Rowan Ashraf Aly
Rowan Ashraf Aly holds a Master of Science in Architectural History, Theory, and Society from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from the American University in Cairo. Throughout her academic journey, she has been awarded several prestigious fellowships and grants, including the El-Ghurair Foundation Scholarship, the USAID STEM High School Fellowship, the GSI Fellowship, and a departmental grant supporting her teaching and research at UC Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, Rowan has served as a Graduate Student Instructor, teaching courses such as Introduction to Architectural Design Theory and Criticism, Cities and Sites in Environmental Design, and History of Modern Architecture. In these roles, she has led discussion sections, evaluated student work, and collaborated with faculty members —including Greig Crysler, Walter Hood, and Greg Castillo—to enhance course development. Her research explores the intersections of architecture, politics, and environmental injustice in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on contemporary urban transformations and new cities. Her work has been published in PLATFORM, a leading journal in architectural history, under the title “Utopia: The New Administrative Capital of Egypt.”Beyond academia, Rowan has gained diverse professional experience in architecture, urban planning, and research. As a Junior Architect at Kamel Consultancy and Research Group, she contributed to design projects in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. During her urban planning internship at Dar Al-Handasah, she worked on large-scale developments, including Egypt’s New Sphinx City and Iraq’s diplomatic district. Additionally, she served as a research assistant at the American University in Cairo, where she documented and analyzed gated communities in Cairo. Rowan is also a writer and editor, contributing as a freelancer and storyteller for CNN Arabia. She has participated in creative writing conferences and has worked as a technical writer and graphic designer. Her multidisciplinary background informs her research on urban development, architectural history, and the socio-political dimensions of the built environment.