Simi Hoque’s Urban Modeling

Dr. Simi Hoque is passionate about improving the ways in which buildings use the earth’s resources.  She teaches environmental systems and sustainable design principles in the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst. Her research, partially funded by the Center’s Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, is focused around the application and development of energy-efficient buildings. Dr. Hoque specializes in energy modeling, resource efficiency, and systems design. She is co-author of a recent online publication (October 2013) intended to provide a quantitative approach to assessing sustainability indicators in a city. Research Cities today generate almost two-thirds of the world’s primary energy demand. By 2030, this is projected to increase to three-quarters, matching the urban sector’s expected share of global energy-related CO2 emissions. The current urban outlook demands a comprehensive understanding of urban sustainability policies and programs to address climate change and energy security. Dr. Hoque’s research is aimed at developing an analytical framework to integrate the performance indicators for buildings, transportation systems, and green spaces...
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Hoque and Weil introduce Eureka! students from Girls Inc. to energy conservation

Hoque and Weil introduce Eureka! students from Girls Inc. to energy conservation

Girls from project Eureka! (Girls, Inc.) working with Ben Weil and Simi Hoque to test the duct dog for air leakage. In our workshop, they learned about energy conservation, heat transfer, and how to use a thermal imaging camera to detect heat signatures. They also had a really good time decorating 'Milo' the dog and cleaning him off after he was very well air sealed. More information: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/post_392.html...
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Ben Weil Releases Holdsworth Hall Retrofit and Renovation Report for Energy Efficiency

Proposed Holdsworth Hall Retrofit and Renovation would reduce energy usage by 63% and carbon dioxide emissions by 82% The recommendations in this report are the product of a detailed and careful examination and exploration of the building and its operations. Begun as a project in a graduate course taught by Ben Weil, Extension Assistant Professor in Building Energy, the final report was further developed and refined by Weil, and two graduate students in Building Systems, Carl Fiocchi, and Katherine McCusker. The key findings are: (1) very significant energy savings can be achieved at moderate cost, without affecting the basic architectural design, and (2) the building is a complex system, and no change can be considered in isolation. Single measures may achieve savings, but cannot maximize savings or performance without complementary changes in related systems. A final package of recommended measures, reducing the energy consumptions of Holdsworth by 63%, will define a new building system with emergent properties that make for a qualitatively different and...
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Infrared visualization to be featured on TV5 science show in Canada

A 3-dimensional visualization of infrared thermographic imagery of a residence, created by Alexander Schreyer, will be featured on the science show "Science ou Fiction" to be aired on the french-language channel TV5 in Canada. This visualization is based on recent work on applying 2D infrared imagery to interactive 3D models. More details on this project can be found here. The original video file is shown below: 3D Infrared Visualization: Single Family House from Alexander Schreyer on Vimeo....
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