A Mississippi State University professor is receiving national recognition from a professional architecture organization.
Michael Fazio of the School of Architecture is one of four Distinguished Professors named for 1997 by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.
He joins professors from the University of Montreal, Arizona State and the University of Tennessee who are being honored for significant contributions in advancing architecture and architectural education. Each receives a lifetime designation as a distinguished professor.
The awards will be presented at a national convention in Dallas later this month.
A faculty member at Mississippi State since 1974, he has taught undergraduate architectural history and design courses. He was instrumental in developing a School of Architecture policy to introduce computational technologies into the design studio and in developing a graduate program in digital design/computer animation.
"Mississippi State is among the first institutions in the nation to require that undergraduate students buy a laptop computer," he noted. "While many schools now are beginning to do that, this university set a pace in developing new ways of teaching with computers. That's where we're directing our energies."
During the spring, a graduate course he is teaching in digital technology features experts from around the world who lecture to Mississippi State students using videoconferencing. Students have heard from instructors as far away as Australia and Hong Kong.
"Our master's degree in digital design emphasizes graphics computing as a means for research and analysis," he explained. "The school's Digital Research and Imaging Laboratory provides a way for students to be involved in research. Our goal is to educate for an emerging area of architecture and to enrich our undergraduate program."
For a decade, Fazio coordinated the school's annual Chautauqua series focusing on small town research and design. He is widely recognized for his expertise in Southern architecture and in historic preservation, especially in Mississippi. Fazio also has a book under way on the work of Englishman Benjamin Latrobe, designer of the U.S. capitol interior.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Auburn University, a master's from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Architectural Historians and Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honor Society, currently serving as national president of the latter.