Education Background

Yizhi acquired her M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering with concentration in Energy Systems at Columbia University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Building Environment and Energy Applied Engineering from the Wuhan University of Science and Technology in 2019.

Research Interests

• Building Energy Modeling
• Large-Scale Building Modeling
• Building Energy Efficiency
• Building Decarbonization
• Building Energy Equity

Research Projects

• 03/2023 – Present: NSF – Correlation Between Participle Concentration in Public Space in India and Spread of Seasonal Diseases (with India Institute Technology Bhilai).
•  05/2023 – Present: NSF – U.S.-Ireland R&D Partnership: Intelligent Data Harvesting for Multi-Sclae Building Stock Classification and Energy Performance Prediction (with Ulster University and University College Dublin).
• 05/2023 – Present: DOE: The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative Integrated Field Laboratory (with John Hopkins University).
• 07/2020 – 06/2023: NSF/DOS – Modernizing Cities via Smart Garden Alleys with Application in Makassar City (with Virginia Tech, Universitas Gadjah Mada, & Institut Teknologi Bandung)
• 10/2019 – 08/2022: NSF – BIGDATA: Collaborative Research: IA: Big Data Analytics for Optimized Planning of Smart, Sustainable, and Connected Communities (with Virginia Tech)

Synergistic Activities

• Open-release model contributor: Building Energy Models for Commercial Buildings Based on CBECS Data

Major Awards

• 2023. Marlene & Joseph Borda Architectural Engineering Graduates Travel Fellowship
• 2022. Marlene & Joseph Borda Architectural Engineering Graduates Fellowship
• 2022. IBPSA – USA Scholarship to attend the 2022 ASHRAE & IBPSA-USA BPAC and SimBuild Conference. IBPSA – USA

Journal Papers

• Y. Yang, Y. Lou, C. Payne, Y. Ye, W. Zuo. 2023. “Long-term carbon intensity reduction potential of K-12 school buildings in the United States.” Energy and Buildings.  282, pp. 112802.
• Lou, Y. Ye, Y. Yang, W. Zuo, G. Wang 2023. “Energy Modeling of Typical Commercial Buildings in Support of ASHRAE Building Energy Quotient Energy Rating Program (ASHRAE RP-1771)” Accepted by Science and Technology for the Built Environment
• K.Hinkelman, Y. Yang, W. Zuo 2023. “Design Methodologies and Engineering Applications for Ecosystem Biomimicry: An Interdisciplinary Review Spanning Cyber, Physical, and Cyber-Physical Systems.”Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. 18 (2). pp. 021001.
• Y. Lou, Y. Ye, Y. Yang, W. Zuo, G. Wang, M. Strong, S. Upadhyaya, C. Payne. 2022. “Individualized Empirical Baselines for Evaluating the Energy Performance of Existing Buildings,” Science and Technology for the Built Environment, pp. 1-15.
• Y. Lou, Y. Yang, Y. Ye, C. He, W. Zuo. 2022. “The Economic Impacts of Carbon Emission Trading Scheme on Building Retrofits: A Case Study with US Medium Office Buildings,” Building and Environment, 221, pp. 109311.
• Y. Lou, Y. Ye, Y. Yang, W. Zuo 2022. “Long-term Carbon Emission Reduction Potential of Building Retrofits with Dynamically Changing Electricity Emission Factors.” Building and Environment, 210, pp. 108683.
• Y. Lou, Y. Yang, Y. Ye, W. Zuo, J. Wang 2021. “The Effect of Building Retrofit Measures on CO2 Emissions Reduction – A Case Study with U.S. Medium Office Buildings.” Energy and Buildings, 253, pp. 111514.
• Mao, Q., Feng, C., Yang, Y., Tan, Y. 2018. “Design of broadband metamaterial near-perfect absorbers in visible region based on stacked metal-dielectric gratings.” Materials Research Express, 5(6), 065801.
• Mao, Q., Chen, H., Yang, Y. 2019. “Energy storage performance of a pcm in the solar storage tank.” Journal of Thermal Science, 28(2), 195-203.
• Mao, Q., Feng, C., Yang, Y. 2019. “Design of tunable multi-band metamaterial perfect absorbers based on magnetic polaritons.” Plasmonics, 14(2), 389-396.

Conference Papers

• R. Adhikari, Y. Yang, W. Zuo “Developing a Representative Energy Model for  Row Houses in Baltimore City” 1st International Conference of Net Zero Carbon Built Environment (ZCBE) 2024. July 3-5, University of Nottingham, UK.
• Y. Yang, J. Sui, Y, Ye, W. Zuo, Y, Jung, X. Lei 2023. “Long-Term Assessment of Commercial Building Energy and Carbon Emissions in the Northwestern Region under Future Weather Trend.” IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2024. May 21-23, Denver, CO.
• Y. Yang, Y. Lou, Y. Ye, W. Zuo 2023. “Regional Carbon Emission Reduction Prediction via Retrofits of Commercial Buildings with a Case Study of US School Buildings in Hot Climates.” The 18th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation Association (Building Simulation 2023). September 4-6, Shanghai, China.
• Y. Lou, Y. Yang, Y. Ye, W. Zuo 2023. “Pathways To Decarbonize the U.S. Medium-Sized Office Buildings in Cold Climates.” 2023 HVAC Cold Climate Conference. March 6-8, Anchorage, AK.
• Y. Lou, Y. Ye, W. Zuo, Y. Yang 2022. “Realistic Estimation of CO2 Emission Reductions Due to Building Retrofit.” 2022 Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild. September 14-16, Chicago, IL.

News