MIT Professor John Ochsendorf has been named as the 23rd director of the American Academy in Rome (AAR). Ochsendorf, a professor with dual appointments in the departments of Architecture and Civil and Environmental Engineering, will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, after which he will return to MIT.

Ochsendorf is the Class of 1942 Professor of Architecture and Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. A structural engineer with multidisciplinary research interests including the history of construction, masonry mechanics, and sustainable design, Ochsendorf conducts research on the structural safety of historic monuments and the design of more sustainable infrastructure.