Liam O’Brien

Professor in Architectural Conservation

• B.Eng. Aerospace (Ryerson), M.A.Sc. Aerospace Engineering (Toronto), Ph.D. Building Engineering (Concordia)
• 5208 Canal Building, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
• Email Liam O’Brien

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Prof. O’Brien’s mailbox is located in room 3432 C.J. Mackenzie Building, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada

Previous Teaching Assignments

• BLDG 5101 Introduction to Building Engineering
• ENVE 1001 Architecture and the Environment
• ECOR 1055 Introduction to Engineering Disciplines I
• ECOR 4995 Professional Practice
• ENVE 4105 Green Building Design
• ENVE 4106/5104 Indoor Environmental Quality
• ENVE 4107 Building Services Engineering
• ENVE/ACSE 4918 Design Project
• ENVE 5704 Research methods for Building Energy

Human Building Interaction Laboratory/Delta Controls Laboratory

The Delta Controls Lab provides a portal to the wealth of information carried by the Canal Building’s building automation system (BAS), including energy use, thermal comfort, lighting/daylighting, indoor air quality, heating, cooling ventilation, and green roof performance.

Building Performance Research Centre

IEA EBC Annex 79: Occupant-Centric Building Design and Operation

Carleton University ASHRAE Student Chapter

Graduate Student Openings

Graduate students (MASc or PhD) with a background in heat transfer, thermodynamics, programming, energy systems, and/or building science/physics are needed to pursue research in the following topics. Please contact Prof. O’Brien if you have the above background and are interested in researching these topics. Co-supervision by another professor in CEE or another department (e.g., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) is also a possibility. The right candidates will be given the opportunity to work on important problems with significant impact on industry, the opportunity to work with industry partners, and competitive compensation.

Research Interests

• Design for building occupants and behaviour
• Building performance – comfort and energy
• Smart buildings and big data
• Building field studies and post-occupancy evaluations
• Building simulation, design, and data visualization
• High performance solar buildings
• Building automation systems
• Daylighting and solar control
• Urban form and solar energy access
• Facilities management