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ArchiLambda Lab is based in the Pennsylvania State University's Department of Architectural Engineering and has its roots in both illumination and mechanical system options. This laboratory’s goal is to understand the thermal and optical dynamics and implications of interactions among buildings, occupants, and external climatic stimuli. The current research efforts encompass three main aspects: bridging the gaps between radiometric and photometric studies in the building environment, integrating spectrally-selective smart material and structures into building envelopes and fenestration systems, and discovering human responses to the interaction between thermal and visual elements. Our research methodology combines experimental, computational, and subjective methods.

Recent News

Selection to FOE of NAE 2023

Julian was selected as one of 100 engineers to present in the Frontiers of Engineering" (FOE) program organized by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). (09/2023)

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Yanxiao Feng: Assistant Professor at NJIT

Congratulations to Yanxiao Feng on her new position as an Assistant Professor at the School of Applied Engineering and Technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology! Her joint appointment in the Hillier College of Architecture & Design is a testament to her multidisciplinary expertise and dedication to advancing knowledge in her field. We are incredibly proud of her accomplishments and wish her all the best in this exciting new chapter of her academic career.

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NIH/NIA Fund

This project proposes to develop and evaluate the impact of a smart ambient bright light (SABL) intervention, including both daylighting and electrical lighting, to reduce agitation and other behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) for nursing home (NH) residents living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). (09/01/2022)

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Window coatings for energy savings

We have been recently interviewed by the Penn State News team for discussing the recent work published in Energy Conversion and Management. This work examined the energy-saving properties of a coating comprising nanoscale components that can reduce heat loss and better absorb heat. They also completed the first comprehensive energy savings analysis of the material at the building scale (02/2022).

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New PhD Graduate

Qiuhua Duan has completed her doctoral research in May 2021 and accepted the Assistant Professor position in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Alabama (07/2021).

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USDA CIG Project

A research project ($598,715 three years) is supported by the Conservation Innovation Grants program of the USDA for studying the application of spectrally selective materials in greenhouses. (04/20/2020)

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ASES Annual Conference 2023

Six lab members attended and presented at the ASES Annual Conference. (08/2023)

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NFRC Meeting in San Diego 2022

Eight lab members attended and presented at the NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) Fall Conference in San Diego, CA. (10/2022)

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NSF CBET Fund

Compounding the effects of the building (envelopes and systems) and built environment characteristics, the social and behavioral characteristics of households and urban-rural inequality can result in differing levels of vulnerability to extreme temperature events. This NSF-funded research aims to build an urban-rural regional assessment, preparedness, and response system for extreme temperature events for use during the transition to global sustainability. (08/01/2022)

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Podcast - lighting for energy savings

On the latest episode of the Growing Impact podcast, Julian Wang and Anne-Marie Chang have discussed their seed grant project that investigates how indoor lighting can be adjusted to affect user thermal responses to save energy on a building’s heating and cooling and positively impact human health (09/2021).

Disco Lights

NSF CMMI Fund

We receive a new research grant from the NSF CMMI program for investigating new building envelope technologies with dual-modality characteristics: generating thermal radiation in winter via the photothermal effect and reducing summer solar heat gains in summer via the photovoltaic effect. See the details in this link(07/13/2020)

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IEE SEED Grant

The lab's proposal of “Building Energy Savings by Tuning Indoor Lighting” is selected for funding by the Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) Seed Grant Program of Penn State University. The project is to discover the potential thermal-visual interactions in the controllable indoor environment. We will be collaboratively working with Dr. Anne-Marie Chang in Biobehavioral Health and Nursing and Dr. Javad Khazaei in Electrical Engineering on this interdisciplinary project. (04/01/2020)

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Recent Publications

Renewable Energy 

The capacity of windows to transmit solar irradiance contributes significantly to indoor environments, which facilitates supplemental warmth courtesy of shortwave solar irradiance, impacting both comfort and building energy dynamics. This study explores the impact of window glazing on indoor thermal comfort and building energy dynamics through shortwave solar irradiance. It presents a comprehensive analysis of 5,138 glazing systems and introduces a novel thermal effect index. This index was generated using a spectrally-resolved method to classify windows based on their capacity to transmit solar energy...

Get Intouch

contact
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Department of Architectural Engineering

206 Engineering Unit A

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802

julian.wang@psu.edu 

814-863-5133

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