Civil Engineering PhD students Iason Konstantzos (advised by Thanos Tzempelikos) and Jaewan Joe (advised by Panagiota Karava) were named recipients of the prestigious ASHRAE Grant-in-Aid Award for 2015. This $10,000 award is given every year to the most outstanding graduate students performing research in the Buildings or HVAC fields. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers considers applications from all over the world.

Konstantzos’ project is “Human-centered design of perimeter building zones based on visual comfort criteria.” Joe’s research is on “System identification and optimal control of intelligent buildings using an agent-based approach.”

This is the second time that Architectural Engineering graduate students receive this recognition. The first recipient (2013) was Ying-Chieh Chan, PhD candidate in CE working with Prof. Tzempelikos, for her work on “Analysis and optimization of multi-functional building facades.”

The goal of the Grant-In-Aid program is to encourage outstanding graduate students to become involved in research relevant to ASHRAE and establish careers that include active engagement and continued contributions to Society activities. The evaluation criteria for candidates include academic performance, quality of the student’s research plan, and an overall assessment of the likelihood for future involvement of the student within ASHRAE.