IBPSA-ENGLAND: News and Events Announcements

PhD studentships available – up to 8 placesUK Doctoral Training Centre in Energy Demand Reduction and the Built EnvironmentUNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON/LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITYThe UK Doctoral Training Centre in Energy Demand Reduction is a collaboration between two of the leading energy research Universities in the UK: University College London (UCL) and Loughborough University (LU). Both have invested heavily in energy research. They lead some of the most important energy demand research initiatives in the UK. The Centre is the UK champion for postgraduate training to reduce CO2 emissions from the built environment, to secure our energy supply and to provide healthier more affordable buildings. Led by world-class academics assisted by industry partners and stakeholders the Centre provides a route to employment in the rapidly expanding field of energy demand management.The Centre wishes to recruit up to eight top graduates from engineering, science and related disciplines who are committed to the area of...

Welcome to our 4th E-newsletter. This has been another busy quarter for IBPSA-England.1. Our joint event with the CIBSE Building Simulation and Natural Ventilation groups on 24th May was a great success. Hosted by UCL and attracting 165 delegates, this event looked at the important topic of modelling natural and mixed-mode ventilation. We are grateful to our sponsors Monodraught, IES and EDSL. Thank you to those who supported this event. The presentations are currently being processed and linked with the recorded video. These will be made available on-line soon. We will let you know when and where to find it.2. The newly appointed board met in the evening of 24th May and the following officers were duly elected: Malcolm Cook (Chair and first affiliate representative), Naveen Hamza (Vice-chair and second affiliate representative), Pieter De Wilde (Secretary), Dejan Mumovic (Webmaster)3. The Approved Documents for Building Regulations Part L: Conservation of Fuel and Power has...

PhD Studentship in Green BuildingsUniversity of Cambridge - Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical PhysicsLimit of tenure: three and a half years.Following his recent appointment as GI Taylor Professor of Fluid Mechanics, Professor Paul Linden FRS is seeking to appoint a PhD student to a new EPSRC CASE Award in collaboration with Arup, one of the world's leading architectural engineering consultancies. The project will develop mathematical models to be incorporated into the software Arup use to design low-energy buildings. The project is also supported by the Industrial Mathematics Knowledge Transfer Network.Applicants should have an honours degree (at least II.I or equivalent) in mathematics, engineering, or other relevant discipline. The studentship offers tuition fees and a maintenance grant (with CASE top-up) in accordance with Research Council eligibility criteria, which means that the studentship is not available to citizens of non-EU countries.Enquires about this position can be made to Professor Linden...

OLYMPIC VENUES AND INFRASTRUCTUREGuest editors: Pieter de Wilde, Dejan Mumovic and Malcolm CookThe publisher of the Journal of Building Performance Simulation,Routledge, intends to produce a collection of special issues of journals that deal with the Olympic and Paralympic Games of London 2012. Olympic and Paralympic Games generate substantial construction projects in the host country, involving the development of flagship stadia, athlete and press accommodation, and many other spin-off projects. These projects will have worldwide attention during the games. It is therefore crucial for the host nation to ensure they are high performance, state-of-the-art facilities.This Special Issue of the Journal of Building Performance Simulation invites contributions which address the building performance of Olympic Venues – especially those for London 2012 – across the different building simulation domains: thermal behaviour (energy and comfort), ventilation and air flow, lighting, fire and evacuation, acoustics, and integrated views that combine these domains. Papers are welcome...

Natural and Mixed-Mode Ventilation ModellingVenue: Pearson Lecture Theatre, University College London, Gower StreetLondon WC1EMonday 24 May, 2010 (09:30 - 15:30)The seminar is organised jointly by CIBSE Building Simulation and Natural Ventilation Groups and IBPSA-England and is supported by Monodraught Ltd, IES, and EDSL. The aim is to provide an overview of natural and mixed-mode approaches to ventilation and the modelling methods available for testing and improving their design.We understand from our members that you value hearing about case studies. Therefore, the programme provides an excellent opportunity to hear how others in the field have been successfully using computer simulation to guide the design of natural and hybrid ventilation solutions.The seminar has been designed to appeal to mainstream construction professionals including architects, engineers, clients, and contractors. It will also provide an opportunity for university researchers and post-graduate students to gain an appreciation of the role building simulation has to play in...

IBPSA England SeminarEvolutionary Algorithms and the Optimum Design and Control of Buildings25th June 2010Department of Civil and Building Engineering,Sir Frank Gibb Building,Loughborough UniversityAbstractIt is over 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin’s seminal work “On the origin of species by means of natural selection…”. Not only have these concepts formed the foundation of modern life sciences, but they have led to the development of computer-based Evolutionary Algorithms that are so powerful they “now surpass the human designer” (New Scientist, July 2007). This seminar will describe the principles of evolution, their encoding in Evolutionary Algorithms, and their application to the optimum design and operation of buildings.9.30 Welcome Tea and Coffee10.00            Evolution, Evolutionary Algorithms, and the Optimum Design and Operation of BuildingsProf Jonathan Wright (Loughborough University)This presentation describes the principles of Natural Selection and their encoding in Evolutionary Algorithms (in particular, Genetic Algorithms). The presentation also includes an overview of the scope and formulation of building optimization problems.11.15            Tea and Coffee12.00            Evolutionary Multi-Criterion Building OptimizationProf Jonathan Wright...

Applications are invited for three EPSRC funded EngD studentships (4 years) and an EPSRC funded PhD studentship (3 years) to research a topic related to the general subject area of the UCL-AEDAS Building Design and Performance Research Programme (2010-2014). This ranges from the analysis of low carbon building design processes to the development of quantitative building performance simulation tools, as well as research on the interaction between the various aspects of building design, user behaviour and operational performance. The UCL-AEDAS project team will provide guidance on 4 selected topics provided that an applicant can demonstrate original thinking and motivation to research a particular subject area. The student will be supervised jointly by Dr Dejan Mumovic (UCL Bartlett School of Graduate Studies), Harry Bruhns/Dr Alex Summerfield (UCL Energy Institute), and Dr Judit Kimpian of AEDAS (industrial supervisor).Research Topics:Developing Advanced Modelling techniques to incorporate Performance Data and Simulation in DesignUnderstanding Predicted vs. Operational Performance of Schools: a Building Systems PerspectivePlaying for Keeps? Life Cycle Extension vs. Replacement...

The UCL Energy Institute is currently recruiting for the following positions:Institute ManagerResearch Associates/Senior Research Associates in Energy and Building ModellingLecturer/Senior Lecturer DTP Programme Manager, MRes Course Director Please visit the vacancies section of UCL Energy Institute website for more details....

A PhD studentship is currently available at De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, to support research in building design optimization. This research is part of the “Advanced DesignBuilder + Optimisation (ADOPT)” project, which aims to implement the capability of multi-objective optimization in mainstream building performance simulation software. We are looking for highly motivated individuals with building simulation experiences and programming skills to apply. The closing date for application is 15 March. For more details about the studentship, please visit: http://www.iesd.dmu.ac.uk/vacancies/.

NEW EVENT: BUILDING SIMULATION IN PRACTICE Date: 17th February 2010Location: University College LondonWilkins Building, Haldane RoomGower Street, WC1E6BT London Organisers: IBPSA-England and UCL Supported by: CIBSE Home Counties Dr Michael Lim of AECOM has been invited to give this evening lecture which will introduce different approaches to use of building simulation tools in practice, including the quick and dirty modelling.Dr Michael Lim is a Senior Engineer within the Applied Research and Sustainable Development group of AECOM. His primary roles include building simulation for building regulation compliance, energy model for M&E design, energy statement and sustainable building design. Apart from commercial projects, he has also been involved in several research based projects, including the study of concrete as thermal storage for the Steel Construction Institute, overheating in conservatories for Pilkington Glass ltd. and the use of blinds in mitigating extreme conditions conservatories for Appeal Blinds ltd.He graduated with a Bachelor in...