Professor Madlen Simon is one of 78 individuals who has been elevated to the 2026 American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. This prestigious honor recognizes her extensive contributions to the advancement of the profession through teaching, and is the AIA’s highest distinction; less than 3% of AIA members hold the designation.
Simon’s research and teaching career spans 35 years, with 20 of those years at the University of Maryland. A former program director for the architecture program and associate dean for academic affairs of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Simon is a champion of design thinking and experiential, interdisciplinary learning who has helped transform the teaching practice at UMD. She was a pioneer in connecting students with peers internationally through interdisciplinary global classrooms, through study abroad programs, and her acclaimed, decade-long “Bridging the Gap” studio, which won Architecture Magazine’s prestigious Studio Prize in 2019.
Beyond her extensive contributions in design thinking to both research and pedagogy, Simon’s more recent work sits at the intersection of architecture and neuroscience to understand the cognitive impacts of the built environment. She is a member of UMD’s Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) faculty and debuted a new course this semester on the subject for graduate and undergraduate students.
Simon is a board member of the Architectural Research Centers Consortium and has served as an ADVANCE leadership fellows program and on the BIG10 Academic Leadership Program. Her excellence as an educator was recognized with the university’s prestigious Kirwan Award in 2024.
“Mady’s dedication, spirit and creative approach to teaching has transformed the architecture curriculum at the University of Maryland and the lives of hundreds of students,” said Dr. Dawn Jourdan, dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “I am thrilled that her career is being recognized in such an important way.”
Simon joins an elite group of 10 MAPP faculty and 34 alums to hold this distinguished title; architecture alums Paul Klee ‘92, M.Arch ‘94 and Amy Upton ‘98 also earned the FAIA title this year.
Learn more about the 2026 Class of Fellows.