Newton D'Souza, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Newton D’Souza is the Director of Doctoral Programs in Design and Associate Professor at North Carolina State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master’s in Architecture from the National University of Singapore. He previously served as Chair and Associate Professor of Interior Architecture at Florida International University, where he also directed the Collaboratory for Design, Environment & Cognition (CoDEC Lab). He also served as Director of Graduate Studies in Architectural Studies at the University of Missouri for their PhD program.

Dr. D’Souza has published extensively on topics including design cognition, emerging technologies, and environment-behavior studies, with a particular emphasis on the design process. He is the author of The Multi-Skilled Designer: A Cognitive Foundation for Inclusive Architectural Thinking (Routledge, 2019) and the forthcoming Design Meditations: Architectural Praxis as an Exploration of Consciousness (Routledge, 2026). His research has been presented at leading international conferences such as the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), Design Thinking Research Symposium, Design Computing & Cognition, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), and Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC).

He has secured research funding from agencies including the American Society of Interior Designers, University of Missouri Research Board, and FIU Technology Fee Grant. Dr. D’Souza practiced as an architect and interior designer in India, contributing to a range of retail, residential, healthcare, and educational projects. He has served on more than 35 doctoral and master’s committees and remains deeply engaged in mentoring graduate research. His teaching has been recognized through multiple national awards for innovation, including the Ernest L. Boyer International Award and the Award for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology.