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Setting a breathable standard: Q&A with architectural engineer William Bahnfleth

7/28/2023

Led by William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering, the American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) approved Standard 241, which establishes minimum requirements for building owners, operators and professionals to improve indoor air quality and reduce the risk of disease transmission through infectious aerosols. Bahfleth explained the new standard in a Q&A.

Penn State announces faculty recipients of 2023-24 U.S. Fulbright Scholar awards

7/17/2023

Two faculty in the Penn State College of Engineering have received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Engineering graduate student selected as ‘rising star’ in cyber-physical systems

7/10/2023

Zahra Ghorbani, an architectural engineering doctoral candidate, was one of 34 people selected nationally to participate in the 2023 Cyber-Physical Systems Rising Stars Workshop, held in May at the University of Virginia and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Beyond buildings: Architectural engineers work to preserve heritage

7/7/2023

Joe Kallas, a doctoral candidate in the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering, led an emergency mission to document historic structures damaged in an explosion in Beirut in 2020. He has now partnered with Rebecca Napolitano, assistant professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, to present the Beirut blast as a case study demonstrating how image-based 3D modeling can serve as a prioritization tool to inform disaster recovery decision making in the Journal of Cultural Heritage.

William Bahnfleth honored with international society service award

6/26/2023

William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering, received the Andrew T. Boggs Service Award from ASHRAE, formerly the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, on June 24 at the society’s annual conference in Tampa, Florida.

Center for Socially Responsible AI awards Big Ideas Grants to five projects

6/20/2023

The Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence awarded more than $212,000 to advance five interdisciplinary research projects as part of its Big Ideas Grant program.

Media mention: ‘The New War on Bad Air’

6/17/2023

William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering, was quoted in an article in The New York Times on building ventilation as it pertains to public health generally and infectious disease in particular.

Media mention: ‘Midwesterners are seeing smoke again, NY is next: How you can prepare your home’

6/14/2023

William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, was quoted in an article on how to prepare homes for poor air quality caused by wildfire smoke.

College of Engineering recognizes 2023 Early Career Award recipients

6/12/2023

The Penn State College of Engineering will recognize 10 alumni with the Early Career Award for their achievements and demonstrated commitment to their professions, communities and Penn State at a ceremony on June 16 at University Park.

Registration open for architectural lighting design summer camp

5/31/2023

The Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering and Project CANDLE, which stands for Creating an Alliance to Nurture Design in Lighting Education, have joined up to host Camp CANDLE. The four-night overnight camp at University Park will take place July 4–7 for high school students interested in architectural lighting.

Claris Design+Build establishes architectural engineering professorship

5/4/2023

Architectural engineering alumnus Phil Clark and his company, Claris Design+Build, are establishing the Claris Construction Early Career Professorship in Architectural Engineering at Penn State.

Multidisciplinary studio course reaches new collaborative heights

5/3/2023

The CoLab, an upper-level architecture, architectural engineering and landscape architecture studio course, combines six disciplines in one studio experience where students learn from industry professionals.

Inaugural recipient of engineering career development professorship named

4/27/2023

Greg Pavlak, assistant professor of architectural engineering in Penn State’s College of Engineering (AE), was named the first recipient of the Gifford H. Albright Career Development Professorship in Architectural Engineering, established in honor of the first head of the AE department.

College of Engineering names student marshals for spring 2023 commencement

4/25/2023

The Penn State College of Engineering has named its student marshals for the spring 2023 commencement ceremony. One student is selected to represent each of the 14 majors associated with the college and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.

Engineering graduate students earn prizes at 2023 Graduate Exhibition

4/11/2023

Seven Penn State engineering graduate students earned first-, second- or third-place prizes at the 2023 Graduate Exhibition, held March 20-24 on the University Park campus and online.

Richard Mistrick named recipient of 2023 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award

4/11/2023

Richard Mistrick, associate professor and chief curricular officer of architectural engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, has received the 2023 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award.

Ryan Solnosky receives 2023 Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award

4/11/2023

Ryan Solnosky, associate teaching professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, is the recipient of the 2023 Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award.

Penn State researchers explore sustainable, structural strength in devastated communities

4/10/2023

Structural engineering researchers complete hands-on research in Mayfield, Kentucky, surveying homes without roofs in the almost-immediate aftermath of a tornado.

Eye tracking during building inspections provides insight on how experts think

3/28/2023

After a building failure due to natural disasters or poor structural design, safety inspectors must enter a structure to assess the damage before occupants can return. Researchers in the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering studied how building inspectors make their safety assessments by analyzing their gaze patterns with eye-tracking software.

NSF grant funds the development of construction robotics training

3/17/2023

Houtan Jebelli, assistant professor of architectural engineering, will use a three-year, $600,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop a virtual-reality based training environment for working with construction robots.

Humans play role in reactions that impact indoor air quality, research finds

3/3/2023

A team that includes Penn State researchers examined the impact of human presence on indoor air quality and found that human skin oil can react with indoor ozone to produce hydroxyl radicals, which, in turn, react with other molecules to produce sometimes hazardous byproducts.

Eden Binega: ‘I Engineer Habitation’

3/2/2023

“I Engineer” highlights excellence across the Penn State College of Engineering, as well as how the college is made stronger by the diversity of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds of those in the engineering community. Featured here is Eden Binega, doctoral student in the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering.

Penn State, University of Auckland connect at Sustainable Tech Conference

2/28/2023

Penn State Global sponsored two Penn State professors, Anne Hoag, associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications and director of the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship, and Esther Obonyo, associate professor of engineering design and of architectural engineering and director of the Global Building Network, to attend the December 2022?Blue and Green Technology Conference?in Auckland, New Zealand.

Media Mention: ‘Penn State, Ohio State get NSF grant to use AI to reduce construction worker injuries’

1/19/2023

Research led by Houtan Jebelli, Penn State assistant professor of architectural engineering, to improve construction worker safety on job sites was featured in an EHS Today article.

James Freihaut named interim head of architectural engineering

1/18/2023

James Freihaut has been named interim head of the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering, effective Jan. 1.

$1.8M NSF grant funds project to improve construction worker safety on sites

1/13/2023

With a four-year, $1,800,000 National Science Foundation grant, Houtan Jebelli, assistant professor of architectural engineering, is leading a research team to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled, real-time and context-aware holistic health monitoring approach for construction workers.

GivingTuesday gifts to engineering up more than 152% compared to 2021

12/22/2022

The Penn State College of Engineering fundraised $46,291 from 254 gifts on GivingTuesday, which took place on Dec. 8. The funds will benefit students largely through scholarships, as well as supplement resources for materials and experiences.

Engineers help artificial intelligence to learn more safely in the real world

12/16/2022

Penn State researchers are looking for a safer and more efficient way to use machine learning in the real world. They developed and tested a new reinforcement learning algorithm aimed at improving energy consumption and occupant comfort in a high-rise office building.

New grant looks to biomaterials to help reduce construction waste

12/13/2022

Nathan Brown, assistant professor of architectural engineering, is among the Penn State researchers studying whether fungal biomaterials can replace synthetic acoustic insulation and potentially reduce construction waste.

Media mention: ‘Engineers Help Artificial Intelligence to Learn More Safely in Real World’

12/12/2022

Research led by Greg Pavlak, assistant professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, was recently featured in the December 2022 newsletter from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Scalable model makes for more efficient, smarter grid use, researchers report

11/29/2022

A Penn State-led research collaboration developed a scalable model specifically to control large groups of buildings and their energy demand in realistic operational settings. They published their approach in the Journal of Energy Storage.

Architectural engineering student team recognized in lighting design contest

11/17/2022

A team of two students from the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering won a $1,000 grant from the Illuminating Engineering Society. The accepted their award at the society’s annual conference held Aug. 3-5 in New Orleans.

PJ Dick and Trumbull support engineering facilities expansion with $1M gift

11/16/2022

A $1 million gift from PJ Dick and Trumbull Corporation will name classroom 102 inside West 1, a new engineering facility set to open at University Park in spring 2024. The classroom, which is the largest in the building, will be named the George Mezey and Jeff Turconi Classroom.

Can light ease some symptoms in nursing home residents with dementia?

11/10/2022

Researchers from Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and the College of Engineering have received a to study the effects of ambient lighting interventions in nursing homes. The collaborative project will focus on nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Penn State adaptive screen system for buildings featured in Lisbon Triennale

11/8/2022

A Penn State-designed window screen system that automatically changes its shape based on indoor and outdoor environmental conditions is part of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal through Dec. 5.

Artificial intelligence could help make construction more inclusive

11/4/2022

Currently, women and other underrepresented populations make up about 10% of the workforce in construction, but with automation and teleoperation increasing in construction, there may be new opportunities to make construction work more accessible across genders. Yuqing Hu, assistant professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, will lead a team to investigate these opportunities with a three-year, $559,757 National Science Foundation grant.

Media mention: ‘How to Use Ventilation to Make Indoor Hangouts a Little Safer’

11/2/2022

William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering, was featured in an article by SELF magazine that discussed ways to improve home ventilation to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne contaminants and viruses.

One robot-assisted step closer to construction safety with NSF grant

10/14/2022

Wearable robots could reduce injuries among construction workers by providing life support, weight dispersion and posture correction, but the risks and challenges of using them on job sites remain largely unknown, according to Houtan Jebelli, assistant professor of architectural engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering. A three-year, $675,000 National Science Foundation grant will enable a team of researchers from Penn State and Virginia Tech, led by principal investigator Jebelli, to study the physical, psychological and sociotechnical risks of powered wearable exoskeletons to construction workers.

Researchers to address heat-related illnesses on construction sites

10/14/2022

Penn State researchers have received a two-year, $423,000 grant from the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) to develop a data-driven framework for a wireless sensing system that may protect construction workers from severe heat-related illnesses.

Greg Pavlak earns building performance award from professional society

10/13/2022

Greg Pavlak, assistant professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, was recognized by the U.S. regional affiliate of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA-USA) in September at the 2022 Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild in Chicago.

Researchers to holistically assess buildings' thermal resilience, sustainability

10/11/2022

As the frequency and severity of both heat waves and extreme cold weather events increase across the United States, assessing how well a structure can handle extreme temperatures — known as thermal resilience — becomes critical, according to Penn State Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering Julian Wang. With a four-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation grant, a Penn State team led by Wang is developing a new holistic framework to understand the relationship between thermal resilience and sustainable design strategies for buildings and communities.

Penn State architectural engineering alumnus establishes graduate student scholarship

10/5/2022

Penn State architectural engineering alumnus Lester Boyer has established the Lester L. Boyer Graduate Research Scholarship through his estate to help full time Penn State graduate students pursuing a degree in architectural engineering.

Researchers host mayor of Makassar to discuss smart urban agricultural project

9/29/2022

Penn State researchers were among those who met with the mayor of Makassar, Indonesia to discuss progress on Smart Garden Alley, the National Science Foundation-funded project taking place in the city.

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