SBS lab member and two alumna are recognized as library developers on Modelica Buildings Library version 4.0.0

Lab members Chengan Shi, and alumna Dr. Jing Wang and Dr. Sen Huang are recognized as library developers on LBNL’s Modelica Buildings Library, version 4.0.0. The MBL is an open-source modeling tool, which can be accessed and used by modelers wishing to employ Modelica in a building analysis setting. Click here for further information on MBL version 4.0.0.

Congrats to Chengnan, Jing, and Sen on this recognition for their hard work.

Paper on District Heating System Simulation published in Energy

Lab member Katy Hinkelman has been published as a first author in Energy this month. Her paper, titled “A Fast and Accurate Modeling Approach for Water and Steam Thermodynamics with Practical Applications in District Heating System Simulation” presents a novel approach to water modeling in large-scale district water heating simulations. In the paper, Katy addresses the complex thermodynamic behavior of water in two-phase modeling simulations, and presents a novel Modelica medium model for water in these applications. The paper is accessible on ResearchGate here.

Congratulations to Katy on her publication and continued success!

Lab Director, Dr. Zuo to deliver webinar for IEEE Smart Cities

On June 21, 2022, lab director, Dr. Wangda Zuo, will deliver a talk titled “Modeling of Smart, Sustainable, and Resilient Cities” hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Zuo will present the lab’s work on the Net Zero Energy Community and the case study used for that project: the Anna Maria Historic Green Village in Florida. The webinar will help attendants learn how to use Modelica to design and operate net zero communities using open-source models.

 

Click here to see more information or register for the free webinar.

Lab Member Katy Hinkelman wins Two More Graduate Fellowship Awards

This past week, lab member Katy Hinkelman won two more prestigious graduate fellowship awards from PSU. Katy was awarded the Gordon D. Kissinger Graduate Research fellowship, which supports educational and research enhancement for students pursuing a Ph.D., M.S., or M.Eng. in the Architectural Engineering department at PSU.

Additionally, Katy won the Harvey and Geraldine Bush Graduate Fellowship in Engineering. The Bush Fellowship is funded by generous donors and is awarded by the College of Engineering to outstanding graduate students in pursuit of a graduate degree in engineering.

Last month, Katy also received the Marlene & Joseph Borda Architectural Engineering Graduates Fellowship.

 

Ph.D. student, Kathryn Hinkelman received the Marlene & Joseph Board Fellowship to attend the 2022 COBEE Conference

Ph.D. student, Kathryn (Katy) Hinkelman received 2022 Marlene & Joseph Borda Architectural Engineering Graduates Fellowships from Penn State University to attend the 5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment (COBEE) in Montreal Canada, July 25-29, 2022. She will present her work titled “Ecosystem-Level Biomimicry for the Built Environment: Adopting Systems Ecology Principles for the Control of Heterogeneous Energy Systems” at the conference. This paper is co-authored by Dr. Michael Wetter from LBNL, the SBS lab director, Dr. Wangda Zuo, and the lab alumni Dr. Jing Wang and Dr. Sen Huang.

The purpose of the Marlene & Joseph Borda Architectural Engineering Graduates Fellowships is scholarly dissemination. It is for Architectural Engineering graduate students, enrolled in Ph.D., M.S. and M.Eng. degree programs at Penn State, who plan to present their research findings at a national or international meeting (conference, workshop, symposium, etc.).

We wish Katy safe travels and good luck with her presentation!

Ph.D. candidate, Cary Faulkner received a travel grant to attend the 2022 ASHRAE Annual Conference

Ph.D. candidate, Cary Faulkner received a travel grant to attend the 2022 ASHRAE Annual Conference in Toronto. He will present his work titled “A Novel Physics-Informed Algorithm for Training AI Models to Predict Indoor Airflow” at one of the Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Modeling seminars. We wish him safe travels and good luck with his presentation!

Cary successfully passed his comprehensive examination at CU Boulder recently. His work is entitled “Advanced Modeling of HVAC Operation for Sustainable and Resilient Office Buildings During the COVID-19 Pandemic”​. Cary’s research interests include building system modeling, computational fluid dynamics, indoor environment modeling, and machine learning. More insight about his scholarly activities and interests is available here.

Lab director, Dr. Zuo invited to give two seminars, at Drexel University and Lehigh University

Lab director, Dr. Wangda Zuo, was invited to two in-person seminars last week, to speak about his ongoing work on smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. On April 19, Dr. Zuo spoke at the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University, and on April 21 Dr. Zuo spoke at the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy at Lehigh University.

Dr. Wangda Zuo is a Professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He holds a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and has multiple projects funded by NSF, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and many more over the years. His current research focuses on smart, sustainable, and resilient buildings, communities, and cities.

Lab member, Cary Faulkner is recognized as Ph.D. fellow for University of Nebraska Symposium

Ph.D. candidate, Cary Faulkner was selected as a Ph.D. Fellow for this year’s University of Nebraska Lincoln Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction PhD Symposium. He will participate in the “Future of the Building Industry” workshop and present his research titled “Tradeoffs Between Indoor Air Quality and Costs During COVID-19 Pandemic” at the subsequent Ph.D. Symposium. 

Cary successfully passed his comprehensive examination at CU Boulder recently. His work is entitled “Advanced Modeling of HVAC Operation for Sustainable and Resilient Office Buildings During the COVID-19 Pandemic”​. Cary’s research interests include building system modeling, computational fluid dynamics, indoor environment modeling, and machine learning. More insight about his scholarly activities and interests is available here.

Lab director, Dr. Zuo is featured on the College of Engineering’s website at Penn State University

Lab director, Dr. Zuo is featured on the College of Engineering‘s website at Penn State University. He recently joined the Penn State College of Engineering as a professor of architectural engineering. He also serves as associate director for the Global Building Network, an initiative that aims to advance building science, construction process, and building management in order to create an international framework.

Dr. Wangda Zuo also holds a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and has multiple projects funded by NSF, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and many more over the years. His current research focuses on smart, sustainable, and resilient buildings, communities, and cities.

Lab director, Dr. Zuo will give a webinar on Modeling in Building to Grid Integration on April 28

Lab director, Dr. Zuo will give a webinar on modeling in building to grid integration on April 28. This webinar will introduce system modeling in the context of building-to-grid integration. Relevant concepts with a focus on requirements for system modeling are provided as background information. Then, methods to address those requirements are elaborated on and demonstrated in two case studies. Registration is available here.

Dr. Wangda Zuo is a Professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He holds a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and has multiple projects funded by NSF, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and many more over the years. His current research focuses on smart, sustainable, and resilient buildings, communities, and cities.