Faculty
Jill Desimini, Director and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
Research Interests: Urban abandonment, urban wilds, land valuation, land banking, property reform, climate justice, co-design, cartographic practice
Recent Work: Cyclical City, From Fallow, More From Fallow, Landscape & Climate, Climate Justice Design Fellowship
Education: Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania; Bachelor of Arts, Urban Studies, Brown University
Contact: jill.desimini@uconn.edu
Mariana Fragomeni, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Research Interests: Climate adaptation and decision-making, heat vulnerability, urban climatology, human bioclimatology, urban design, applied research
Recent Work: Google Scholar
Education: Doctor of Philosophy, University of Georgia; Masters in Environmental Planning and Design, University of Georgia; Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Federal da Bahia.
Contact: mariana.fragomeni@uconn.edu
Sohyun Park, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Research Interests: Urban nature, urban biodiversity, socio-ecological systems, geospatial analytics, green infrastructure, sustainable cities and landscapes, community resilience, well-being
Recent Work: Covid rekindled an appreciation of nature, Operationalizing urban biodiversity, park.psla.uconn.edu, cv
Education: Doctor of Philosophy, Arizona State University; Master of Landscape Architecture, Seoul National University, Bachelor of Science, Biology, Sookmyung Women’s University.
Contact: sohyun.park@uconn.edu
Julia Smachylo, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Research Interests: Environmental governance, urban political economy, critical visualization, urban theory, environmental design, and social mobilization
Recent Work: Towards a Critical Glossary of Extraction, New Geographies 10: Fallow, Lying Fallow: the Value of Idleness, Nature of Enclosure, Agents of Design
Education: Doctor of Design, Harvard University; Master of Urban Design, University of Toronto; Master of International Planning, University College London; Bachelor of Arts, Geography, Queen’s University.
Contact: julia.smachylo@uconn.edu
Graduate Students
Zahra Ali, Ph.D. Candidate
Research Interests: Nature and place-based education, equitable access to nature, socio-ecological systems, urban ecology, human well-being
Advisor: Dr. Sohyun Park
Education: MS New York University, BS University of Rhode Island
Contact: zahra.ali@uconn.edu
Tracey Miller: Ph.D. Candidate
Research Interests: Resource-sensitive design for water infrastructure resilience; the interface between landscape architecture, anthropogenic development, and riparian (rivers, streams, and wetlands) stewardship.
Advisor: Dr. Mariana Fragomeni
Recent Work: CIRCA Heat Report
Education: Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia
Contact: tracey.2.miller@uconn.edu
Zahra Salehi: Ph.D. Candidate
Research Interests: Renewable energy, infrastructure within landscapes, landscapes of energy, ecology, co-design
Advisors: Prof. Jill Desimini and Dr. Julia Smachylo
Education: Master and Bachelor of Architecture
Contact:zahra.salehi@uconn.edu
LinkedIn:(1) Zahra Salehi | LinkedIn
Pan Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate
Research Interests: Cities as a social-ecological system, urban morphology, landscape ecology, geospatial analysis, urban vacant land management, environmental justice
Advisor: Dr. Sohyun Park
Recent Work: see Pan Zhang's Website
Education: MSLA University of Connecticut, BA Nanjing Agricultural University
Contact: pan.zhang@uconn.edu
Brian Garzón-Romero, M.S. Candidate
Research Interests: Socio-ecological systems, wetland design, urban design, spatial analysis
Advisor: Dr. Mariana Fragomeni
Education: BSLA University of Connecticut
Contact: brian.garzon@uconn.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garzonb
Undergraduate Students
| Seniors | Juniors |
| Samuel Bushka Elisabeth Helmin Ziqi Li John Mooney Richard Patai Nancy Pan Ahren Ramirez Andrew Simmons Mia Tunnicci Abigail Varga Owen Wollenberg |
Iris Armstrong
Matthew Bacon Siesel Canaday Christian Carmona Fatima Cisneros Ortega Darren Cole Atlas Collazo Sean-Patrick Houssan Sydnie Jacobsen Zachary Masi Brendan Pugmire Jason Robinson Lucas Silva Britney Soubannarath Alexander Vassallo Kayla Villareal Haley Vitko Cassidy Wilson Annie Zhu |