ASHRAE Student Members Please Join Us for a Special Seminar!!

The speaker is heavily involved in ASHRAE-related activities.

From Envelopes to Community-Scale Decarbonization: Why I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Dr. Paulo Tabares Velasco

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Mines

WHEN: Monday, April 14^th from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET

WHERE:  COAS 126

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Paulo Tabares is and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Mines, where he leads the advanced Multiscale Building Research (AMBER) Group and the Sustainable Energy @ Mines distinction program. Under his leadership, AMBER Group studies and simulates energy interactions at different scales, from heat transfer inside the building envelope to energy interactions in sustainable communities.  AMBER combines laboratory, field, and numerical work to make buildings and low-income communities more sustainable, energy-efficient, and grid friendly.  In collaboration with NREL, Dr. Tabares and AMBER Group have enabled accurate modeling of multiple thermal storage technologies in EnergyPlus, BEopt, OpenStudio, and URBANopt, which many researchers worldwide use.  His award-winning multi-scale and multi-disciplinary projects range from heat transfer in envelopes to community-scale energy monitoring, analysis, and optimization in urban and rural communities, such as an 800-home community in Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in ND and is currently retrofitting and electrifying two communities in Colorado.  Dr. Tabares’ work has been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award, Crosby Field Award, Willis H. Carter Award, and Best Poster Award by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Green Roof Research Award of Excellence by Green Roof for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and BSF video production.

He is also ASHRAE TC 6.9 (Thermal Storage) Research Subcommittee Chair.  Dr. Tabares holds a Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering from Penn State, an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and a BSc in Engineering Physics from the Monterey Institute of Technology.

ABSTRACT: Decarbonization and electrification are the latest buzzwords in the energy field, but do we understand the real needs out there?  To fully decarbonize nations, we will require 1) community engagement with benefits beyond energy savings, 2) community engagement, and 3) a new wave of young energy professionals motivated and ready to hit the road from day one.  This presentation will describe efforts and projects at the Colorado School of Mines to perform neighborhood-scale electrification and efforts to recruit, inspire and mento young engineering students so they discover and call home the field of sustainable energy.