Timothy Murtha, Ph.D.

Professor of Landscape Architecture

College of Design, Construction and Planning

2023 Awardee

Timothy Murtha’s research focuses on the complexities of design and planning for a sustainable future, investigating how settlement patterns and urban form physically reflect, respond to, or interrupt regional ecological systems from a deep time perspective.

His background in anthropology, archaeology, and GIS has allowed him to uniquely leverage landscape-scale analysis, design, and decision making to address pressing questions about past human landscapes.

“My research is focused on documenting, analyzing, and understanding long term-landscape transformations as related to population growth, intensification and urbanization. I am critically interested in how our deep past influences landscape resilience and future planning,” said Murtha, who is also affiliated with the Center for Latin American Studies.

His work has been recognized by prestigious agencies such as NSF, NASA and the National Park Service, and he has been awarded a coveted residency at Dumbarton Oaks.

Jules Bruck, director of the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, describes Murtha as “a model of excellence and a representative of the ideal teacher-scholar. His commitment to the success of his students is unparalleled, and he often works with each of his students to ensure that their projects reach the highest possible standards.”

Murtha’s collaborative research on settlement ecology provides the opportunity to not only contribute to core science questions and anthropological theory, but also contribute broadly to design, planning and allied disciplines.