CBE’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB) meetings are open to current partners and invited guests. Thursday is our Plenary Session, where we share recent findings and progress, and seek feedback with Q&A and breakouts. Friday morning is our Executive Session where we discuss synergies and shared goals to guide future directions. Wednesday evening is a pre-IAB happy hour with talks from recent authors and contributors.
Happy Hour and Book Talks
Wednesday, October 15
5:30 – 8 pm PDT
Bauer Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley
Open to Industry Partners and the General Public. Drinks and small bites will be served.
Join us for this pre-IAB event, with a happy hour followed by an intimate gathering to hear from authors and contributors from CBE partner firms sharing insights about recent books on sustainable design and neuroinclusive workplaces.
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5:30 pm
Networking and Happy Hour
Bauer Wurster Hall, Second Floor Lobby
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6:45 pm
Book talks
Pablo La Roche, Principal with Arcadis and Professor at Cal Poly Pomona Sarah Oppenhuizen, Principal and Director of Interiors at HOK
Bauer Wurster Hall 470 Pablo La Roche will discuss his book, "Carbon-Neutral Architectural Design," newly updated in a third edition from CRC Press of Taylor & Francis Group. Sarah Oppenhuizen will talk about new work from her colleague Kay Sargent, "Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Advancing Sensory Processing and Cognitive Well-Being in the Built Environment," published this year by Wiley.
Plenary Session
Thursday, October 16
8:15 am – 5 pm PDT
Pauley Ballroom East, UC Berkeley at 2495 Bancroft Way [Hybrid sessions also via Zoom]
Open to Industry Partners, Invited Research Affiliates and Guests
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8:15 am
Registration and Breakfast
9:00 amSession One: Indoor Environments and Innovations [begin Zoom webinar]
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9:00 am
Welcome and Participant Introductions
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9:25 am
Using Fans to Reduce Heat Stress in Manufacturing Environments
Charlie Huizenga, Research Specialist
Preliminary findings from a field study in a manufacturing facility in Baton Rouge, LA, highlighting the potential of using fans as a safe, cost-effective alternative to mechanical cooling.
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9:50 am
Driving Action on Indoor Air Monitoring in Commercial Buildings
Seema Bhangar, Principal, US Green Building Council
USGBC has explored barriers to adopting low-cost IAQ sensing in commercial buildings through expert interviews from industry, academia, manufacturers and others.
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10:10 am
Scalable Methods for Window View Quality Assessment
Jaeha Kim, PhD Candidate in Systems Engineering, Cornell University
A new multi-institutional study showed that virtual reality and images reliably match physical-space experiments for most view quality metrics, enabling scalable, controlled research.
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10:30 am
Break (30 minutes)
11:00 amSession Two: Decarbonizing Building Materials [Hybrid]
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11:00 am
Life Cycle Assessment for Decarbonization Policy Support
Matt Roberts, Assistant Professional Researcher
This talk will discuss how LCA can support the development of innovative policies to drive actionable reductions of embodied carbon emissions in the built environment.
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11:25 am
Low-Carbon Mass Timber Made in California
Paul Mayencourt, Assist. Prof. of Cooperative Extension, Co-director of UC Berkeley Woodlab
This presentation will feature recent research and innovative low-carbon mass timber construction from local California forests.
11:45 amLightning Presentations [Hybrid]
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11:45 am
Impact of HVAC and Aerosol Controls on Large Particle Exposure
Chai Um, PhD Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
A full-scale study was used to measure differences in the dynamic behavior of coarse particles and gases. The well-mixed model can overstate ventilation and filtration removal of coarse particles.
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11:50 am
Winter Heat Island Mapping for Heat Pump Suitability in Cold Climates
Lino Sanchez , PhD Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
Remote sensing and geospatial analysis are merged with conventional building energy simulations to identify microclimates within cities to learn where HVAC equipment may be downsized.
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11:55 am
AI-Powered Design Tool for Discovering Structural Forms (25 minutes)
Tao Sun, PhD Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
This tool tool turns structural concepts and brief descriptions into refined visuals, enabling fast iterations for design reviews and easy integration into AEC workflows.
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12:00 pm
Lunch (1 hour)
1:00 pmKeynote and Partner Presentations [Hybrid]
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1:00 pm
Keynote Presentation
Emmett Fitzgerald, Senior Producer, 99% Invisible
Emmett is a journalist and podcast producer who reports stories at the intersection of climate change and the built environment. He currently works for the design architecture podcast 99% Invisible, and 2024 he produced a mini-series about climate change adaptation in the United States called Not Built for This.
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2:00 pm
Partner Presentations
Fotile, CIM, Turner Construction
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2:15 pm
Break (25 minutes)
2:40 pmSession Three: HVAC and Advanced Controls [Hybrid]
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2:40 pm
Cooling with Radiant Systems: Load Shifting for Energy Flexibility
Carlos Duarte, Assistant Professional Researcher
This presentation explores how radiant systems can reduce strain on the grid during peak demand hours, inlcuding start and duration of system operation to optimize for climates.
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2:55 pm
Optimizing HVAC Performance: Field Demonstration of Cost Optimized Reset (CORE)
Tharanga Jayarathne, Senior Research Engineer at TRC Companies, Inc.
Preliminary findings on a SAT reset strategy in VAV systems, focusing on energy and cost savings, challenges, and recommendations for deployment.
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3:10 pm
Electrification of Large Existing Buildings
Paul Raftery, Professional Researcher
Jiwon Park, PhD Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
Quinn Graessle, MS Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
Tobias Kramer, Postdoctoral ResearcherFour presenters will share insights from a multi-year, multi-part study, including performance findings of HVAC solutions in a large medical building, electrification case studies, and a preview of a beta version of a new decarbonization tool.
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3:35 pm
Closing Remarks for Zoom Participants [Conclude Zoom webinar]
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3:35 pm
Break (25 minutes)
4:00 pmBreakout Sessions
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4:00 pm
Breakout Table Topics
CBE staff and partners will lead roundtable discussions with in-person participants, focusing on current topics of concern to research and industry. (Topics will be made available soon.)
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4:50 pm
Conclude Plenary Session
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5:00 pm
Cocktail Hour and Dinner
The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley (Minor Lane, Berkeley, CA)
Executive Session*
Friday, October 17
8:30 am – 12:00 pm PDT
The Magnes Collection, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
*Open Only to Current Industry Partners (two per supporting firm or membership team)
The session will be moderated by CBE Partner Chair Shruti Kasarekar. CBE faculty and research staff will seek feedback on a range of ideas for CBE’s FY 2025-2026 research portfolio.
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8:30 am
Continental Breakfast
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9:00 am
Introductions and Director’s Message
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9:30 am
Overview of New Project Ideas
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10:00 am
Break (20 minutes)
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10:20 am
Breakout: Small Group Discussions of Related Research Ideas
To advance interaction we will break into smaller groups centered around multiple themes.
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11:00 am
Groups Report Back and Discussion
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11:30 am
Break with Priority Mapping Exercise (20 minutes)
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11:50 am
Wrap Up Message
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12:00 pm
Conclude, with Optional Lunch in Downtown Berkeley