Hazel Ruth Edwards

Dr. Hazel Ruth Edwards is a Professor in the Department of Architecture at Howard University, within the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA). She holds a PhD in Regional Planning from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and has held academic leadership roles including Chair of Howard's Department of Architecture (2016-2022). Her career spans teaching, research, and professional practice in urban design, historic preservation, and placemaking.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1993)
• Master of Architecture in Urban Design, Harvard University (1989)
• Bachelor of Architecture, Howard University (1986)

Research: Focuses on livability in urban contexts, particularly historic residential and HBCU campus environments. Her work bridges planning and design with social justice, notably through The Long Walk project and NASA-funded space habitat research. Recent projects explore racialized land patterns in HBCU campus development (Radcliffe Fellowship, 2023-2024).

Awards:

• 2022 Architectural Record Educator Award
• 2015 Marcia M. Feld Leadership Award
• 2009 Lankford Giles Vaughn Award

Advising & Grants: Co-PI on NASA’s H.O.M.E. Institute (2019–present), mentoring students in interdisciplinary teams. Previously led Morgan State University’s Urban Planning program and co-directed Catholic University’s Master of City and Regional Planning (ranked Top 15, 2014).

Labs/Teams: Leads Howard’s team in NASA’s space habitat design initiative, focusing on human-centered adaptive structures for deep-space missions. Collaborates with interdisciplinary groups on urban resilience and equity projects in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.