Avigail Sachs, professor and interim associate dean for research, has been named Associate Dean for Research for the College of Architecture and Design, effective January 1. Dean Jason Young announced her five-year appointment to faculty and staff earlier this month.

Sachs has served in the role in an interim capacity since August 2024, when the position was restructured, providing continuity and leadership during a period of growth for the college’s research enterprise.

“For the past year and a half, she has been actively elevating the college’s research culture by strengthening our organizational approach to the impact of research,” said Young. “I’m grateful for her willingness to serve in this role and look forward to the continued growth of a robust, collaborative research culture under her leadership.”

Research has been central to Sachs’ academic and professional trajectory. It was research that brought her to the United States to pursue her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, following five years in professional practice. At Berkeley she recognized that although the term “research” played a significant role after World War II it was missing from histories of American architectural education and practice. This observation became the basis for her dissertation research. In 2009, she joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s School of Architecture faculty.

Since moving to East Tennessee, Sachs has focused on the Tennessee Valley Authority and its impact on the environment and society. Her upcoming book, “The Mechanized Landscape: Statecraft and Environment in the Tennessee Valley Authority,” co-authored with Assistant Professor Micah Rutenberg, is set for release next month. The TVA is also the subject of her 2023 release, “The Garden in the Machine: Planning and Democracy in the Tennessee Valley Authority,” which focused on the transformation of utopian ideals into professional practice in architecture, landscape architecture and regional planning.

In her role as Associate Dean for Research, Sachs will focus on fostering collaboration, mentorship, and open communication across the college, grounded in the belief that strong research emerges through shared inquiry and dialogue. She aims to create opportunities for faculty to connect across disciplines, support one another’s work, and develop confidence in presenting research at every stage.

“I want to encourage faculty to be excited about taking risks, excited about being voices in discourse,” said Sachs. “I truly believe that the more you practice presenting your work, the better it becomes, and that you start with your colleagues.”