Mehrdad Hadighi is Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Pennsylvania State University and Stuckeman Chair of Integrative Design.  Mehrdad completed his post-professional graduate studies at Cornell University and holds a professional degree in architecture and a degree in studio art from the University of Maryland.  A licensed architect and founding principal of the Studio for Architecture, his premiated collaborative design competition entries include the Studentenheim + Bauernmarkt, Glockengasse, Public Space in the New American City, Atlanta, Berlin Alexanderplatz Design Competition, Austrian Cultural Institute in Manhattan, and the Peace Garden Design Competition.  Hadighi has been selected as one of “25 most intriguing, innovative and intrepid architects, from all over the world” by Wallpaper* magazine; and as one of “10 Young Firms Reshaping the Globe” by the Architectural Record magazine in their Design Vanguard issue. His work is the subject of a monograph by ACTAR and another by SHARESTAN. He is the author of Tschumi’s Architectural Manifestoes, and his work has been featured in the following books: Architecture Today; Concrete; Conversions; Small Structures, Green Architecture; Xs Green: Big Ideas, Small Buildings; Extensions and Renovations; Up, Down, Across: Domestic Extensions; House Plus, New House Design; and Architecture In Detail. His scholarly work focuses on drawing parallels between 20th century art, critical theory and the constructive principles of architecture.