Environmental Control Materials (ECM) Lab
Our research focuses on understanding the interaction among the human body, buildings and environment, and improving their performance by developing advanced materials and smart systems. The prioritized area is thermal and moisture management for the human body and the built environment.
Smart Materials for the Built Environment
Fig. 1 Thermoregulation system in the era of IoT
We aim to design smart materials that help regulate temperature and moisture in a human body or the built environment to maintain a comfortable level while reducing energy consumption. Particularly, we use biomimetic approaches inspired by nature for the materials design and engineering based on polymers, fibers, textiles, soft materials, smart materials and advanced manufacturing. Further, in a new era of IoT (Internet of Things), big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence will be powerful tools for collecting data and providing feedback on personal or environmental thermoregulation and health control, which increase the potential of optimizing or re-designing more advanced materials and systems toward a sustainable future.
Our lab is an interdisciplinary research group within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Syracuse University, and associated with Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) and BioInspired Institute. Our research spans the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering and architecture. Our goal is to contribute both scientific fundamentals and practical technologies to serve some global challenges such as human health, environment, energy and sustainability.
