Dr. Howayda Al-Harithy is a Professor of Architecture at the American University of Beirut, where she has been teaching since 1994. Dr. Al-Harithy was Chair of the Department of Architecture and Design from 2003 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2012. She was a visiting professor at Harvard University in 1994, at MIT in 1993 and in 2000, and at Georgetown University in 2006. Dr. Al-Harithy received her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Oregon School of Design in 1985, a master’s in architecture from MIT in 1987, and a PhD in art history from Harvard University in 1992.

Her research in Islamic art and architecture focuses on the Mamluk period. The research engages theoretical models of interpretation, particularly post-structuralist models, as analytic tools of the production of architectural and urban space. In 2001, she published a monograph in the Bibliotheca Islamica series entitled The Waqf Document of Sultan Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun. She has also published in international journals such as Oxford's Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Muqarnas, Mamluk Studies Review and the Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review. Her more recent research focuses on urban heritage with a special emphasis on the theoretical debate on heritage construction and consumption related to identity-building and post-war reconstruction. In 2010, she edited and contributed to the book entitled Lessons in Post-War Reconstruction: Case Studies from Lebanon in the Aftermath of the 2006 War. Dr. Al-Harithy lectures at universities and conferences throughout the world.

(Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2013 Cycle, Master Jury Members http://www.akdn.org/architecture/jury.asp [accessed 2 May 2014])