Varkki Pallathucheril is Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah, one of the leading centers of design and art education in the region that includes degree programs in architecture, design management, interior design, multimedia design, and urban planning. Educated as an architect and urban planner, Dr Pallathucheril's teaching and research interests lie in urban design and the use of information technologies in urban planning and design. With his students, he has looked at the evolution of residential neighborhoods in Sharjah and factors that drive the quality of life in them. He has also worked for many years on integrating into real-world urban planning processes a dynamic-spatial model of the way cities evolve and the consequences of this evolution.