Professor Darren Robinson holds the Chair in Architectural and Urban Sciences at the University of Sheffield 's School of Architecture and Landscape, where he serves as Director of Research. His work bridges social, building, and urban physics through multiscale modeling approaches. RCUK Innovation Fellowship (2018-2021, £268k) Leverhulme Research Programme Grant (2015-2020, £3.4M) EPSRC grant for Model-Predictive Control in buildings (2016-2019, £541k) His research focuses on statistical modeling of human behavior in buildings, urban energy simulation , and integrated assessment modeling for climate policy. Key contributions include stochastic occupant behavior models and urban metabolism frameworks. Notable awards include the Sustainability Science Best Paper Award (2020) , CIBSE Napier-Shaw Medal (2007), and Fellowships from FIBPSA and the Research Council of Norway. He leads the People, Environments and Performance and Multiscale Simulation research groups.
David Henderson is the Director of the Cyclone Testing Station (CTS) in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at James Cook University, Australia. He has over two decades of experience as a research engineer specializing in the performance of low-rise buildings under extreme wind conditions. He previously served as the CTS Research Fellow and Manager, and was seconded as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, working on full-scale house testing under simulated wind loads. His work bridges engineering research, disaster assessment, and policy development. David's research focuses on wind engineering, structural resilience, and disaster mitigation. His key interests include cyclonic wind loading, internal and external pressure dynamics in buildings, fatigue failure of structural connections, and the vulnerability of housing to severe wind events. He has conducted post-disaster surveys across Australia and Canada, assessing damage from cyclones, tornadoes, and earthquakes. His research has direct applications in building codes, retrofitting strategies, and community risk reduction. The recent publications highlight a strong trend in understanding and mitigating wind-induced damage to residential structures, particularly through full-scale testing, modeling of pressure dynamics, and fragility assessment of roofing systems. His work spans experimental, theoretical, and policy-oriented domains, with a growing emphasis on climate change adaptation and community resilience. Topics such as internal pressure design, load sharing in roof frames, and retrofitting for wind resistance are central to his contributions. 14 research awards (specific names not listed) Active member of Standards Australia code committees Invited speaker at national and international conferences Media contributor on storm damage and building safety David has led multiple research projects funded by councils and agencies focused on extreme wind mitigation, data systems (SWIRLnet), and community risk reduction. While formal student supervision is not explicitly listed, he collaborates extensively with researchers such as John Ginger, Korah Parackal, and Daniel Smith. He has contributed to major studies involving wind load testing, housing vulnerability modeling, and climate adaptation planning. David is a key figure in the Cyclone Testing Station, leading its full-scale testing program and contributing to the development of software for controlled load and measurement systems. His team conducts wind risk assessments for communities and large installations, incorporating terrain analysis and retrofitting evaluations. The CTS serves as a national resource for wind engineering research and disaster resilience innovation.
Markku Karjalainen is a Professor in the Department of Architecture at Tampere University's Faculty of Built Environment. With over 80 research publications spanning from 2016 to 2025, he has established himself as a leading expert in timber construction and wooden building systems in Finland. Professor Karjalainen's research primarily focuses on timber construction , particularly multi-story wooden buildings, dovetail wood construction techniques, and sustainable building practices. His work spans architectural design, structural engineering, fire safety, and environmental impact assessment of wooden structures. He has conducted extensive statistical analyses of Finnish timber residential buildings, examining construction practices from 1995 to the present. His research demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing wooden construction technologies while addressing practical challenges in fire safety, structural performance, and building physics. Analysis of his recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a consistent focus on dovetail construction techniques for mass timber elements, with numerous studies examining structural performance, fire properties, and air permeance. His work bridges theoretical research with practical applications in the construction industry, particularly in Finland where wooden multi-story construction has seen significant growth. Karjalainen's research often involves international collaboration, with studies comparing practices across different countries and examining global perspectives on timber construction. His scholarly output demonstrates a methodical progression from basic statistical analysis of building practices to increasingly sophisticated investigations of specific construction techniques and their performance characteristics. This evolution reflects both his growing expertise and the maturation of timber construction as a field of academic inquiry.
Emanuele Naboni is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma, Italy. He teaches in the Second Cycle Degree program in Architecture and City Sustainability, offering courses such as Architectural Technologies for the Built Environment , Environmental and Outdoor Comfort Assessment , and Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Design from academic year 2019/2020 through 2025/2026. His research focuses on sustainable and climate-responsive architecture, with particular emphasis on urban microclimates, passive design strategies, and building performance optimization in Mediterranean environments. Key areas include facade engineering, thermal comfort, and computational simulation of localized climate impacts. The recent publications (2024–2025) highlight a strong trend in climate change adaptation through architectural and urban interventions. Topics span from simulating hyperlocal temperature variations to optimizing courtyard microclimates using evaporative cooling and adaptive shading, as well as retrofitting modernist urban forms for improved climate resilience. These works reflect interdisciplinary engagement with urban climatology, building physics, and environmental design. Scientific Awards: No awards mentioned in the provided text. Prof. Naboni is actively engaged in teaching and research. There is no mention of formal advising roles, grants, or leadership in labs or research teams within the available information. His scholarly output demonstrates consistent collaboration with researchers such as Marcello Turrini, Barbara Gherri, Carlos Alberto Rivera Gómez, and Carmen Galán-Marín. He contributes to advancing sustainable design practices through empirical and simulation-based studies, particularly focused on urban and architectural responses to climate change in Southern Europe.
Dr. Anna Raffoni serves as a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Loughborough Business School, Loughborough University, and holds the strategic role of Programme Lead for Social Science Research (Business and Management Studies). She joined the institution in January 2015 after accumulating academic experience at the University of East Anglia, Cranfield University School of Management, and the University of Bologna, establishing herself as a key contributor to the Accounting and Finance research group. Her academic foundation includes a PhD in Management Accounting (specializing in customer value management) awarded by the University of Florence in 2009, which continues to inform her interdisciplinary research trajectory. Raffoni's scholarly work centers on performance management, business analytics, and strategic management accounting, with publications appearing in premier journals including the European Journal of Operational Research, British Accounting Review, Production, Planning & Control, and Omega. Her research uniquely bridges quantitative operations research methods with accounting frameworks, particularly examining how data analytics transforms traditional performance measurement in banking and service sectors through techniques like machine learning and data envelopment analysis. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2012-2024) reveals a clear evolution toward integrating advanced analytics with performance management systems. She has pioneered multidimensional efficiency measurement in banking branches, explored total cost of ownership in supply chains, and investigated strategic performance measurement adoption, consistently demonstrating how operational research methods solve real-world accounting challenges while advancing theoretical models. Her scientific recognition features the Dean’s Award for Early Career Teacher of the Year (2017), acknowledging her excellence in undergraduate and postgraduate instruction. In her capacity as Programme Lead, Raffoni shapes research strategy and supports faculty development across Business and Management Studies. While specific supervisees and grant details aren't documented in available materials, her leadership role and active publication record indicate substantial engagement in research mentorship and academic community building. She actively collaborates within Loughborough's Accounting and Finance research group, contributing to interdisciplinary projects that address contemporary challenges in financial management through analytical approaches, with emerging work suggesting increasing focus on artificial intelligence applications in performance systems.
Alexander Hollberg is an Associate Professor in the Division of Building Technology at Chalmers University of Technology, within the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering. His academic role focuses on Computational Sustainable Design, emphasizing the development of digital tools for sustainable building and urban design. He holds a PhD in Parametric Life Cycle Assessment (2016) from Bauhaus University Weimar, an MSc in Architectural Engineering (2011), and a BSc in Civil Engineering (2008) from Technical University of Munich (TUM). His research interests include Sustainable Design Optimization, Stakeholder Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). He co-founded CAALA, a software and consulting startup in Munich, Germany, advancing tools for real-time environmental performance evaluation in early design stages. Recent work includes studies on digital twins for urban planning, robust renovation strategies, and AI-driven facade optimization. Hollberg was promoted to Docent (Associate Professor) in Computational Sustainable Design in 2022, focusing on bridging computational methods with sustainable environmental transitions. His collaborative projects address tool development for stakeholder engagement, BIM integration, and circular economy frameworks in construction. Key Projects: Development of Bombyx and Twinable tools for real-time LCA and urban simulation Leading the Nordic Build-LCA PhD forum and BIM-based LCSA applications Contributions to IEA EBC Annex 72 guidelines on life cycle environmental impacts Education Background: PhD in Parametric Life Cycle Assessment, Bauhaus University Weimar, 2016 MSc in Architectural Engineering, Bauhaus University Weimar, 2011 BSc in Civil Engineering, Technical University of Munich, 2008 His research outputs prioritize early design-stage decision support through parametric modeling and AI, with a focus on carbon neutrality and material circularity in construction.
Chen Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at City University of Hong Kong and the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Machine Learning and Optimization (MLO) group. His research focuses on building reliable machine learning models, particularly studying robustness and privacy properties of deep neural networks from an optimization perspective. University: City University of Hong Kong Academic Rank: Assistant Professor Students: Supervises multiple PhD, MPhil, and postdoctoral researchers. Education: Holds a Ph.D. (2022) and MSc (2017) in Computer Science from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and a BSc (2015) in Computer Science from Tsinghua University. Research Interests: Adversarial robustness, privacy-preserving machine learning, optimization algorithms, dataset distillation, generative models, and theoretical analysis of loss landscapes. His work addresses challenges like catastrophic overfitting, architecture overfitting in distilled data, and stable adversarial training methods. Article Trends: Recent publications explore adversarial robustness under l0/l1 norms, gradient inversion for data reconstruction, evolutionary factor searching in finance, and meta-tuning for out-of-domain few-shot learning. These works emphasize optimization techniques to enhance model reliability and generalization. Scientific Awards: Microsoft Research Ph.D. Scholarship Programme (2017–2019) Advising and Grants: Supervises a diverse team of current and former students, with collaborations across institutions like George Mason University and Zhejiang University. Research supported by academic and industry grants. Labs and Teams: Leads the MLO group, which investigates fundamental ML theory and algorithms to improve system reliability. The group's work spans adversarial training, dataset distillation, and generative model optimization.
Giacomo Chiesa is a Full Professor at the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) at Politecnico di Torino. He is a member of the Interdepartmental Center Ec-L - Energy Center Lab. His research focuses on Architectural Technology , Bioclimatic Design , Building Performance , and Urban Climate . Research Interests : Building Simulation, Passive Cooling, Smart Buildings, Digital Twin, Climate Change Adaptation Recent publications analyze urban weather datasets for energy simulations, shading control thresholds , and ventilation strategies in educational buildings. His work covers energy renovation roadmaps , thermal comfort , and climate-resilient building systems . Teaching : PhD courses in Human-Centric Methodologies and MSc courses in ICT in Building Design Research Leadership : Scientific Director for projects like Urban Generation and Prelude , EU-funded initiatives
Professor Mahroo Eftekhari is a Professor in Building Services Engineering at Loughborough University, leading the Low Energy Building Services Engineering MSc programme. Her research focuses on energy-efficient building systems, thermal comfort, HVAC optimization, and renewable integration. She has pioneered control systems for airports and buildings, including MPC-based strategies to reduce energy use while enhancing occupant well-being. Notable contributions include the development of BISPA (Building & Industrial Services Pipework Academy), a national center for BIM and pipework training. Education: Holds qualifications including CEng (Chartered Engineer), DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy), FCIBSE (Fellow of Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers), and SFHEA (Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy). Her academic career is marked by collaborations with Tata Steel, Mitsubishi R&D, and Vexo, yielding applied research in sustainable building technologies. Research Interests: Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort Modeling, Zero Energy Buildings, Digital Twins, and Advanced Control Systems. She has developed innovative solutions like AI-driven thermal management for Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and interfaces to synchronize airport operations with energy systems. Awards & Grants: Secured funding from diverse bodies for projects such as adaptive thermal comfort models, BISPA infrastructure, and energy-efficient HVAC strategies. Her work emphasizes practical applications, including reducing CO₂ emissions via airport terminal optimization and improving renewable energy use in buildings. Lab & Teams: Leads the Building Energy Research Group, managing projects in closed-loop heating systems, IEQ monitoring, and hydronic system efficiency. The Civil Engineering labs house interactive BIM rigs launched with institutional and industry support.
Nan (Nancy) Ma is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering and Director of the Laboratory for Healthy, Environmental, and Resilient Buildings (HERB-Lab) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Her research focuses on integrating architectural and computational methods to advance sustainable, occupant-centric buildings. She holds a PhD in Architecture (Building Technology Track) from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Architecture, and a Bachelor of Environments from the University of Melbourne. Her interdisciplinary work spans collaborations with public health, biostatistics, computer science, mechanical engineering, and pediatric psychology. Key research areas include building decarbonization, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) modeling, IoT-enabled smart buildings, and machine learning applications in architecture. Ma has been awarded the 2021 Best Paper Award from Building and Environment and secured grants from institutions like the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and WPI’s GAPSA Fellowship. Her lab, HERB-Lab, emphasizes innovative solutions for healthy and resilient building systems. Ma’s contributions include pioneering studies on occupant behavior analysis via text-mining and blockchain-based energy management systems. She is actively involved in field studies assessing building envelope impacts on urban health risks and thermal comfort prediction using Bayesian neural networks.
Dr. Marina Bock is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Aston University's College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. She specializes in structural engineering with expertise in metallic structures, additive manufacturing, and numerical modeling. Currently accepting PhD students, her work bridges academic research and industry applications in sustainable construction. Her educational background includes: PG Cert in Building and Design and Construction Technology, University of Wolverhampton (2017-2018) PhD in Local Buckling and Web Crippling Response of Stainless Steels, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (2010-2015) MSc in Patch Loading of Hybrid Plate Girders, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (2004-2010) Dr. Bock's research integrates laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to advance metallic structural systems, with pioneering work in additive manufacturing for construction. Her investigations span stainless steel design code development, corrosion prevention in reinforced concrete using hydrogels, and cold-formed steel behavior. Recent projects focus on sustainable infrastructure solutions through novel composite materials. Analysis of her 2022-2025 publications reveals dominant themes in additive manufactured aluminum structures, cold-formed steel design methodologies, and sustainable paving materials for urban heat island mitigation. Her work consistently addresses practical engineering challenges through experimental validation and code-compliant design solutions. Scientific recognition includes: IStructE Academic Research Award Commendation (2021) for research on aluminum SHS/RHS under biaxial bending Dr. Bock has secured significant research funding including a Royal Society Research Grant (£20k, 2023) for additive manufactured Al7075 aluminum and Innovate UK funding (£437k) for UV-reflective resin-based paving. Previous internal projects (£20k) focused on structural aluminum applications. She supervises PhD research in additive manufacturing and corrosion prevention while maintaining industry collaborations. Her experimental work utilizes advanced university laboratories for structural testing, with collaborations spanning European research consortia and industrial partners. Current projects involve multi-institutional teams developing reusable structural systems and solar-energy-harvesting building envelopes.
Cynthia Cruickshank is a Full Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University and currently serves as Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within the Faculty of Engineering and Design. She holds degrees including a B.Sc. and Ph.D. from Queen's University. Her research focuses on advanced building energy systems, high-performance buildings, and sustainable construction materials. Key areas include solar-assisted heat pumps, thermal energy storage (both sensible and latent), and solar absorption cooling. She leads the Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CABER), dedicated to innovative building envelope technologies. Her recent work examines telework impacts on home energy use, smart thermostat data analysis, and the integration of bio-based phase change materials in construction. Over 150 peer-reviewed articles highlight her contributions to energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, and building retrofit strategies. Prof. Cruickshank's research teams collaborate on projects such as solar-driven adsorption systems, vacuum insulation panel retrofits, and policy implications of remote work. Her labs emphasize experimental validation of novel materials and systems through guarded hot box testing, hygrothermal modeling, and in-situ evaluations.
William W. Braham is the Andrew Gordon Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, where he also directs the Master of Science in Design – Environmental Building Design (MSD-EBD) program and the Center for Environmental Building + Design (CEBD). He previously served as Department Chair and Chair of the Faculty Senate, reflecting his longstanding leadership within the institution. His education includes a B.S.E. in civil and mechanical engineering from Princeton University, followed by a Master of Architecture and PhD in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a Certificate in Traditional Chinese Architecture from Tsinghua University, underscoring his global perspective on sustainable design. Braham’s research lies at the intersection of architecture, energy, and ecological systems. His work applies systems ecology and building performance modeling to address climate change, energy efficiency, and urban sustainability. Key themes include responsive building envelopes, urban morphology, embodied carbon, and regenerative architecture. He has pioneered the use of emergy synthesis in architectural analysis and has led energy and carbon planning for institutions like the University of Pennsylvania Health System and the Chautauqua Institution. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on smart building technologies, thermal comfort modeling using AI, indoor air quality, and sustainable materials. Collaborations with the Thermal Architecture Lab and international partners highlight the interdisciplinary nature of his work. The articles span topics from blockchain-based environmental accounting to bioclimatic design pedagogy, indicating both scholarly depth and educational innovation. 2021 Best Paper Award, Building and Environment Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA) Braham has advised numerous graduate students and researchers in environmental building design and urban sustainability. His research has been supported by collaborations with PennPraxis, DOE, and industry partners such as Daikin. He continues to lead high-impact research initiatives through the CEBD, including campus energy analysis and building energy modeling tools. He leads the Center for Environmental Building + Design, a hub for interdisciplinary research on energy, climate, and sustainable design. The center fosters collaborations across engineering, architecture, and environmental science, supporting innovative projects in urban metabolism, low-carbon materials, and smart building systems.
Dr. Andrzej Ożadowicz is a University Professor at the Department of Power Electronics and Automation of Energy Conversion Systems within the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland. His office is located in room 510, building C-1, with contact details including phone +48 12 617 50 11 and email ozadow@agh.edu.pl. He holds PhD, DSc, and Engineering degrees, reflecting his dual expertise in academic research and practical engineering applications. His research spans Power Electronics, Building Automation, Smart Grids, and IoT-driven energy systems. Key interests include energy efficiency optimization through digital twins and BIM, distributed energy resource integration , and AI-enhanced demand management . Notably, he pioneers applications of deep reinforcement learning in home energy systems and develops frameworks for Smart Readiness Indicator implementation. His work bridges theoretical innovation with practical case studies in building thermal modeling and dynamic façade systems. Recent publications (2021-2025) reveal three dominant trends: (1) Convergence of digital twin technology with building automation for real-time energy management; (2) Critical analysis of IoT security and interoperability in smart infrastructure; (3) Pedagogical innovations in engineering education through blended learning methodologies post-COVID-19. His scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on energy transition challenges and smart grid evolution. Professor Ożadowicz actively contributes to the Discipline Council for Automation, Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Space Technologies at AGH. He is instrumental in the AutBudNet initiative —a network of certified laboratories for energy efficiency assessment that implements "learning by doing" principles in building automation education. His work with this consortium emphasizes practical validation of smart grid technologies and demand response systems.
Angela Sasic Kalagasidis is a Professor and Department Head at Chalmers University of Technology , leading the Building Physics research group. She serves as a board member of the Moisture Center at Lund University of Technology , contributing to interdisciplinary research in building science. Building Physics Heat and Mass Transfer Energy Efficiency Moisture Safety Indoor VOC Emissions Climate Change Adaptation Her recent publications focus on aerogel-based materials for insulation, urban heat island mitigation , and thermal energy storage systems . Key methodologies include CFD simulations , field testing , and life cycle assessment frameworks . Research trends show emphasis on: Advanced computational tools for hygrothermal analysis Integration of phase change materials in building systems Climate resilience in building envelopes Optimization of ventilation and moisture control
