This summer five members of the CBE community received recognition for conference papers and for career contributions, plus travel funding to support conference participation. Three of the awards were presented at the 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference, and two at Indoor Air 2024. We commend these well-deserved awards and in this post highlight the efforts leading to them.
As we gear up for our year-end rituals and activities, here at CBE we can take a moment to reflect on our efforts during 2023, and remember our purpose — to contribute towards making a more sustainable and equitable world. We are pleased to report on such wide ranging work, and also note that this would not be possible without the participation of CBE’s Industry Partners. We are grateful for their support and the ongoing contributions of our colleagues, students and affiliates. We wish you all the best for 2024, and in this post share some of our major accomplishments and milestones.
CBE’s controlled environment chamber has been used for research leading to hundreds of journal papers, including keystone work related to human response, indoor environments and mechanical systems in buildings and automobile cabins. A major renovation was completed this fall, updating obsolete systems and failing equipment that was hindering important research operations. This milestone was celebrated in a ribbon cutting ceremony and happy hour before CBE’s fall Industry Advisory Board meeting. In this post we acknowledge the recent contributors, and discuss past work and future directions.
In this Centerline we introduce two rising stars from CBE’s research team, Akihisa (Aki) Nomoto and Matt Roberts, the most recent postdoctoral scholars to join our center. Aki’s work reinforces CBE’s leadership on thermal comfort in complex environments based on human physiology. Matt brings to CBE extensive expertise in life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods, and will initially focus on the embodied carbon impacts of MEP systems.
As we reflect on the events of 2022, we are encouraged by the return to normal that is underway, as the most challenging aspects of Covid-19 recede. Here at CBE we brought meetings and events back to the office, we held Industry Advisory Board meetings with in-person and virtual options, we welcomed new industry partners, new staff, and launched new research directions.
We recently learned the sad news that our dear friend and colleague of many years, Tom Webster, passed away at the age of 80. Tom’s life was celebrated at a memorial on April 23rd at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club, attended by family members, friends, colleagues and former students. The many stories and tributes shared that day are a testament to Tom’s many contributions to our work and community, as so many people spoke passionately of the ways that he helped and connected with them in a meaningful and selfless manner.
We are saddened by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other innocent Black lives at the hands of police and vigilantes. We share the outrage that has been erupting in demonstrations in all 50 states and around the world, and we recognize that systemic racism leads to unequal access to economic opportunity, health outcomes and environmental justice. As sustainability professionals, we can catalyze change by leveraging our skills as designers, builders and planners, and by striving to diversify our profession.
CBE researchers, students and visiting scholars will present recent findings and design tools at the 2020 ASHRAE Winter Conference on February 1-5 in Orlando.
Project Scientist Fred Bauman recently received the ASHRAE Fellow award, a recognition for those who have distinguished themselves in the HVAC industry. His contributions are based on the extensive research on UFAD that he directed at CBE, leading to deeper knowledge and guidance for these advanced HVAC systems. Recently, he has led a similar efforts to address thermally massive radiant systems.
CBE’s research mission is supported largely by a talented group of graduate students and visiting student scholars from abroad. This spring, several student team members received merit-based scholarships that will support their studies and participation at professional conferences.