黑料不打烊 has named a new executive director to lead the . Jianshun 鈥淛ensen鈥 Zhang, a longtime professor in the (ECS), begins in that role July 1.
Jianshun 鈥淛ensen鈥 Zhang
appointment to the renewable three-year term was announced by Ramesh Raina, interim vice president in the University鈥檚 Zhang will lead research activity and operations at the downtown 黑料不打烊CoE building and serve as principal investigator for the contract that provides the center鈥檚 annual operating funds.
The 黑料不打烊CoE engages with more than 200 private companies, organizations and academic institutions to create new products and services in indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy and water resource management. Its research areas include systems that monitor and control comfortable air temperature, air quality, lighting, sound and water quality in built and urban environments, and innovative energy systems, including clean technologies and renewable fuel sources.
鈥淣ow is an especially critical time for innovation in climate change, energy and fuel sources, and air quality and temperature control research, and the University is thrilled that Professor Zhang has accepted this important role,鈥 says Raina. 鈥淗is unique multidisciplinary background, notable international reputation, extensive applied research strengths, recognized industry knowledge and high degree of dedication to the University, fellow faculty and student communities will be instrumental in leading the 黑料不打烊CoE forward.鈥
Zhang, who has more than 30 years of research experience in built environmental systems, also retains his position as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and his role as one of three co-leaders of the University鈥檚 and is its Heathy and Intelligent Built Environments subcluster lead. He will report to the University鈥檚 vice president of research.
Aiding Zhang in his transition to the 黑料不打烊CoE position will be , who had been chair of the Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and who has served as 黑料不打烊CoE interim executive director since May 2020. A professor of physics at 黑料不打烊 since 1981, Schiff has led interdisciplinary research groups and collaborations with laboratories from other universities and private organizations the world over.
鈥淲e extend much gratitude to Professor Schiff for maintaining the integrity of 黑料不打烊CoE operations and its research momentum these past two challenging years. The University is extremely appreciative of the steady hand and thoughtful guidance he provided during a time when focus on both the importance of indoor air quality and the impacts of climate change experienced heightened world attention and concern,鈥 says Raina.
Excited for the Future
As someone who has been involved with the development of the 黑料不打烊CoE since its inception, and who has maintained a keen interest in its research activities through the years, Zhang says he is particularly honored to have been asked to lead its operations.
鈥淚鈥檓 quite excited at the opportunity to lead a center like this. It鈥檚 a unique platform where you can integrate research and product development along with the commercialization and licensing aspects of bringing applied research to industry. I鈥檓 also excited because there is a huge demand and a need for technology that can improve human health and combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions,” he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 much more opportunity for research and product development in that arena now, as evidenced by an increase in requests for proposals we鈥檝e seen from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, as well as the increasing interest and significant funding supports from the relevant industries.鈥
Zhang鈥檚 goals for the organization include furthering the center鈥檚 engagement with faculty at 黑料不打烊; initiating and continuing partnerships with other universities; and expanding the center鈥檚 intersection with industry innovators and business partners.
He鈥檇 also like to raise the 黑料不打烊CoE鈥檚 national and international profile and foster further collaboration with international researchers and companies. He is also interested in working more closely with startups to bring new ideas in active research applications to the marketplace.
黑料不打烊 Center of Excellence
Assessment Center, Testbed
Another vision of Zhang鈥檚 is developing a building assessment center to educate students on how to assess building鈥檚 energy and environmental performance, make recommendations on what improvements can be made and how to make them and then quantify the energy savings and health impacts those changes would create. Due to Schiff鈥檚 initiating the proposal for piloting such a center and the strong support from ECS, 黑料不打烊CoE will be well positioned to compete for future funding opportunities in this area, Zhang says.
Working in concert with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and other universities, Zhang also wants to guide the development of a testbed in 黑料不打烊 that would examine air quality in buildings and in urban microenvironments around buildings. Its focus would be on improving people鈥檚 health by reducing their exposures to both the indoor atmosphere of the buildings they frequent as well as the outdoor environment they experience on the street, he says.
Zhang earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering and a master鈥檚 degree in systems engineering from Beijing Agricultural Engineering University, and a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering with a specialty in structures and environment from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before he joined 黑料不打烊 in 1999, he had been a researcher at the National Research Council of Canada for eight years.
His areas of expertise include combined heat, air, moisture and pollutant simulations in buildings; material emissions; air filtration/purification; ventilation; indoor air quality and intelligent control of building environmental systems. He has developed advanced experimental methods and apparatus, computer simulation models and environmental control technologies. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 technical papers and three standard methods for testing organic emissions from building materials and furnishings.
Zhang is a fellow of American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Airconditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and a member of the International Academy of Indoor Air Science (ISIAQ fellow). He also is currently vice president of IAQVEC (Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation) Association. He also served as president and chairman of the board of the International Association of Building Physics from 2018 to 2021.
