Research Team

About

Dr. Haya Brama is a researcher and lab manager at AAIRL, specializing in deep learning, machine learning, and AI applications for architectural and urban systems.

She completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University, where she studied biological neural networks using population-dynamics modeling and in-vivo electrophysiological recordings. Her postdoctoral research at Ariel University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management extended this computational foundation to artificial neural networks, cybersecurity applications, and metaheuristic search.

From 2000 to 2023, Haya served as Chief Scientific Officer at ARK, a startup developing AI-based tools for automated architectural design. This trajectory — from systems neuroscience to applied machine learning in the built environment — informs her current work connecting rigorous computational modeling with practical planning and design problems.

Projects

METROPOLIS: Urban Digital Twin An open, interoperable urban digital twin framework for integrating city data, deploying urban AI models, and supporting evidence-based planning.

Urban Social Prediction This project develops and validates machine-learning models for anticipating the social and economic consequences of urban renewal, and translates these models into interpretable planning tools.

Chatbots for Design This project develops and evaluates conversational AI systems for public participation in architectural design and urban planning.

Synthetic Humans This project investigates whether AI models can approximate selected dimensions of human spatial experience to provide early-stage design feedback — and rigorously identifies where they cannot.

Education

• Post-Doctoral Studies Ariel University 2017 – 2022
• Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University 2011 – 2017
• B.A. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 2007 – 2010

Employment

• Chief Scientific Officer Ark LTD 2020 – 2023
• Ariel University – Present