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SOM Foundation
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Current Fellows

Since 1981, the SOM Foundation has supported the work of more than 350 emerging architects, landscape architects, interior architects, urban designers, and engineers. Below are the most recent recipients of the SOM Foundation's awards. A comprehensive list of all past fellows can be found here.

2025 Researcher-in-Residence

Somf 2025 researcher in residence pablo castillo luna proposal 02
Somf 2025 researcher in residence pablo castillo luna proposal 01

A Permeable Atlas

Through a series of mappings, “A Permeable Atlas” will explore the circulations of water through buildings, landscapes, and bodies, tracing how hydrological infrastructures—past and present—might inform architecture’s response to contemporary climatic instability.

Pablo Castillo Luna
Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

2025 Structural Engineering Fellowship

Somf 2025 structural engineering rebecca henig proposal 01
Somf 2025 structural engineering rebecca henig proposal 02

Reef Resilience: Designing Modular Solutions for Coastal Protection

During her fellowship, Rebecca Henig will reimagine structural solutions to enhance threatened coral reefs, ultimately serving to aid coastal protection and marine ecosystem vitality.

Rebecca Henig
University of Southern California Viterbi Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

2024 Research Prize

Somf 2024 research prize frolet maxcy brown mcglohn proposal 01
Somf 2024 research prize frolet maxcy brown mcglohn proposal 02

Imaging Underground: Illustrating Wastewater Challenges and Opportunities to Inform and Empower Alabama’s Black Belt Communities

“Imaging Underground” will produce a Wastewater Design Manual for stakeholders and municipalities in the Black Belt. It will include three components: a history of regional wastewater practices, an explanation of cluster system functions, and suggested tools to give communities control over design decision-making during the economic development driven by new wastewater systems.

Aurélie Frolet
Auburn University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture

Emily McGlohn
Auburn University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture

Jillian Maxcy-Brown
Auburn University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Somf 2024 research prize yang yoos rockcastle altheimer cummings carlson cummings proposal 01
Somf 2024 research prize yang yoos rockcastle altheimer cummings carlson cummings proposal 04

Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises

Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. Through a cross-disciplinary and cross-scalar approach, the studio will work with ecologists, scientists, historians, policymakers, and community stakeholders to create design strategies that enhance biodiversity, public health, and cultural awareness.

Dingliang Yang
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Jennifer Yoos
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Maura Rockcastle
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Ross Altheimer
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Roger Cummings
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Daniel Carlson
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

Changó Cummings
University of Minnesota The Schools of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design (ALI)

2024 European Research Prize

Somf 2024 european research prize larkin mcfadden proposal 01
Somf 2024 european research prize larkin mcfadden proposal 02

Coastal Register: Research and Design of Nature-based Solutions for Wetland Water Security

“Coastal Register” aims to lay the foundation for efforts to protect and restore coastal wetlands along the western seaboard in County Mayo. This project asks the research question: How can architectural methods and interdisciplinary collaboration support the implementation of nature-based solutions for water security?

Steve Larkin
Technological University Dublin School of Architecture Building and Environment

Helen McFadden
Technological University Dublin School of Architecture Building and Environment

2024 Robert L. Wesley Award

Somf 2024 robert l wesley award ferras coulibaly 01

Ferras Coulibaly

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture

Somf 2024 robert l wesley award erin kurtycz 05
Somf 2024 robert l wesley award erin kurtycz 03

Erin Kurtycz

University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

Somf 2024 robert l wesley award beni lawson 01

Beni Lawson

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign School of Architecture

Somf 2024 robert l wesley award salma rodriguez 06
Somf 2024 robert l wesley award salma rodriguez 05

Salma Rodriguez

Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture

2024 China Fellowship

Somf 2024 china fellowship zhangxiang dai portfolio 01
Somf 2024 china fellowship zhangxiang dai portfolio 02

Vertical Deconstruction, Housing Equity, and Humanistic Care

Based on urban vacancies and population density, Zhangxiang Dai will visit four cities in China and Japan in order to explore sustainable housing forms that conceptually challenge the status quo.

Zhangxiang Dai
Chang'an University School of Architecture

Somf 2024 china fellowship wenxiao xiang portfolio 01
Somf 2024 china fellowship wenxiao xiang portfolio 04

Re-Inhabit the “Invisible Room”

Wenxiao Xiang will travel to four European countries to study the concept of “invisible rooms” in collective housing—shared spaces that serve residents’ well-being by providing natural light, air, and views. Despite historical challenges in prioritizing these spaces over profit, this research proposes that “invisible rooms” balance resident welfare and economic interests, fostering healthier communities.

Wenxiao Xiang
Hunan University School of Architecture and Planning

Somf 2024 china fellowship xiangqing zheng portfolio 01b

Adapting Housing Strategies: Temporary Construction and Code Compliance

In this proposal, Xiangqing Zheng will explore how adapting housing strategies responds to new realities from the perspective of codes. When existing housing buildings that follow the old codes confront new realities and needs, how does the temporary construction of both bottom-up extension and top-down adaptation meet the requirements of the current codes? How do we find solutions under constraints and conflicts?

Xiangqing Zheng
The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Architecture

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