James O'Donnell

James O'Donnell is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD). He joined UCD in 2013 after working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research focuses on multi-scale energy modeling, interoperable BIM solutions, and sustainable building design. He contributes to buildingSMART’s Energy Modelling Expert Panel and teaches modules on building physics and energy analysis.

Education:

• B.E. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork
• Ph.D. in Holistic Building Performance Analysis, University College Cork
• Professional Diploma in University Teaching & Learning, University College Dublin

Research Interests: James specializes in energy informatics, building energy simulation, and semantic web technologies for the built environment. His work bridges BIM integration with energy modeling to optimize urban-scale performance.

Grants & Funding:

• PROBONO (2022–2026): Integrator-centric approach for energy-efficient buildings
• NexSys (2022–2026): Next-Generation Energy Systems
• ALIVE (2020–2024): Indoor Environmental Quality in Energy-Efficient Buildings

Teaching & Editorial Roles: James coordinates courses like Energy Systems in Buildings and serves as an Associate Editor for Journal of Building Engineering and editorial board member of Advanced Engineering Informatics.

Professional Affiliations: Member of Engineers Ireland, International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), and European Council on Computing in Construction.