Anna Renken (supplied image)
Anna Renken recognized with Carter Manny Research Award
Published: March 12, 2026
Anna Renken, a PhD candidate in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, has been recognized with the 2025 Carter Manny Research Award given by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.
The annual award supports emerging scholars completing exceptional doctoral dissertations that contribute to the development of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture and society.
Renken’s doctoral thesis explores how North American architect-led laboratories advanced ecological design through engagement with science and technology from the 1970s to 1990s. Her research seeks to contribute to new histories of ecological design.
“Congratulations to Anna for this prestigious recognition of her research,” said Professor Claire Zimmerman, director of the PhD program at the Daniels Faculty. “The Carter Manny is the most celebrated doctoral award in our field. Anna’s work exemplifies the bold, interdisciplinary inquiries our graduate students are undertaking.”
Renken also received the Beatrice and Arthur Minden Graduate Research Fellowship from U of T’s School of the Environment, where she is pursuing a collaborative specialization in environmental studies
