SEDRD Celebrates Faculty Promotions of Nadia Amoroso, Ryan Gibson, and Afshin Ashari

The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) proudly announces the faculty promotions of Nadia Amoroso, Afshin Ashari, and Ryan Gibson effective July 1, 2026.

Congratulations to Nadia Amoroso on her promotion to Professor. Dr. Amoroso’s research focuses on advancing visual communication in landscape architecture through innovative approaches to digital design, creative mapping, and data visualization. She is the creator of the renowned Representing Landscapes series, which explores the many ways landscape architects communicate and interpret ideas through analogue, digital, and hybrid forms of representation. The series has become an important resource for exploring the evolving role of visualization in landscape architecture education and practice.

Congratulations to Ryan Gibson on his promotion to Professor. As a leading scholar in rural and economic development, Dr. Gibson's research explores how rural communities can build place-based approaches to achieve prosperity in the face of economic, demographic, and policy changes. His work spans rural governance, place-based development, immigration and mobility, community wealth building, public policy, and knowledge mobilization, with a strong emphasis on community-engaged research that creates meaningful impact for rural communities in Canada and internationally.

Congratulations to Afshin Ashari on his promotion to Associate Professor. Prof. Ashari's research is advancing the future of landscape architecture by exploring how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can enhance the design process while keeping human creativity at its core. His work combines Artificial Intelligence, digital modelling, environmental data, and physical models to better understand how people experience parks and public spaces, helping create more sustainable, resilient, and people-centred landscapes.

These well-earned achievements recognize their outstanding contributions to research and teaching, and commitment to student success. SEDRD is proud to mark this exciting milestone, and we look forward to their continued contributions to the School.