Expert profile

I am an expert in applied innovation at the intersection of technology and ecology​,​ where infrastructure meets the natural world. I help my clients bring new ideas to market by synthesizing current research​,​ asking hard questions​,​ and helping people communicate across disciplines and trades. With decades of multi-disciplinary engineering and research experience – and a problem-solving approach grounded in physical first principles and rigorous question asking – I am uniquely equipped to develop novel products​,​ evaluate new technologies​,​ and resolve your project’s knottiest problems. I’ve helped startups​,​ investors​,​ designers​,​ and researchers. Let's talk and see what I can do for you! What does this look like in practice? I collaborated with an established equipment manufacturer to design and test a large ceiling fan for classroom applications​,​ leading to a new fan design for the project – and a new product offering for the manufacturer. I researched technologies and products for an energy services company​,​ doubling identified savings opportunities in their customers’ buildings. I also developed go​/​no-go criteria to screen out low-opportunity buildings​,​ saving hundreds of hours of engineering time. Early in the pandemic​,​ I collaborated with HVAC engineers and epidemiologists to understand the aerosol nature of COVID. My ventilation-focused mitigation strategies – ultimately validated by the CDC​,​ WHO and ASHRAE – enabled building owners to address risk at a time of great uncertainty. With standards committees that include both academic researchers and tradespeople (contractors)​,​ I regularly resolve conflicts by clarifying miscommunications​,​ identifying unspoken assumptions​,​ and translating discipline-specific jargon and concerns. I won an ASHRAE Technology Award for my design of a system using thermal mass to leverage diurnal temperature swing to cool a densely occupied building without air conditioning. Faced with a new LEED Gold laboratory where poor energy performance and persistent comfort issues stumped university engineering staff​,​ I identified the cause and designed a new control strategy that solved the problem. I developed a completely novel control strategy to enable a thermodynamically zoned heat pump HVAC system​,​ which saved $1 million in first costs for a new all-electric​,​ zero carbon medical office building. I created CSI Division 25 (building automation) master specifications for a very well-known green design studio​,​ dramatically improving their standard of practice for building controls.