Researcher Directory | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Ihab M.K. Elzeyadi, Ph.D., FEIA, LEEDAP is an associate professor of architecture and the director of High Performance Environments laboratory (HiPE) and Façade Innovative Technologies (FIT) testing facility at the School of Architecture & Allied Arts, University of Oregon. Professor Elzeyadi has been engaged in the design, construction, and research of high-performance buildings for more than 20 years. He has conducted grant-supported research on the relationship between people and buildings including impacts of the physical environment on health, productivity, and other well-being as they relate to sustainable design strategies in schools and offices. His studies produced evidence-based design guidelines and design-assistance services on various commercial projects with an emphasis on energy and resource effective design. He just completed a number of research projects investigating cost and financial benefits of green and LEED schools, livable communities physical infra-structure, the Green Classroom Toolbox Project for energy retrofits of existing schools, as well as RD&D projects on facade integrated green products and technologies for active envelopes and dynamic daylighting strategies, including innovative prototypes of solar awning and daylighting harvesting systems. Professor Elzeyadi teaches design studios and courses in sustainable design, and high-performance buildings design and evaluation. His expertise includes building performance and metrics; integrated design and delivery; indoor environmental quality; as well as environmental impacts of buildings on human performance and health. He is the past-president of the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE), an appointed member to the USGBC Research Advisory Committee, Chair of USGBC, Thought and Leadership in Research working group, and member of numerous professional organizations including; Illumination Engineering Society (IES), American Solar Energy Society (ASES), Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (OR BEST), Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC), and the Institute for a Sustainable Environment (ISE).

Kiersten Muenchinger

Associate Professor

School of Architecture and Allied Arts

University of Oregon

Kiersten Muenchinger is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Product Design Program at the University of Oregon. Muenchinger researches and teaches the intersection of materials, manufacturing and design with an emphasis on sustainability tactics and metrics. Her current research utilizes Kansei engineering principles to measure how consumers perceive the sustainability of consumer product materials. She develops more sustainable product businesses with the Green Product Design Network and the Eugene RAIN accelerator at UO. Her work applying experimental materials in outdoor furniture has most recently been exhibited in ShowPDX, Portland and Salão Design, Brazil. Kiersten was the Industrial Designers Society of America’s (IDSA) Young Educator of the Year in 2011, and one of the Design Intelligence 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015. Before joining UO, Kiersten was a design engineer with IDEO, Fitch, Sottsass Associatti, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the Long Now Foundation.