Erkin Özay is an Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Özay's research is concerned with institutional and cooperative settings and their ability to serve as mediators against structural inequities affecting the lives of vulnerable urban communities. Özay previously taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, University of Toronto, and Northeastern University. A registered architect in the United States, he also practiced with various international firms including Foster + Partners in London, UK and Hashim Sarkis Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.