into Austin.

A July 7, 2011 CNN story on Texas colonias highlights recent and ongoing efforts led by the College of Architecture aimed at enhancing the quality of life in these impoverished border communities, many of which lack basic necessities such as potable water, electricity and sewer systems.

Former college student Zamir Garcia ‘93, is an associate at a Philadelphia firm lauded by an architecture critic for its design of an addition to a nearby museum completed in 1916.

Peter Lang, associate professor of architecture, discussed his border studio initiatives in the Los Lomas colonia at the June 24-26 Dwell on Design conference in L. A. His students developed survival strategies and partnered with colonia residents to improve the border community.

William L. Peel Jr., who holds two degrees from Texas A&M's College of Architecture, has been named executive vice president and chief development officer of Houston-based Tellepsen, a leader in commercial and industrial construction since its founding in 1909.

Visitors to the 2011 Luleå Art Biennial in Sweden are taking a virtual trip in an underground ant colony in “atta,” an immersive installation by Carol LaFayette and Fred Parke, professors of visualization. At left, patrons wear Stereovision glasses to view the colony on four screens arranged in a semicircle.

With a 2011 fellowship from the American Institute of Architects, Amy Kircher, an M.Arch student at Texas A&M, will design a prototype outpatient healthcare facility based on her research that suggests a new direction for preventative care building design and a new way of thinking about healthcare architecture.

Allan R. Parr, who earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree in 1988, has been named president of REES Associates, Inc., an architectural, planning, and interior design firm with offices in 10 North American cities. Parr is a registered architect and member of the American Institute of Architects.

Susie Billings, the administrative assistant at Texas A&M’s CRS Center, earned the Bryan/College Station chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals' "Member of the Year 2010-2011" award. The IAAP is a not-for-profit professional association for office professionals.

Students in Texas A&M’s University Honors Program recognized the mentoring efforts of Stephen Caffey, assistant professor of architecture, with enough votes for the Wells Fargo Honors Faculty Mentor Award.