Dr. Akel Kahera is a Professor of Islamic Architecture and Urbanism at CIS, HBKU. His research, teaching, and scholarly publications include architecture, sustainable urbanism, and design. With over 20 years as a professional practitioner, he has performed a vital role as designer and project manager primarily in the international arena, which has led to the construction of several major projects with a commensurate construction value of $500 million. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture and later completed graduate studies (M. Arch) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and obtained a PhD with honors from Princeton University. 

Dr. Kahera has held multiple teaching and senior positions, including professor and dean at Virgina Commonwealth University's School of the Arts in Qatar; professor and senior associate dean of research and graduate studies at Clemson University, South Carolina; and professor and director at Prairie View A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas Tech University. Dr. Kahera has published over three dozen peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and three books: Deconstructing the American Mosque (University of Texas Press, 2002/2008), Reading the Islamic City: Discursive Practices & Legal Judgment (Rowan & Littlefield/ Lexington Press, Maryland; 2012), and Design Criteria for Mosques (Architectural Press, Oxford, UK; 2009).