Rate My Professor Martha Bohm

Martha Bohm serves as Associate Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo, where she also holds the position of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She earned her Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon in 2006 and a Bachelor of Arts in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University in 1998. Prior to her academic career, Bohm worked as Sustainable Design Coordinator at William McDonough + Partners from 2008 to 2010, responsible for sustainability research, consulting, and design work on international commercial projects. She served as Visiting Lecturer in environmental systems at Cornell University from 2006 to 2008, Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon from 2004 to 2006, and Policy Associate at the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors’ Association from 1998 to 2000, focusing on policy research in air quality, open-space planning, nuclear waste stewardship, and transportation. At UB, she joined as Visiting Assistant Professor in 2010, was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2011, and advanced to Associate Professor.

Bohm's academic interests center on sustainable and ecological design, high-performance buildings, net-zero energy systems, urban agriculture, and climate adaptation strategies. She led the University at Buffalo GRoW Home team to second place overall in the 2015 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, with first-place finishes in Energy Balance, Comfort Zone, and Commuting, among other rankings. Key publications include “Energy technology and lifestyle: A case study of the University at Buffalo 2015 Solar Decathlon Home” in Renewable Energy (2018), “Urban Agriculture In and On Buildings in North America: The Unfulfilled Potential to Benefit Marginalized Communities” in Built Environment (2017), and she co-edited Beyond Patronage: Reconsidering Models of Practice (Actar D, 2015). Bohm teaches core undergraduate design studios and environmental systems courses and participates in the Ecological Practices Graduate Research Group and RENEW Steering Committee. Her honors include the UB President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring (2017), AIA Western New York Chapter Design Award for GRoW Home (2016), UB Office of Sustainability Leadership Award (2016), Gary Day Award (2015), Ginsberg Research Fellowship (2007-2008), and a Best Paper Award in 2024 with MArch alumna Shreya Jaiswal. She has contributed to grants on food inequity and urban food systems.