The Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture provides financial support to Carnegie Mellon Architecture students to attend conferences or other events in support of their academic pursuits in the area of public interest design.
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Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the fall 2025 award. Applications are due on Friday, October 31, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.
Mission
The Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture was established in 2015 by Diane Cassens Cummins and Richard Cummins, and Joan Cassens Zinner (MM ’66), in memory of Diane and Joan’s father Alwin Cassens, Jr. (A ’34). The purpose of the award is to provide financial support to Carnegie Mellon Architecture students to attend conferences or other events in support of their academic pursuits in the area of public interest design.
Evaluation Criteria
Applicants must submit a proposal which clearly explains the purpose and objectives for attending the conference or event. This award can support a collective proposal 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 Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture, applicants must submit a complete application that includes the following information:
- A one-page proposal explaining the purpose and objectives for attending the conference or event
- A one-page budget and schedule plan
Fall 2025 Jury: Gerard Damiani (Chair), Lori Claus, Hal Hayes, Maryam Karimi
Fall 2025 Award Amount: $3,000 each (two (2) available)
Eligibility & Schedule
The Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture is open to all Carnegie Mellon Architecture students (undergraduate, master's and PhD) involved in academic pursuits related to public interest design.
Carnegie Mellon Architecture is currently accepting applications for the fall 2025 award. Applications are due on Friday, October 31, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.
Award Recipients
- 2024: Vanshika Bhaiya (B.Arch ’25), Proposal: Urban Intelligence at the Biennale Architettura; Venice, 2025
Sohyun Jin (MSCD ’25), Proposal: Presenting co-authored paper “A Minimal Fabrication Grammar for Friction-Based 3D Lattice Structures” at CAADRIA Conference; Tokyo, 2025
Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil (PhD-Arch), Proposal: Attending 113th Annual ACSA Meeting: REPAIR; New Orleans, 2025 - 2023: Valeria Duque Villegas (MUD ‘25), Proposal: Model. Barcelona Architectures Festival
Priyanka Thakur (M.Arch ‘24), Proposal: Bouw met Bamboa! Rotterdam - 2022: Susie Kim (B.Arch ‘23), Proposal: Attending 2022 Biennale of FRAC: “Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy”
Morgan Newman (PhD-Arch ‘26), Proposal: Presenting paper “Shaded Sites of Conflict: Wooded Areas as sites of both freedom and violence for African-Americans” at the CROSSROADS Conference Feb. 17-18, 2023 at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture - 2021: Suzy Li (PhD-BPD Candidate), Proposal: Rapidly Improving Urban Surfaces for a Carbon Neutral and Climate Resilient Future
- 2020: Alison Katz (B.Arch '20) & Alex Lin (B.Arch '20), Proposal: Attending Structures For Inclusion (SFI) 2020 Conference
- 2019: Alyssa Mayorga (B.Arch '20) on behalf of NOMAS CMU Chapter, Proposal: Travel to NOMA National Conference and Mixed-Use Design
- 2018: Alison Katz (B.Arch '20) on behalf of Freedom By Design CMU Chapter, Proposal: Travel to attend AIAS Grassroots 2018
- 2017: Yoon Oh (B.Arch '18), Sophie Nahrmann (B.Arch '18), Garrett Rauck (B.Arch '17) & Candace Ju (B.Arch '17), Proposal: Support for internship with Project RE_
Sinan Goral (B.Arch '18), Proposal: Travel to Arizona and California to study American mid-twentieth century architecture - 2016: Carter Nelson (B.Arch '17), Proposal: Study of case study houses