Meet our faculty, Dr. Liam O’Brien

Liam (William) O’Brien, Ph.D., P.Eng. is a professor for Carleton University’s Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering program. His background includes bachelor and masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Toronto and a PhD in Building Engineering from Concordia University.

Prof. O’Brien is currently the principal investigator of the Human Building Interaction Lab. The HBI Lab includes a team of about 15 researchers with diverse backgrounds in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering, architecture, and psychology, who focus on design and control of energy-efficient buildings, with a specialization in occupant behaviour. Prof. O’Brien has worked with approximately twenty industry and government partners and raised over $3-million in the past five years. He has authored or co-authored over two hundred peer-reviewed publications and co-edited two books on net-zero energy buildings and occupant research methods. He is currently completing his third book, which is focused on occupant-centric building design. His graduates are professors and researchers in government laboratories and industry R&D departments.

Prof. O’Brien holds or held leadership positions on three International Energy Agency Tasks and two NSERC Strategic Research Networks. Prof. O’Brien is currently the Operating Agent for the five-year, 100-researcher International Energy Agency Annex 79, titled “Occupant-centric building design and operation”. He is heavily involved in the building design and research community, including serving as Past President of the Canadian Chapter of the International Building Performance Simulation Association. He has chaired two academic conferences, facilitated educational workshops, and given numerous keynote and plenary talks. He has won several prestigious awards including the Carleton Research Achievement Award, Ontario Building Envelope Council Rising Star Award, the Ontario Early Researcher Award, and the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Outstanding Young Contributor Award. 

In his spare time, Prof. O’Brien spends time on his land, cycling, cooking and brewing, and engaging in local urban planning and cycling infrastructure issues.