Lab Members

Faculty

Wangda Zuo, Ph.D., IBPSA Fellow

Director of SBS Lab, Professor,
Department  of Architectural Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Director for Research, Global Building Network,
Joint Appointment, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

With degrees in three majors (Automation, Computational Engineering, Mechanical Engineering) from three countries (China, Germany, U.S.), Dr. Zuo’s research is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative. His current research focuses on smart, sustainable and resilient buildings, communities and cities. He has contributed to multiple open-source libraries and tools. He has served as PI for nearly 30 research projects sponsored by NSF, DOE, DOD, DHS, and others.

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. Students

Saranya Anbarasu

Saranya Anbarasu

M.S., Building Energy Performance

Saranya’s research focuses on Modelica based modeling and simulation of district energy systems with emphaisis on steam based heating systems and cyber-physical-logical interdependency modeling in futuristic  smart connected communities.

Yizhi Yang

Yizhi Yang

M.S. Mechanical Engineering

Yizhi’s research focuses on assessing  long-term carbon intensity reduction potential of commercial buildings in U.S and quantative performance assessment of smart garden alleys.

Julia Ho

Julia Ho

B.S., Civil Engineering

Julia’s research focus is on Modelica based modeling and simulation of  district energy systems with specific focus towards cooling systems – generation, distribution and demand/consumption.

Tom Sevilla

Tom Sevilla

B.S., Electrical Engineering

Tom works as an engineer at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and continues his PhD research under the guidance of Dr. Zuo.

Jiyuan Sui

Jiyuan Sui

M.S, Building Performance and Diagnostics

Jiyuan’s interest is in Building Energy Modeling, Renewable Energy, Machine Learning.

Rosina Adhikari

Rosina Adhikari

B.S., Mechanical Engineering

Rosina’s interest is in building energy modeling, smart cities, renewable energy, and building automation and controls.

Viswanathan Ganesh

Viswanathan Ganesh

M.S., Sustainable Electric Power Engineering

Viswathan’s interest is in smart grid systems and using Modelica language.

Juan Diego Flores Garcia

Juan Diego Flores Garcia

B.S., Mechanical Engineering

Juan Diego’s interest is in district cooling systems and the application of such systems in coastal cities and communities.

Hongjun Li

Hongjun Li

M.Arch, Architecture

Hongjun’s interests are in Energy Modeling, Data Center Cooling, and Urban Energy Systems

Woohyoung Lee

Woohyoung Lee

M.S., Architectural Engineering

Woohyoung’s interests are in IEQ, IAQ, Building Environmental Systems, Health Effects of Air Pollution

Michael Maloney

Michael Maloney

M.S., Civil Engineering

Michael’s interests are in Data Centers, BEM, BIM, Decarbonization, and Building Energy Efficiency

B.S./M.S. Students

Nathan Kurtz

Nathan Kurtz

BAE/M.S. Student

Nathan is currently in his fourth year at Penn State, following the electrical option of the Architectural Engineering major. He is a part of the Schreyer Honors college.

Genevieve Gandara

Genevieve Gandara

BS Student

Genevieve is currently in her senior year at California Institute of Technology. She is pursuing her BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Almila Meng

Almila Meng

BAE Student

Almila is currently in her second year at Penn State, following the electrical option of the Architectural engineering major. Prior to this, she did a summer program at the University of Maryland.

Alex Pan

Alex Pan

B.S. Student

Alex is currently in his sophomore year at Penn State. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.

Leah Marucci

Leah Marucci

BAE Student

Leah is currently in her second year at Penn State, pursuing the mechanical option in the Architectural Engineering Department.

Lab Alumni:  Postdoctoral Researchers

Yingli Lou, Ph.D. (2023)

Yingli Lou, Ph.D. (2023)

Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering at The University of Colorado Boulder

Ardeshir Moftakhari, Ph.D. (2023)

Ardeshir Moftakhari, Ph.D. (2023)

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

Katy Hinkelman, Ph.D. (2024)

Katy Hinkelman, Ph.D. (2024)

Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University

Zhanwei He, Ph.D. (2024)

Zhanwei He, Ph.D. (2024)

Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University

Lab Alumni:  PhD Graduates

Sen Huang, Ph.D. (2016)

Sen Huang, Ph.D. (2016)

Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, United States

Wei Tian, Ph.D. (2017)

Wei Tian, Ph.D. (2017)

Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, United States

 

Ph.D. Dissertation: “Coupled Simulation of Indoor Airflow, HVAC, Control, and Building Envelope”

Outstanding Ph.D. Research Award by College of Engineering in 2017

Yunyang Ye, Ph.D. (2019)

Yunyang Ye, Ph.D. (2019)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Ph.D. Dissertation: “Standardized Computational Framework for Prototypical Building Energy Model Creation and Building Energy Analyses.”

Solo Nominee in 2019 for College of Engineering & Applied Science Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Yangyang Fu, Ph.D. (2020)

Yangyang Fu, Ph.D. (2020)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Xu Han, Ph.D. (2020)

Xu Han, Ph.D. (2020)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Jing Wang, Ph.D. (2021)

Jing Wang, Ph.D. (2021)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Ph.D. Dissertation: “Occupant-Centric Modeling and Control For Low-Carbon And Resilient Communities”

Solo Nominee in 2021 for College of Engineering & Applied Science Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Yingli Lou, Ph.D. (2022)

Yingli Lou, Ph.D. (2022)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Ph.D. Dissertation: “Interconnections am`ong Energy Consumption, Carbon Emissions, and Economic Impacts for Sustainable Buildings“

Solo Nominee in 2022 for College of Engineering & Applied Science Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Cary Faulkner, Ph.D. (2022)

Cary Faulkner, Ph.D. (2022)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Katy Hinkelman, Ph.D. (2023)

Katy Hinkelman, Ph.D. (2023)

Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, United States

Jake Castellini, Ph.D. (2023)

Jake Castellini, Ph.D. (2023)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Lab Alumni:  M.S. Graduates

Angelique Fathy, M.S. (2020)

Angelique Fathy, M.S. (2020)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

M.S. Project Report: “Modeling of a Zero Energy, Cold-climate Residential Building Design”

Dominik Jankowski, M.S. (2021)

Dominik Jankowski, M.S. (2021)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Master Thesis: “Implementation and Evaluation of Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks for Fast Indoor Airflow Prediction”

David Milner, M.S. (2023)

David Milner, M.S. (2023)

Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Master Thesis: “Sand-based Thermal Storage for Building Heating Applications: A District Energy Case Study”

Shiva Srinivasan, M.S. (2024)

Shiva Srinivasan, M.S. (2024)

Department of Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, United States

Master Thesis: “A KKT-Based Framework for Sustainable Inter-community Trading Systems.”

Lab Alumni: Graduate / Undergraduate Research Assistants

  1. Tanmay Ambadkar, M. S. in Computer Science Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2023.
  2. Carter Lowell, B. S. in Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2022-2023.
  3. Chengnan Shi, M.S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2021-2022.
  4. Mingzhe Liu, Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2020-2022.
  5. Nasim Mamaghani, M.S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2021-2022.
  6. Chloe Snellgrove, B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2021-2022.
  7. Jessica Stershic, M.S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2019-2020.
  8. Nerys Huffman, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2019.
  9. Xing Lu, M.S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2017-2019.
  10. Satish Upadhyaya, B.S. in Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 2018-2021.
  11. Matthew Hayden Strong, B.S. in Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 2018-2021.
  12. Ayush Khanal, B.S. in Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 2018-2019.
  13. Danlin Hou, M.S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2017-2018.
  14. Peilin Yang, M. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2017-2019.
  15. Keya Joshi, M. S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2017-2018.
  16. Daniel Jacques, B. S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2017.
  17. Hiba Benkhye, B. S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Miami, 2017.
  18. Sophia Delgado, B. S. in Industrial Engineering, University of Miami, 2017.
  19. Isabella Stahl, B. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Miami, 2017.
  20. Alex David Plumb, B. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Miami, 2017.
  21. Clay Wyda, B. S. in Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, 2016-2017.
  22. Isabella Goltz Ver, B. S. in Chemical Engineering, Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 2016.
  23. Drake Peterson, B. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Miami, 2016-2017.
  24. Robert Foster, B. S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Miami, 2015.
  25. Lonching Eng, B. S. in Electric Engineering, University of Miami, 2015-2016
  26. Bernardo Samuel Benzecry, M. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Miami, 2015-2016.
  27. Ana Carolina Laurini Malara, B. S. in Civil Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, 2014-2016.
  28. Thomas Alonso Sevilla, B. S. in Electric Engineering, University of Miami, 2014-2016.
  29. German Augusto Barrios, B. S. in Electric Engineering, University of Miami, 2014-2015.
  30. Mary Semaan, M. S. in Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, 2014.
  31. Christina Marie Thomas, B. S. in Electric Engineering, University of Miami, 2014.
  32. Dan Li, B. S. in Physics and Mathematics, University of Miami, 2013-2015.
  33. Ana C. Cohen Mobily-Guitta, B. S. in Architectural Engineering, University of Miami, 2013-2014.

Lab Alumni: Visiting Scholars

  1. Younes Benakcha, Ph.D. Student, INSA Toulouse, France, 09/2024-10/2024.
  2. Heba Hassan, Lecturer, Beni Suef University, Egypt, 04/2023-07/2023.
  3. Nasim Mamaghani, Ph.D. Student, University of Colorado Denver, 02/2021-05/2021.
  4. Yizhi Yang, M.S. Student, Columbia University, 09/2020-12/2020.
  5. Dominik Jankowski, M.S. Student, Coburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany, 07/2020-12/2020.
  6. Chenliang Fan, Ph.D. Student, Guangzhou University, China, 12/2019-06/2021.
  7. Chenlu Tian, Ph.D. Student, Shandong Jianzhu University, China, 10/2019-03/2020.
  8. Saranya Anbarasu, M.S. Student, CEPT University, India, 05/2019-11/2019.
  9. Shifang Huang, Ph.D. Student, Southeast University, China, 01/2018-12/2018.
  10. Peng Xu, Associate Professor, Chongqing University of Technology, China, 06/2017-05/2018.
  11. Yihui Qiu, Associate Professor, Xiamen University of Technology, China, 04/2017-10/2017.
  12. Qiujian Wang, Ph.D. Student, Tongji University, China, 03/2017-06/2018.
  13. Guang Zhou, Ph.D. Student, Guangzhou University, China, 11/2016-10/2017.
  14. Dong He, Ph.D. Student, Chongqing University, China, 09/2015-09/2016.
  15. Guifang Shao, Associate Professor, Xiamen University, China, 08/2014-07/2015.
  16. Tiejun Li, Ph.D. Student, Chongqing University, China, 08/2014-07/2015.
  17. Dongbo Pan, Associate Professor, Southwest University, China, 08/2014-07/2015.
  18. Changjiang Jiang, Associate Professor, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China, 08/2014-07/2015.