Amira Chowyuk, MS Packaging, Identities, and Systems Design ’26, and Donavon Falls, MLA ’27, have been selected for the third and final year of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellowship program, which creates opportunities for climate change scholarship in design and architecture at Pratt.
Made possible by the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation, chaired by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, the annual Fellowship was awarded to two first-year incoming graduate students, one in the School of Architecture and one in the School of Design, based on the strength of their portfolios of work addressing the impacts and challenges of climate change.
With a background in sustainability and ecodesign, Chowyuk aims to apply her interest in biomaterials, CMF, biobased production systems, and product sustainability to create circular, regenerative designs that are inspired by nature, spark curiosity, and contribute to a flourishing bioeconomy. She has earned degrees in industrial engineering and bioresource science from North Carolina State University and University of Washington.
Through systems-based thinking and research-driven design, Falls has explored the environmental social sciences, urban ecology, horticulture, and woodworking. He aims to investigate the application of nature-based solutions in combating climate change, biodiversity loss, and social injustice, and to cultivate and document stories of empowerment through the practice of landscape architecture. Falls has earned degrees in environmental studies and wood-oriented furniture design from the Ramapo College of New Jersey and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, respectively.
Previous Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellows include Race Calderin, MFA Interior Design ’24; Tarin Jones, MS Historic Preservation ’24; Madelyn Townsend, MArch ’26; and Leslie Trotter, MFA Communications Design ’25.