Isla Xi Han is the Tennessee Architecture Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She holds a joint Ph.D. in Architecture and Materials Science and a professional Master of Architecture from Princeton University, along with a B.S. in Architecture and Economics from the University of Virginia. Her research interests lie in collective robotic construction and immersive technologies, ranging from design to computation to implementation. She has contributed to award-winning projects recognized by the 2021 ARCHITECT Magazine R+D Award, the 2021 Best Special Structure Award by SEAOI, and the 2024 MUSE Design Awards. She is the recipient of the 2025 Young CAADRIA Award and the 2016 AIA Virginia Prize. Her research has been published in journals and conferences such as Construction Robotics, International Journal of Architectural Computing, Advances in Architectural Geometry, IEEE VR, ACM/IEEE HRI, Origami 8, ACADIA, CAADRIA, ISIC, and ROB|ARCH. Her work in swarm robot design and human–machine co-creation has been exhibited internationally, including ICRA Robotics and Art exhibition and The Wrong New Media Biennale in Philadelphia, Galileo Week collateral exhibition in Rome, NeurIPS Creative AI exhibition in Vancouver, Art of Science exhibition in Princeton, and SHErobots exhibition in Sydney. Through interdisciplinary methods, she investigates how emerging technologies can shape future modes of design and construction.

Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Economics, University of Virginia

Master of Architecture, Princeton University

Joint Ph.D. in Architecture and Materials Science, Princeton University