Jihoon Chung, a doctoral candidate in the Built Ecologies program at the Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology (CASE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will spend the next eight months conducting research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). There, Chung will study under the tutelage of Tianzhen Hong who is leading an occupant behavior research project as a principal investigator (PI) at LBNL to integrate occupant behavior models and tools with building performance simulation. 

“It is an honor to join Dr. Hong, a pioneer in my area of research, to develop occupant behavior sensing and behavior learning in situ experiments using LBNL’s advanced experimental building laboratories,” Chung said.

Chung has been working with Dennis Shelden, director of CASE, since August 2021 to further building technology research. Shelden and Chung use data to improve simulation performance about human behavior in buildings. According to Chung, with more accurate information, architects and engineers can design buildings that improve energy efficiency and promote healthier environment for humans.

“Occupant Behavior Research at LBNL is the world’s leading effort to investigate the impacts of human behavior on building energy performance, and we are delighted to have Jihoon’s residency at Lawrence Berkeley provide the foundation for collaboration between our research organizations,” Shelden said.

While at Berkeley Lab, Chung will continue to work on his current project exploring data-driven occupant behavior modeling by integrating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors with Building Information Modeling (BIM) and ontology.

Chung plans to complete his doctorate in May 2025.