Author: Nathan Kurtz

Dr. Sen Huang Participates in the Architectural Engineering Department Distinguished Speaker Seminar

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We were very excited to welcome lab alumni Dr. Sen Huang (Prof. Zuo’s first Ph.D. student) to speak at the first seminar as part of the Architectural Engineering Department’s 2024-2025 Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series. Dr, Sen Huang is from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and recipient of the Outstanding Young Contributor Award from IBPSA World and the Emerging Contributor Award from IBPSA-USA chapter.

Dr. Sen presented his research advancements in modeling, sensors, and controls to facilitate connected communities. This was an extremely inspiring presentation to all the students who attended. He also held a student round table to give advice and information regarding career opportunities at national laboratories. We really appreciate him taking the time to come out and present to our students and give valuable insight and guidance. We look forward to future collaborations with Dr. Sen and ORNL.

SBS Lab Looking for Ph.D. Students for Fall 2025

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The SBS Lab is currently looking for 2 fully funded Ph.D. student positions for Fall 2025. We are looking for self-motivated candidates interested in modeling and simulation for smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. This year, our hiring focus is large-scale building energy modeling and integrated infrastructure system modeling.

To apply, please submit your application to the Architectural Engineering Department portal https://lnkd.in/erYNYyK3.

SBS Lab member Jiyuan Sui recently developed the following figure showing the diverse backgrounds and career pathways of current lab members and alumni. We hope you can join the lab!

 

SBS Lab Team Attends the DCDConnect Virginia Conference

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SBS Lab team members Viswanathan Ganesh, Hongjun Li, and Michael Maloney joined Prof. Wangda Zuo at the DatacenterDynamics (DCD) Connect conference in Virginia on November 6-7. This was an amazing opportunity for the team to learn about the newest advancements in AI and liquid cooling technology. Prof. Zuo was also able to participate in a panel discussion on Waste Heat Reduction alongside many industry experts. It was also very beneficial to hear the insights of thought leaders in the datacenter world.

We give many thanks to Matt Welch and DatacenterDynamics for their amazing support, thanks to their generosity three of our Ph.D. students were able to attend the conference and learn much from the industry. This was a great opportunity for them to shape and guide their research thoughts, and will certainly enhance their contributions to the field.

Journal Article on Near-Optimal Control Sequences for Chiller Plants with Water-Side Economizers

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We are proud to announce the new paper titled “Development of near-optimal advanced control sequences for chiller plants with water-side economizers in U.S. Climates (ASHRAE RP-1661)“. This work is part of our ASHRAE Research Project 1661, sponsored by ASHRAE TC 4.7, 1.4, and 7.5.

In the study, we categorized advanced control sequences into condenser water, chilled water, and hybrid controls. Sequences from each category were identified and the plant was optimized for 504 scenarios using various combinations of dynamic Modelica models. The near-optimal sequences showcased energy reductions of up to 15% relative to the baseline depending on configuration, climate, and load profile.

We are extremely grateful to all the current and former lab members (Cary Faulkner, Julia Ho, Chengnan Shi, Chengliang Fan, Nasim Ildiri) who contributed to this work and ASHRAE PMS members (Keith Cockerham, Timothy McDowell, Jeff Stain, and Li Song) for their valuable advice throughout the project. Much appreciation to Penn State University for sponsoring the open-access version of our paper found here.

SBS Team Attends American Modelica Conference at University of Conneticut

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Prof. Wangda Zuo and team members Zhanwei He and Viswanathan Ganesh attended the American Modelica Conference at UConn. Here they learned more about advanced modeling methods and model-based design. They enjoyed the insightful keynotes from Dr. Swaminathan Gopalswamy (Texas A&M) and Clas Jacobson (Carrier). This was an exciting trip as Viswanathan was awarded Penn State’s Borda Travel Scholarship to present our paper on “Advancements in Building-to-Grid Interactions: Thermo-Electric Coupling Models of Motor-driven Devices” at the conference. Our Post-Doctoral scholar Zhanwei delivered a presentation on “Efficient Simplified Models for District Energy CHP Systems”. We are happy that there was so much great work for our lab to present. Many thanks to the organizers of the conference for all their hard work in putting on an amazing experience.

SBS Lab Members Visit Net Zero Carbon Community Sites in Makassar Indonesia

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SBS Lab members Wangda Zuo, Leah Marucci, and Nathan Kurtz traveled to Makassar, Indonesia for a week-long field study as part of the Net Zero Carbon Community (NZCC) project. The team quickly learned that the project is having major snowball effects within the communities. Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed in four locations across the city to allow the communities to reduce energy usage for their fish farms. In Indonesia, the utility grid is almost 80% comprised of fossil fuels, so reducing utility usage can significantly reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, from the energy savings, the communities can reduce their spending which they are immediately putting back into expanding to more fish tanks, and hydroponic systems.

This project has been going on for 6 months and all four installations across 3 sites are fully up and running with online monitoring that can be integrated with the city command center. Over these 6 months our tUS-Indonesian team comprising of Universitas Gadjah Madah (UGM), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and the City of Makassar has successfully selected sites and procured, installed, and commissioned all equipment. We are deeply thankful for the long-lasting collaborations with UGM and ITB. We are also greatly thankful for the generous support from the U.S. Department of State (DoS), National Science Foundation (NSF), City of Makassar, and Penn State College of Engineering.

Additional news posts can be found on the project webpage and Prof. Zuo’s LinkedIn post 1 and 2.

SBS Lab Member Michael Maloney Receives Scholarship

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SBS lab member and new Ph.D. student Michael Maloney received the prestigious University Graduate Fellowship in the Pennsylvania State College of Engineering. This was given in recognition of his strong academic record and served to enable him to establish his research and other activities. This is a great start to Michael’s time with the lab. He has a M.S. from Columbia University in civil engineering. He then worked in industry for 8 yeasrs gaining expertise in construction management and life cycle carbon analysis. His Ph.D. work will be in Architectural Engineering with research focusing on addressing sustainability challenges in the growing building sector of data centers.

SBS Lab Member Woohyoung Lee Receives Scholarship

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SBS lab member and new Ph.D. student Woohyoung Lee received the prestigious University Graduate Fellowship in the Pennsylvania State College of Engineering. This was given in recognition of his strong academic record and served to enable him to establish his research and other activities. This is a great start to Woohyong’s time with the lab. He has a B.S. and M.S. from University of Seoul where his M.S. research focused on building environmental systesm and indoor air quality. His Ph.D. work will be in Architectural Engineering with research focusing on fast indoor airflow modeling using our fast fluid dyanmics (FFD) mdoels.

SBS Lab Member Hongjun Li Receives Prestigious Scholarship

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SBS lab member and new Ph.D. student Hongjun Li received the prestigious University Graduate Fellowship in the Pennsylvania State College of Engineering. This was given in recognition of his strong academic record and served to enable him to establish his research and other activities. This is a great start to Hongjun’s time with the lab. He has a Master degree in Architecture from Tsinghua University with a research focus on distributed urban energy systems. His Ph.D. work will be in Architectural Engineering with research on Modelica-based modeling for the design and control of advanced building energy systems.