Associate Professor
Dr. Yuxiang Chen is an Associate Professor of Building Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He holds the University of Alberta Engineering Research Chair in Resource-Efficient Buildings for Cold Climates.
Dr. Chen earned his BEng, MSc, and PhD in Building Engineering from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, after beginning his academic journey in Architectural Design at Hunan University in China. He joined the University of Alberta in 2015.
His research focuses on resource-efficient buildings, specializing in thermal energy storage, renewable energy integration, prefabrication, and intelligent, data-driven design and operation. He is the director of the Intelligent Design and Operation for Built Environments (IDOBE) Lab and a key member of the Nasseri School of Building Science and Engineering at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Chen recently served on the expert panel for the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), contributing to a project on Atypical Food Production Technologies for Canadian Food Security. He is also the president of the Canadian Chapter of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) and a voting member of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) A124 Technical Committee on Prefabricated Buildings, Modules, and Panels.
- PhD., Building Engineering, 2013, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- MSc, Building Engineering, 2008, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- BEng., Building Engineering, 2006, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Research Interests
Dr. Chen’s main interest is in high-performance buildings, with a focus on energy efficiency, peak demand reduction, and robustness through prefabrication, utilization of renewable energy, thermal energy storage, daylighting, and integrated design and operation.
- Net-zero energy (ready) buildings;
- Energy-efficient green houses for cold regions;
- Modeling, design, and operation of building-integrated thermal energy storage;
- Integrated design and operation for room thermal conditioning, daylighting, and electric lighting;
- High-performance buildings for remote areas in cold climate;
- Energy flexible buildings, from both grids’ and occupants’ perspectives;
- Adaptive system identification for predictive control.
Current Projects
- Net-zero energy ready multi-unit residential buildings;
- Code-compliant house design for least life-cycle cost;
- Dynamic double solar facade for new and existing buildings
- Predictive control of hybrid ventilation in a high-rise building;
- Eco-House – a sustainable and affordable on-campus residence;
- Design, construction, and operation of robust buildings for Northern Canada.
Contact information:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Nasseri School of Building Science and Engineering
Office: Room 6-257, Donadeo Innovation Center for Engineering
Phone: (780) 492-4562
Email: yuxiang.chen@ualberta.ca