Are we dreaming a fantasy when we propose that individual and community building stocks be net zero on carbon emissions in the next 3 decades? Or is this a real possibility?

The February EESN webinar speakers will bring us up to date on research showing that we are making good progress toward this goal.

Professor Tea Zakula PhD '13 ​of the University of Zagreb (Croatia) will discuss smart buildings, those that use monitors and interconnected technologies to automatically and optimally respond to occupants' needs and changing conditions. Her research investigates how new technology can be implemented to reduce our city carbon footprint, improve users' satisfaction and the overall efficiency of the electrical grid. 

MIT Prof. Christoph Reinhart will talk about ways cities and towns can achieve building carbon reduction goals and discuss concrete building retrofitting measures that municipalities and home owners can implement. He will present case studies from Cairo and Singapore to Boston and Oshkosh WI.

Bios:

Professor Tea Žakula SM '10, PhD '13 leads the Laboratory for Energy Efficiency at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Professor Žakula collaborates with numerous international research institutions and industry on the topics of advanced control, energy modeling and optimization. Her major was in energy and her minor in business and was an MIT Energy Fellow. In addition to her academic work, she also serves as an expert for the European Commission in the evaluation of Horizon projects, and as a member of the Board for Energy Transition at the Office of the President of Croatia. Professor Zakula has also served as a special adviser to the minister in the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy, as well as a member of several committees in the Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Science and Education.

MIT Professor Christoph Reinhart is a building scientist and architectural educator working in the field of sustainable building design and environmental modeling. He leads the Sustainable Design Lab (SDL), which researches the environmental performance of buildings and neighborhoods and the technology company Solemma. Products from these organizations are used in practice and education in over 90 countries. Before joining MIT in 2012, Christoph led the sustainable design concentration area at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and was voted the 2009 Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a staff scientist at the National Research Council of Canada and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany and authored many peer-reviewed scientific articles and two textbooks on daylighting.