B.A., B.A.I., Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Trinity College, University of Dublin; M.S.E., Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
Sinéad Mac Namara teaches structural engineering courses and electives for the School of Architecture and the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). Her teaching has been recognized by awards from Syracuse University, the American Society for Engineering Education, and Princeton University. Her research focuses on collaboration among architects and engineers; innovation and creativity in structural engineering education; structural art; and the structural performance of shell structures.
Her book, Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering (Clare Olsen, co-author), was published by Routledge in 2014. She also recently co-authored book chapters in The Design Build Studio; Crafting Meaningful Work in Architecture Education edited by Toyla Stonorov. Routledge, 2017 and Green, Hidden and Above - The Most Exceptional Tree-houses edited by Sibylle Kramer. Braun Publishing 2015.
As a structural engineer, she collaborates with colleagues and students on design and design build projects, and this work has been recognized by design awards from the American Institute of Architects, the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and the Mayor of New York City.
Mac Namara co-led a study abroad course Mexico City: Myth Mechanics and Modernity to study the engineering of Felix Candela and the modern architecture of Luis Barrigan in 2011. In 2009, she was awarded an NSF grant: Innovations in Engineering Education, Curriculum, and Infrastructure; to research how well architectural pedagogical paradigms can merge with civil engineering education.
Prior to joining the Faculty in 2006, Mac Namara’s Ph.D. thesis at Princeton examined the shell behavior of domed roofs in nuclear containment structures.
Buildings and Projects
- Runway. Served as structural advisor to SPORTS (Molly Hunker and Greg Corso) on winning competition design for the City of Santa Barbara. CA. Fall 2016.
- Digital Soapbox. Served asstructural engineer in collaboration with Amber Bartosh and Sekou Cooke for competition submission for Streetfest IDEAS CITY 2015.
- Park Studio is a community engaged design project directed in collaboration with Larry Bowne and the City of Syracuse to reimagine and reinvigorate a field house in Skiddy Park on the impoverished Near Westside of Syracuse. 2014-2015.
- Play Perch is a design build project by AIAS Freedom By Design on the campus of the Jowonio School on East Genesee St in Syracuse. 2012-2014. In collaboration with Larry Bowne.
- Mouse House is a small design build project at the Jowonio School completed in Spring 2013. In collaboration with Roger Hubeli.
- Smart Sidewalks submitted to the Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge NYC Mayor’s Office, 2013. In collaboration with Brett Synder, Rama Chorpash, Grant Foster, Jesse Ganes, Claire Napawan and Ben Busse
- Mir’aj Structural consultant for competition entry with APTUM Architecture: Julie Larsen and Roger Hubeli, for Pristina Central Mosque Design Competition. 2012.
- Air Parterre submitted to Jardins de Metis: International Garden Festival submission. Nov 2010. Structural Researcher and Consultant with UPSTATE
- Pedestrian Bridge Design Project for Baltimore Woods Nature Center in Marcellus NY. Pro-bono design services in collaboration with colleague Prof. T. Stenson. August 2010.
- Yeosu Design Competition with Munly Brown Studios, September 2009.Structural Researcher and Consultant
- Engineers without Borders Member, Princeton Chapter, Ethiopia Irrigation Project 2005-2006
Grants and Awards
Grants
- National Science Foundation, $750,000, External Consultant for grant awarded to Dr. Julie Hasenwinkel and colleagues in the College of Engineering by NSF’s STEP program, Graduate 10K+: Enhancing the Climate for Persistence and Success in Engineering (ECliPSE) aimed at finding pedagogical methods enhance retention of engineering students in their first two years of college. 2013-2018.
- UPSTATE and City of Syracuse Parks Department. $70,000 in funding secured in collaboration with Larry Bowne for Community Engaged Design Project at Skiddy Park, Syracuse, NY. 2014-2015.
- Lions Club International Fund, $25,000 grant secured in collaboration with Larry Bowne and AIAS FBD as seed funds for further Design Build initiatives at the Jowonio School, 2013-2016.
- Syracuse University Office of the Chancellor, $15,000 for Design Build project Play Perch, 2012-2013
- The Denny Family, $10,000 for Design Build project Play Perch, 2012-2013
- The Jowonio School $2,000 for Design Build project Play Perch, 2013
- King+King Architects and Ashley McGraw Architects, $1,750 combined for Design Build project Play Perch, 2013.
- Various Student Co-ordinated Fundraising Efforts Monetary and In-Kind Donations, ~$10,000 for Design Build project Play Perch, 2012-2013
- National Science Foundation, $400,000, Principal Investigator for grant awarded by the NSF’s Innovations in Engineering Education, Curriculum, and Infrastructure (IEECI) Award EEC-0935168. This five-year award funds a series of educational initiatives aimed at increasing innovation and creativity in engineering education borrowing pedagogical methods from architecture, 2009-2013
Awards
- Chancellors Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship for ARC 500 Community Engaged Engineering Design, Syracuse University, Spring 2014.
- American Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2014 ACSA Design Build Educator Award for Play Perch.
- AIA New York State Merit Award for Mir’aj with Julie Larsen and Roger Hubeli, April 2014.
- AIAS Freedom By Design National Community Inspiration Award for Play Perch, January 2014.
- Chancellors Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship for Play Perch, Syracuse University, Spring 2013.
- ASEE St. Lawrence Division, Outstanding Teacher Award. Spring 2013.
- Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge, NYC Mayor’s Office, Selected Winner: Spring 2013.
- Best Presentation, Architectural Engineering Division, ASEE Annual Conference, Vancouver BC, 2011.
- Meredith Teaching Recognition Award, Syracuse University, 2011
- Princeton E-council Award for Teaching Excellence, 2005
- NSF Award-Innovations in Engineering Education, Curriculum, and Infrastructure (IEECI) EEC-0935168, 2009-13
Publications
Books
- Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering. Routledge 2014. (with Clare Olsen)
Book Chapters
- “Play Perch” in The Design Build Studio; Crafting Meaningful Work in Architecture Education edited by Toyla Stonorov. Routledge, 2017. (with Larry Bowne)
- “Play Perch” in Green, Hidden and Above - The Most Exceptional Tree-houses edited by Sibylle Kramer. Braun Publishing, Switzerland, 2015. (with Larry Bowne)
Peer Reviewed Articles
- Play Perch and The Berg: A Tale of Two Projects. Dialectic III: A Journal of School of Architecture, University of Utah. September, 2015. (with Larry Bowne)
- Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering. Albeena Magazine, Saudi Arabia. March 2015. (with Clare Olsen)
- Structural Art in Contemporary Engineering Education Festschrift Billington. editors: Hines, Buonopane, & Garlock, International Network for Structural Art, Princeton 2012.
- Structural Response of Nuclear Containment Shield Buildings with Construction Openings, ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, Vol. 21, No. 2, March/April 2007, pp. 152-156. (with M. Garlock and D.P. Billington)
Referred Conference Proceeding Publications
- Preparing Structural Engineers for Collaboration in Contemporary Design Practice. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Structural Engineering World Congress, Cancun, Mexico, November 2017.
- S.C. Mac Namara, Student Pre-Perceptions of Integrated Design and the Role of Technical Courses in the Architectural Studio. Proceedings of ASEE 2016 Annual New Orleans, LA. (with A. Bartosh and E. Krietemeyer)
- The Rewards of Collaboration. Proceedings of the 104th Annual ACSA Meeting, Seattle WA, March 17-19, 2016. (with Clare Olsen)
- Controlled Chaos: Modeling Interdisciplinary Practice for Architecture and Engineering Students. Proceedings of the ASEE 2015 Annual Conference Seattle, WA. (with Larry Bowne)
- Scaling Up: The Design Competition as a Tool for Teaching Statics. Proceedings of the ASEE St, Lawrence Division Conference, Syracuse, April 2015. (with J. Dannenhoffer)
- Play Perch: A Case Study of Design Build in the Curriculum. Proceedings of the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture NE Conference 2014, Halifax, NS. October 2014. (with Larry Bowne)
- Expanding Expectations: A Community Service Accessible Design-Build Project as an Instigator of Curricular Change. Proceedings of the BTES Conference 2013 “Tectonics of Teaching” Bristol, RI.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Campus Scavenger Hunt to Teach Structures and Technology to Architects. Proceedings of the ASEE 2013 Annual Conference Atlanta, GA. (with R. Svetz)
- First Encounters: Statics as the Gateway to Engineering Culture. Proceedings of the ASEE 2013 Annual Conference Atlanta, GA. (with J. Dannenhoffer)
- Bringing Engineering into the Studio: Design Assignments for Teaching Structures to Architects. Proceedings of the ASEE 2012 Annual Conference, San Antonio,Texas.
- Topology Optimization: The Use of Cutting Edge Numerical Methods in Teaching Structures to Architects. Proceedings of the ASEE 2012 Annual Conference, San Antonio,Texas.
- In Support of Pre-Professional Relations: Guidelines for Effective Educational Collaborations between Architecture and Engineering. Proceedings of the 100th Annual ACSA Meeting, Boston MA, March 1-4, 2012. (with Clare Olsen)
- The Value of Trans-disciplinary Design Education with Architects for Engineering Students. Proceedings of the 2011 ICEE Conference on Engineering Education, Belfast, N. Ireland. (with Clare Olsen)
- The Value of Short Term Study Abroad for Civil Engineering Students. 2011 ICEE Conference on Engineering Education, University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 21-26, 2011 (with S.P. Clemence)
- Pedestrian Bridges - Structural Design by Masters of Architecture Students. Proceedings of the ASEE 2011 Annual Conference and Exposition, Vancouver Canada, June 2011.
- The Use of Historical Precedent in Teaching Structures to Architecture Students.
- Proceedings of the ASEE 2011 Annual Conference and Exposition, Vancouver Canada, June 2011.
- Are We Asking the Wrong Questions? A study of student familiarity with common textbook examples. Proceedings of the ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, Singapore, October 18-22, 2010
- Statics 2.0 – Reimagining a core course for increased innovation and creativity. Proceedings of the ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, Singapore, October 18-22, 2010
- Merging Engineering and Architectural Pedagogy – A Trans-disciplinary Opportunity? 2010 ICEE Conference on Engineering Education, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland, July 18-22, 2010 (with C.J. Olsen, Scott L. Shablak, Carolina B. Harris)
- Inspiring Innovation. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 annual conference and exposition, June 2010, Lousville, KY (with C.J. Olsen, L.J. Steinberg, S.P. Clemence)
- Structural Response of Nuclear Containment Shield Buildings with Construction Openings, ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, Vol. 21., No. 2, March/April 2007, pp. 152-56 (with M. Garlock, D.P. Billington)
- Delamination in Two Layer Thin Shell Dome with Unanticipated Construction Openings, Proceedings of IASS-IACM 2008, Cornell University, John F. Abel and J. Robert Cooke (eds.) (with M. Garlock)
- Delamination and the structural response of thin shell concrete in nuclear shield buildings with unanticipated construction openings; Proceedings of Intl. conference on fracture mechanics of concrete and concrete structures, Catania, Italy, June 2007 (with D.P. Billington)
Administration and Service
- BTES Building Technology Educators’ Society. President Elect, 2017-2018.
- American Society for Engineering Education. Architectural Engineering, Division Chair 2013-2015, Treasurer 2011-2013, 2015-2016.
- Peer Reviewer for Journal of Engineering Education, TAD Technology and Design, Routledge Publishers, Wiley Publishers, National Science Foundation Research in Engineering Education, American Society of Engineering Education,
- SU Academic Strategic Plan Implementation and Oversight Committee, 2015-2016.
- SU Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs, Chair 2017- present, Member 2013- present.
- SU Renee Crown Honors Program Core Faculty Member 2014-present.
- SU Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Campus Safety and Security. August 2014-present.
- SU Remembrance Scholarship Selection Committee, 2008-2011.
- School of Architecture Review Promotion and Tenure Committee, 2014-present.
- Freedom By Design Student Group: Faculty Mentor 2009-2015.
