Burdett Assistantship

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the fall 2026 award. Applications are due on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 11:59pm ET.

Apply Now

The Burdett Assistantship was established on December 10, 1982, in recognition of Bob Burdett's long and outstanding service to Carnegie Mellon University and the profession. Burdett received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture in 1950 from the College of Fine Arts and spent more than 30 years as a faculty member at the university.

This award is intended to support projects and activities that will enhance the winning student's future work. According to its charter, the winner of the Burdett Assistantship "shall possess love of their subject, integrity, patience, fairness and respect for others since these are the qualities exemplified by Bob Burdett throughout his career."

Applicants must submit a proposal which clearly explains the project purpose, research objectives, methods and materials. This award can support a collective project by multiple students. Selection is based on the impact of the proposal in relation to the applicant's future work.

To be considered for the Burdett Assistantship, eligible applicants must submit a complete application that includes the following information:

• A one-page project proposal explaining the project
• A one-page budget and schedule plan

Fall 2026 Jury: Gerard Damiani (Chair), Lori Claus, Hal Hayes, Christine Mondor

Fall 2026 Award Amount: $3,000 each (three (3) available)

The Burdett Assistantship is open to students in the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) and Master of Urban Design (MUD) programs.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the fall 2026 award. Applications are due on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 11:59pm ET.

• 2025: Aanchal Bansal (M.Arch '26), Proposal: "Sustainable Material Futures in Airport Architecture: Regional Approaches to Large-Scale Infrastructure"
  Tamar Cherkezishvili (MUD '26), Proposal: "The Architecture of Self-Sufficiency: Regaining Agency Within Imposed Uniformity"
  Dyanavitha Balaji Parimi (MUD '26), Proposal: "Commons-Oriented Urban Design Strategies for Post-Coal Regeneration: Reimagining Neyveli Township"
• 2024: Grace Kolosek (B.Arch '25), Proposal: "Function + Necessity: Mothering Through Architecture + Artifact"
  Patrick Zheng (B.Arch '26), Proposal: "Rethinking Bamboo Tectonics With Digital Fabrication"
  Sanjana Bandaru (M.Arch '26), Proposal: "Documentation of Architectural Exhibitions and Curatorial Strategies"
• 2023: Graana Khan (B.Arch '24), Proposal: "Architectural Non-Form Manifestations: How Pashtun Women Experience Their World Orally"
  Ella Moon (B.Arch '26), Proposal: "Cells to Structures: Applications of Biomimetic Design in Adaptable Structures"
  Meghan Pisarcik (M.Arch '24), Proposal: "Fabricated Light Structure"
• 2022 (fall): Vanshika Bhaiya (B.Arch '25) & Neha Chopra (B.Arch '25), Proposal: "Identifying Flood Resistant Construction Techniques and Material Application in Southeast Asian Vernacular Architecture"
  Gabrielle Benson (B.Arch '24), Proposal: "Knotted: Textile Transformations from Surface to Mass"
  Yonghao Zhang (B.Arch '24), Proposal: "Speculation as Critique — Pittsburgh Mines"
  Priyanka Thakur (M.Arch '24), Proposal: "Learning from the Architecture of the Forest Towards Symbiosis"
  Ajay Chovatia (M.Arch '24), Proposal: "Affordable Housing: A Visual Handbook of Incremental Housing"
• 2022 (spring): Olivia Werner (B.Arch '22) Proposal: "Mediated Worlds: An Exhibition of Transformative Bodily Interfaces"
  Kashmala Imtiaz (M.Arch '22), Proposal: "Material Transition and its Socio-Cultural Impact — The Case of Azad Kashmir"
• 2021: Kirman Hanson (B.Arch '21, MSSD '22) & Rachel Lu (B.Arch '21), Proposal: "Perceived Places"
  Schuyler McAuliffe (M.Arch '21, MUD '22), Proposal: "The Shape of Energy"
• 2020: Shariq Shah (B.Arch '22), Proposal: "Interrogating the Temporal and Exploring Tectonics"
  Sharleen Devjani (M.Arch '21), Proposal: "Staying Afloat"
• 2019: Alina Kramkova (B.Arch '20), Proposal: "The Last Clinic: An Analysis and Conversation with Contested Space"
  Joao Castro, (M.Arch '20), Proposal: "Retrofitting Shipping Containers to Passive House Criteria"
  Kyle Bancroft (M.Arch '20), Proposal: "EntRE_Margaret Morrison"
• 2018: Zain Islam-Hashmi (B.Arch '19) & Gargi Lagvankar (B.Arch '19), Proposal: "Topographic Textures"
• 2017: Fan (Francis) Yang (B.Arch '18), Proposal: "Reconstruction of Sacred Space"
• 2016: Carolina Tamayo (B.Arch '17), Proposal: "Making of the 'Resting Pod'"
• 2015: Avanti Daholkar (B.Arch '16), Proposal: "Design of SoA InterARC, a Touchscreen Interface in CFA Great Hall"
• 2014: Joel McCullough (B.Arch '15)
• 2013: Alexandre Kinney (B.Arch '14)
• 2012: Samuel Rashid (B.Arch '13)
• 2011: Samuel Faller (B.Arch '12)
• 2010: Josiah Haskell (B.Arch '11)
• 2009: Yifei Lu (B.Arch '10)
• 2008: Christian Wagner (B.Arch '09), Proposal: "Travel to Visit Three Olympic Villages in Europe: London, Athens and Lausanne (Headquarters)"