Photo credit: Holcim Foundation

John Ochsendorf
Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

John Ochsendorf is the Class of 1942 Professor at MIT known for creative research and design at the interface between engineering and architecture. His research interests include the safety of historic structures, form-finding of efficient shell structures, and the design of more sustainable buildings and infrastructure. John has uniquely combined his interests in engineering, archeology and architectural history to become a leading authority on ancient building structures as well as sustainable design. He is Founding Director of the newly established MIT Morningside Academy for Design and was Director of the American Academy in Rome from 2017 to 2020. Ochsendorf is the author of more than 100 technical papers and a book on the structural tile shells of the Guastavino family (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010). His work has been supported by a Fulbright Scholarship to Spain (2000), the Rome Prize (2007), and a MacArthur Fellowship (2008).