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. This year, we are inviting partners to a pre-meeting event at AIA San Francisco.
AIASF Circularity Symposium
Wednesday, April 22
1:00 am – 6:30 pm PDT
140 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94104 [In-person at AIASF]
Registration and ticket fee required.
Join AIASF COTE for an afternoon symposium on Circularity in Practice to gain actionable insights into regenerative design strategies. This event includes three panel sessions, a materials roundtable, a vendor showcase, and concludes with a networking happy hour. See the full agenda here.
CBE has a limited number of subsidized tickets available for current industry partners. Please see CBE's most recent registration email for the promo code and instructions.
Plenary Session
Thursday, April 23
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
9:00 amSession One: New Developments in Decarbonization [begin Zoom webinar]
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9:00 am
Welcome and Participant Introductions
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9:25 am
Decarbonizing Concrete: Overcoming Challenges, Unlocking Opportunities
Franco Zunino, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Many practical strategies can be used to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint while maintaining performance and durability.
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9:45 am
Beyond the Building: Defining the LCA of Landscape Architecture
Angela Kou, MS Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
Quantifying the embodied carbon of landscape materials on the UC Berkeley campus, using three case study sites and remote sensing.
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10:05 am
Adaptive Reuse for Equitable, Low-Carbon Housing (30 min.)
Ramon Weber, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Integrating design simulation and urban data, new computational tools can evaluate and optimize low-carbon retrofit strategies for converting offices into affordable housing.
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10:25 am
Break (30 min.)
11:00 amSession Two: Indoor Environments [Hybrid]
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11:00 am
An Acoustical Case Study at AIA San Francisco
Charles Salter, President, Salter Inc.
This case study evaluates the acoustical design and measured performance of a lecture hall at AIASF headquarters, demonstrating how to achieve speech clarity without amplification.
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11:20 am
Effect of Indoor Temperature on Work Performance
Tobias Kramer, Postdoctoral Researcher
Results from a controlled experiment in the CBE climate chamber that tested cognitive performance across four temperatures showing implications for HVAC design strategies.
11:40 amLightning Presentations [Hybrid]
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Updating the Ankle Draft Risk Model for Winter Conditions
Junmeng (Patrick) Lyu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
A recent human subject experiment conducted in the CBE controlled climate chamber aims to refine the current ASHRAE 55 ankle draft risk model.
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Assessing Air Quality Impacts of Far-UVC Disinfection in an Office Setting
Jiayu Li, Assistant Professional Researcher
This full-scale lab study within an occupied office examines whether using ultraviolet light at 222 nm wavelength for disinfection alters ozone levels or creates secondary pollutants as a by-product.
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Standardizing View Clarity Metrics for High-Performance Fenestration
Sun Woo Chang, PhD student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
A new project to develop and validate view clarity metrics, and create a product rating framework to quantify window view quality.
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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 Speaker: Louise Bedsworth
Executive Director, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley
Louise Bedsworth is an expert in climate policy and sustainable development with over a decade of leadership experience in California state government and non-profit research. Her career has focused on advancing environmental stewardship, social equity, and climate resilience initiatives.
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2:00 pm
Partner Presentations
Kajima, CMTA
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2:15 pm
Break (25 min.)
2:30 pmLightning Presentations [Hybrid]
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2:35 pm
Adjusting Building Performance Standard Targets for Density in Multifamily Buildings
Quinn Graessle, MS Student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
Using the City of Berkeley's energy benchmarking data and a national dataset to explore equitable policy adjustments for higher density buildings.
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Updating Natural Ventilation Standards for Energy Efficiency and Health
Charlie Huizenga, Research Specialist
This new project will use advanced simulations and full-scale lab experiments to update ASHRAE’s natural ventilation standards.
2:45 pmSession Three: HVAC and Building Performance [Hybrid]
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2:45 pm
HVAC Commissioning Automation Using Brick Metadata Schema
Aoyu Zou, PhD student in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
An automated HVAC commissioning workflow using a brick metadata schema was tested in CBE’s climate chamber; results demonstrated robust scalability.
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3:00 pm
Advancing Air-to-Water Ultra-Low GWP Heat Pumps with Thermal Energy Storage
Carlos Duarte, Assistant Professional Researcher
We are developing and testing a multifunction heat pump with thermal energy storage through lab testing, field studies, and simulations.
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3:15 pm
Reducing Building Emissions by Dynamically Switching Between Heat Sources
Paul Raftery, Professional Researcher
This project evaluates a real-time switching strategy between air-source heat pumps and gas boilers, based on grid condistions and equipment efficiency, to reduce emissions in large office.
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3:30 pm
Closing Remarks for Zoom Participants [Conclude Zoom webinar]
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Break (20 min.)
3:50 pmBreakout Sessions
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3:50 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 then Dinner
The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley (Minor Lane, Berkeley, CA) Only open to invited guests and current industry partners. RSVP required.
Executive Session*
Friday, April 24
8:30 am – 12:00 pm PDT
The Magnes Collection, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA [In-person]
*Only open to current Industry Partners (two per supporting firm/ team)
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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
Advisory Board Meeting
Moderated by CBE Vice-Partner Chair Noah Zallen. CBE faculty and research staff will seek feedback on proposals for CBE’s FY 2026-2027 research portfolio.
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10:30 am
Break
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10:45 am
Breakout Discussion
To advance interaction we will break into smaller groups centered around multiple themes.
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12:00 pm
Conclude Executive Session Optional Lunch in Downtown Berkeley