Vernelle A. A. Noel

Dr. Vernelle A. A. Noel is the Lucian and Rita Caste Assistant Professor in Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Architecture. She directs the Situated Computation + Design Lab, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to computational design, exploring intersections of traditional practices, digital technologies, and societal impacts. Her work emphasizes critical computational design, craft preservation, and the socio-cultural dimensions of emerging technologies.

Education includes a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, M.S. in Architecture Studies from MIT, B.Arch. from Howard University, and a Civil Engineering diploma from the John S. Donaldson Technical Institute (Trinidad & Tobago). She has held academic positions at Georgia Tech, University of Stuttgart, University of Florida, Penn State, MIT, and Singapore University of Technology & Design.

Research interests span computational design methodologies, embodied cognition in architecture, and cultural preservation through digital tools. Recent projects include studies on mindful body approaches to spatial design and the revival of traditional crafts like wire-bending in Trinidad’s Carnival through computational techniques. She has received grants from the Graham Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, and ideas2innovation (i2i).

Recipient of the DigitalFUTURES Young Award for exceptional research in critical computational design, she is also a TEDx speaker (The Power of Making: Craft, Computation, and Carnival). Active in academic governance, she serves on the board of ACADIA (Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture).

Teaching includes courses such as 62-275: Fundamentals of Computational Design and 48-716: MSCD Pre-Thesis II, emphasizing critical technical practice and shape grammars. She leads workshops integrating craft traditions with digital fabrication, such as the Tradigital Wire-Bending initiative exploring Trinidadian carnival practices.

Her lab’s recent initiatives include organizing panels on Embodied Knowledge and Technological Distancing at 4S conferences and co-editing the book Critical Computational Relations in Design, Architecture and the Built Environment.