Published: March 19, 2019

Professor ZhaiProfessor and building systems engineering researcher John Zhai will be named a fellow by the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) in September. He will be honored for his contributions to the field of building simulation as a researcher and educator.
Zhai’s research focuses on the energy and environmental demands of buildings, including indoor environmental quality and mechanical systems. He also teaches courses on building energy systems, energy efficient buildings and sustainable building design. His focus on building performance and operation is a reason that IBPSA values his contributions to the field of building simulation.
Building simulation allows designers to analyze the life-cycle costs of buildings, as well as their construction costs and logistics. This allows for the construction of lower-cost and higher-efficiency buildings.

“Building simulation is critical for high-performance building design, retrofit, operation and construction, not only because it reveals the scientific ground for these tasks but also promotes the potential approaches to improving these missions,” Zhai said.   

IBPSA is the leading international society for building performance simulation researchers, developers and practitioners. It advocates for building simulation to improve the design, construction and operation of buildings across the world. It also promotes building simulation programs and international policy standardization.

Zhai will be inducted during the Building Simulation 2019 conference Sept. 2-4 in Rome. Building Simulation 2019 is the biennial conference hosted by IPBSA, where developments in the field of building simulation will be shared.