Teaching Awards

Teacher / Mentor of the Year Award, University of Florida. 2016.
Nancy Perry Teaching Excellence Award, University of Florida. 2014.
Innovation in Green Design Award, for the development of Net Zero Energy Training Series, U.S. Green Building Council, Massachusetts Chapter, Boston, MA. 2010.

Ph.D. Students Advised as Committee Chair (Graduated)

1. Dr. Ali Komeily; May 2017. Sr. Data Analyst, McKinsey & Partners, Boston, MA, USA. Dissertation title, “We Shape Our Cities and They Shape Our Lives: A Data-Driven Analysis of Three Cities in Florida.”
2. Dr. Zeyu Wang; May 2017. Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, China.  Dissertation title, “Artificial Intelligence (AI)- based Ensemble Model for Building Energy Prediction.”
3. Dr. Dongsoo Kim; August 2018. Sr. Project Manager, Samsung Construction, NC, USA. Dissertation title, “Forecasting Environmental Impact Assessment of Residential Buildings in Florida under Future Climate Change.”
4. Dr. Mengda Jia; December 2018. Data Scientist, Feedzai, San Francisco, CA, USA. Dissertation title, “Occupant Behavior Modelling for Improving Commercial Building Energy Use Simulation.”
5. Dr. Soheil Fathi; May 2019. VDC Engineer, Clark Construction, San Francisco, CA, USA. Dissertation title, “Campus Energy Use Prediction for Assessing the Effects of Climate Change Using Artificial Intelligence.”

Ph.D. Students Advising as Committee Chair

1. Ms. Haekyung Im; Urban Energy Forecasting, ML, Statistical Analysis. Expected graduation 2021
2. Mr. He Zhang; Indoor Air Quality, Sensors, Data Analysis. Expected graduation 2021
3. Mr. Jithin Gopinadhan; Haptic-enabled Interactive VR & BIM. Expected graduation 2022
4. Mr. Deepak Balakrishnan; BIM, Building Permitting/ Codes Automation. Expected graduation 2023

New Courses Developed & Delivered

2020-Present, Foundations, Principles and Applications of Sustainable Development, IDS 2935, 3 credit hours
Co-developed new course that fills Social and Behavioral Sciences and International Gen Ed Requirements at University of Florida. This interdisciplinary course provides an understanding of human interventions on the environment in various forms that has led to the destruction of natural resources. In this course, the key concepts related to sustainable development worldwide, gain familiarity with key environmental and resource issues and the effects on humankind if present population and consumption trends remain unchanged. This course will address core questions about culture and nature with a special focus on human interventions on the environment.

2011-Present, Buildings Energy Modeling, BCN 4594 & BCN 6584, 3 credit hours
Instrumental in developing a new course during my first year at University of Florida. These courses were, then, approved by the State of Florida University System: BCN 4594 Undergraduate and BCN 6584 Graduate courses. These courses build essential knowledge of building energy and sustainability, and provides necessary background to use building energy simulation software tools. The goal of this course is to use building performance modeling as an investigative tool to improve overall energy efficiency of the building. Among others, students will learn to use DOE approved eQuest software to create a detailed energy model of an existing building from Construction Documents (Architectural, MEP) and calibrate using actual energy use data.

2014-Present, Buildings & Energy: Design and Operation vs. Sustainability, EML 4930 and EML 6934, 3 credit hours
Co-developed new courses that were approved by State of Florida University System: EML4930 Undergraduate and EML 6934 Graduate courses in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering in 2014. Currently, these courses were offered as online course via UF Edge Program. Syllabus

2014-Present, International Sustainable Development, BCN 1582 Online
Co-developed new 100% online course owing to increased enrollment. This course fills Social and Behavioral Sciences and International Gen Ed Requirements at UF.

2009-2010, Net Zero Energy Training Series
18 Short Courses from concepts to advanced energy and daylight modeling, 175 professionals attended; offered AIA, IES & USGBC continuing credits.

2009-2010, Building Energy Simulation Analyst (BESA) Certification Exam & Preparatory Course, Association of Energy Engineers; covers the theory and practice of computerized building energy modeling. Conducted 3-day workshop in Dallas, TX. Attendees included industry professional (KEMA, Alcatel-Lucent), US Department of State, Oregon Department of Energy.

2010, Building Energy Modeling Training Program
For LEED EAc1 / ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Appendix G Compliance for WSP Flack + Kurtz, Boston MA.

Courses Delivered 

2020-Present, Doctoral Core II
DCP 7911: 3 credit hours
This mandatory course for doctoral students is designed to help PhD students navigate the dissertation process. It is also intended to provide opportunities for students to become critical and astute readers of other people’s research. DCP 7911 is a survey course that covers the basic elements of academic research, including (1) research formulation and design, (2) research approaches and methods, and (3) quantitative data analysis. As well, the semester-long course project involves learning how to formulate and write a major component of a research proposal – a NSF-style research that is closely related to your dissertation proposal.

2011-Present, Building Energy Modeling
BCN 4594 and BCN 6584: 3 credit hours
Uses DOE approved software, refers ASHRAE 90.1, and ASHRAE Fundamentals for engineering calculations

2011-Present, International Sustainable Development
BCN 1582: 3 credit hours
This course fills Social and Behavioral Sciences and International Gen Ed Requirements at University of Florida.

2012-2019, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Studio & Practicum
BCN 4787 & 4905; BCN 5789 & 5905, 6 credit hours
The integrated studio format will include students from Construction Management, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design working in teams. Every year, the teams are posed with new challenging projects;

2012: Multi-use Building Program with a site in Singapore
2013: Mobile Outreach Hut for University of Florida Office of Sustainability
2014: Design, Build, and Operate Solar-Powered House
2015: Solar Decathlon
2016: Integrated Neighborhood Infrastructure for the 21st Century
2017: Extreme Coastal Adaptation Studio with a focus on sea level rise, in Miami
2018: Good Will Reconsidered, Community of Newton, Sarasota, Florida
2019: San Felasco Tech City Tower

2014-Present, Buildings & Energy: Design and Operation vs. Sustainability, EML 4930 and EML 6934, 3 credit hours
To achieve higher standards in building design and operation, a solid foundation of energy engineering and sustainability principles is essential. At UF engineering, there are no courses offered to students and industry professionals in energy topics particularly related to buildings, specifically for the design and operation in Florida climate conditions. This project fills this void through the development of an energy engineering course.

2011, Sustainable Construction
BCN 6985, 3 credit hours
This course addressed the application of the sustainable development paradigm to the built environment. It also discussed environmental ethics and environmental justice; ecological / environmental economics including Life Cycle Costing; building assessment (frameworks) and ecolabels.
2009-2010 Building Energy Simulation Analyst (BESA) Certification Exam & Preparatory Course
Association of Energy Engineers; covers the theory and practice of computerized building energy modeling. Conducted 3-day workshop in Dallas, TX. Attendees included industry professional (KEMA, Alcatel-Lucent), US Department of State, Oregon Department of Energy.

2010, Building Energy Modeling Training Program
For LEED EAc1 / ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Appendix G Compliance for WSP Flack + Kurtz, Boston MA.

University Governance & Service

University Service
2020-2022, Elected Faculty Senator
2016-2019, Elected Faculty Senator
2013-2019, Sustainability Committee

College Service
2017-2020, Elected Faculty Council
2017-2019, Elected Administrative Council
2018-2020, Witters Competition Committee

Departmental Service
2019-2021, Elected Endowment Committee
2019-2021, Elected Merit Pay Committee
2014-2021, Elected Faculty Advisory Committee
2017, Rinker School Director Search Committee
2013-2017, Computing Committee
2011-2021, Graduate Research Committee