Karen Chi-Chi Lin

Karen "Chi-Chi" Lin is a rising 5th year Bachelor of Architecture student at Cornell University. She passionately believes in collaboration on scales from combining design and function in design solutions to synergy within a team. She is dedicated to sustainability and actively leads and supports projects that promote resilient, sustainable development.

Following these tenets, she has led design-build projects from concept to construction in Bangladesh and South Africa. She is a team leader of Cornell University Sustainable Design, managing post-construction analysis and review for the Schoolhouse South Africa project. Before this, she was Communications Leader and Editor-in-Chief for the Schoolhouse South Africa research compilation.

She is concurrently pursuing a minor in East Asian Studies, influenced by her 'third culture kid' identity as a Taiwanese-American growing up in Singapore and China. She wishes to explore future projects that respond to the culturally-specific design problems in East Asia: most notably high density. Her leadership and efforts in sustainable development projects led to her recognition as a national Udall Scholar (2011), induction as a Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society member (2011), and feature for Cornell Daily Sun's "Artist Spotlight".

Currently, Chi-Chi is studying architecture and Italian abroad in Italy with the Cornell in Rome program and interning at Rocchi Pavese, a local graphic design firm. This summer, she will be interning in Kerala, India for a sustainable hotel development group as an architecture intern.