The University of Texas at Austin has recognized Professor of Practice Gregory Brooks as a recipient of the Jalonick Centennial Lectureship for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Presented annually, the prestigious award recognizes professional-track faculty members across the university who display exceptional dedication to innovation and excellence within classroom instruction.
An alumnus of UT, Brooks graduated with his Master of Architecture degree in 1996 and went on to work in nationally acclaimed architectural firms before joining the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering in 2001. In the same year, Brooks founded BOX Design Studio, specializing in the development of modern homes and small-scale commercial projects.
He currently instructs a year-long design studio course within the architectural engineering program, leveraging his years of professional experience to shape the curriculum. His instructional focus centers on best-of-practice architectural design concepts and implementing those methods in the design process.
"From working in the profession, I have learned that nothing is more important than a facile, creative design mind for architects and engineers,” said Brooks.
As an educator, he shared his goal is to cultivate “yes” engineers – engineers who can “inspire the project with innovative ideas and can bring both technical competence and artistic vision to the table.”
His insightful approach to molding these “yes” engineers extends beyond the Forty Acres. Since 2007, Brooks has led “Emerging Technologies,” a month-long study abroad immersion program that exposes top UT architectural and engineering students to large-scale architectural projects and methods based in London. The program recently expanded to Japan, with Brooks and his students traveling to Tokyo and Kyoto this past May. Brooks documented the experience in his online travel journal.
Beyond the University, the professor is currently a partner at BMH Design Studio based in Austin, Texas. He is also the founder of AEWorldMap.com, a website that monitors large-scale architecture projects and the teams who develop them.
The yearly class of Jalonick Centennial Lecturers is nominated by their respective college leadership and selected through a competitive review process. Each recipient is honored with a $5,000 award and the honorary title of Jalonick Centennial Lecturer during the academic year for which the award was granted.
Brooks, alongside this year’s class, will be celebrated with a dinner reception this upcoming fall.
WRITTEN BY: SUMMERLYN MURRAY
