Vernelle A. A. Noel, Ph.D. is an architect, design scholar, artist, TED Speaker, and Director of the Situated Computation + Design Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. She investigates critical questions of embodied practices and computation through craft, making, and heritage practices. Her research has been supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Mozilla Foundation, and ideas2innovation (i2i), among others. Dr. Noel is a recipient of the DigitalFUTURES Young Award for exceptional research and scholarship in the field of critical computational design. She is co-editor of the new book, “Critical Computational Relations in Design, Architecture and the Built Environment” with Dr. Yana Boeva. Noel is the SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Papers Chair.

Noel’s work is situated at the intersection of computation, ethnographic inquiry, and critical practice. Her scholarship combines methods and concepts from craft, human-computer interaction, media studies, and science and technology studies (STS). A scholar committed to fostering inclusive and minority perspectives on design, making, and technology, Noel conducts workshops and gives talks on design computation extensively across the globe.

Vernelle holds a Ph.D. in Architecture (Design Computing) from the Pennsylvania State University, a Masters of Science in Architecture Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Design Computation); a Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University, and a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the John S. Donaldson Technical Institute (University of Trinidad & Tobago). Vernelle has practiced as an architect in the US, India, and Trinidad & Tobago.