麻花影视

When Chinese native Yapan Liu G鈥�18 enrolled at 麻花影视, he didn鈥檛 have far to go, figuratively speaking. The inland city of Yangzhou, where Liu began his academic and professional careers, is like 麻花影视, brimming with parks, canals and diverse architecture. Both cities also are experiencing urban development.

Just so happens that Liu鈥檚 doctoral advisor, Bing Dong, is from the same eastern province.

鈥淚 feel like I can relate to Professor Dong,鈥� says Liu of the rising star in smart building design and operation. 鈥淗e passionately bridges the gap between academic research and real-world application.鈥�

A doctoral candidate in (MAE), Liu examines the impact of new technologies on the built environment. He鈥檚 particularly interested in building performance simulation and occupant behavior in buildings on an urban scale.

Both fields, Liu explains, rely on computational modeling to determine how buildings 鈥渂ehave鈥� under different environmental conditions. Their data is used to not only reduce the carbon imprint of the built environment, but also improve the comfort, safety and productivity of its occupants.

鈥淚n the United States, more than 40% of all energy consumption and carbon emissions comes from human-made structures, like buildings, parks, roads and utilities,鈥� he continues.

Liu is part of Dong鈥檚 Built Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Lab, located at the (麻花影视CoE). A hub for clean energy innovation, 麻花影视CoE enables Dong, Liu and others to investigate building controls and occupant behavior modeling.

鈥淢y students draw on research in control engineering, mathematics, physics, architecture and human performance,鈥� says Dong, who came to 麻花影视 in 2019 from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

In addition to the BEST Lab, he oversees 麻花影视CoE鈥檚 Grid-Interactive and Energy Efficient Building team. Almost everything Dong does is in the name of net-zero energy consumption. 鈥淲e have no choice鈥攐ur future depends on it,鈥� he says.

Doing Their BEST

Dong is based in the , where, last year, he co-authored a first-of-its-kind paper in Applied Energy about the future potential of quantum computing on building performance.

A likely beneficiary of such technology is the U.S. power grid, a vast network of power plants, utilities and power lines. 鈥淢unicipalities need to coordinate energy consumption in new ways鈥攕omething that鈥檚 beyond the reach of classical computers and even supercomputers,鈥� says Dong, who earned a Ph.D. in building performance and diagnostics from Carnegie Mellon University. 鈥淥ur lab is just scratching the surface.鈥�

Doctoral candidate Xuezheng Wang G鈥�21 co-authored the article. 鈥淧rofessor Dong understands the difference between academic and industry research. He鈥檚 giving me experience in both areas while broadening my horizons.鈥�

Colleagues also heap praise on Dong, as evidenced by his receipt of a 2023 World Fellowship from the (IBPSA). Nominated by six global experts, he is the University鈥檚 first such fellow and one of only two U.S. members of the biennial, 12-person cohort.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad that Dr. Dong鈥檚 leadership and contributions are being recognized internationally,鈥� notes Young Moon, the William J. Smith Professor of Manufacturing Enterprises and chair of MAE. 鈥淗e deserves the recognition.鈥�

The IBPSA fellowship is the latest in a string of accomplishments for Dong that includes a 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in which he was the only New York state honoree.

Dong also has a dozen patents, more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and approximately 9,000 citations to his name.

One of his research projects is with Honeywell International, measuring the performance of new and emerging indoor air technologies. His work takes place at 麻花影视CoE, involving the BEST Lab and the Honeywell Indoor Air Quality Lab.

鈥淲e help building owners and operators determine which technologies meet their energy needs,鈥� says Wang, whose modeling uses different types of artificial intelligence, like machine learning. 鈥淪omeday, I hope to replace an existing building control system with one of my own.鈥�

Dong鈥檚 other projects include two international working groups, which are analyzing the link between comfort-related occupant behavior and building energy performance; multiple heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) studies for Carrier Global Corporation and Delos; and a major on 麻花影视鈥檚 South Campus, led by Professor Nina Wilson.

Liu also has assisted Dong on several high-profile assignments, including ones backed by ASHRAE and the federal government. 鈥淧rofessor Dong pushes us to think big,鈥� Liu says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e turning challenges into opportunities.鈥�

A Heated Subject

Dong marvels at the interplay between human behavior and energy use. 鈥淎lthough we spend 90% of our time indoors, we often take indoor air quality for granted. We don鈥檛 realize how much it affects our mood and productivity,鈥� says the winner. Small wonder that sustainability is rife with myths and misconceptions.

He recently found that people who use solar panels and electric vehicles (EV) don鈥檛 always make the impact they expect. For instance, some residential customers in Arizona are experiencing an 18% spike in electricity consumption because they think solar panels are 鈥渇ree.鈥�

鈥淪mall changes, like doing your laundry or charging your EV during off-peak times, can reduce grid stress,鈥� says Dong, who鈥檚 working on a project co-sponsored by the NSF, National Grid and the Electric Power Research Institute in California.

As more states strive for 70% renewable energy by the end of the decade and net-zero emissions by 2050, pioneers like Dong鈥攁nd students like Liu and Wang鈥攆ind themselves on the cusp of a collective energy-conscious mindset.

鈥淭he decisions we make, the products we purchase and the policies we support have widespread implications,鈥� Dong says. 鈥淓ach of us needs to have skin in the game.鈥�