https://city.umd.edu/news Research stories, experiments, awards and collaborations from City@UMD, the Center for Sustainability in the Built Environment at the University of Maryland. en-us Fri, 06 Nov 2026 19:49:12 GMT https://city.umd.edu/city-logo.jpghttps://city.umd.edu/news https://city.umd.edu/news/6aecc8bd072da1ccef248794 https://city.umd.edu/news/6aecc8bd072da1ccef248794 Researchers from City@UMD and the University of Maryland School of Public Health have published a new way to estimate how much virus each person in a room breathes in. The method combines computer simulations of room airflow with computer vision tracking of where people are and which way they face. Hamed Sobhani led the study with Gautam Vanama, Shengwei Zhu and Jelena Srebric of City@UMD and… Research Thu, 05 Nov 2026 18:19:41 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6ac2056e34ab96579a074981 https://city.umd.edu/news/6ac2056e34ab96579a074981 City@UMD has designed HedgeHog Maxi, a wall-mounted indoor environmental sensor that streams its measurements to the center’s research dashboard every five seconds. It is the networked sibling of HedgeHog Mini, the compact offline logger the team built for field studies in Nicaragua. HedgeHog Maxi in its 3D-printed enclosure (3D model). What it measures Several research-grade sensors on one board… Research Sun, 04 Oct 2026 07:51:10 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6ab154a331632df759a0d1d6 https://city.umd.edu/news/6ab154a331632df759a0d1d6 City@UMD is delighted to welcome four high school interns from ERHS: Zoe, Sharon, David O., and David A. Their arrival begins a new experience filled with research, discovery, collaboration, and learning. During their welcome session, the students met members of the City@UMD community, learned more about the program, and began getting comfortable in their new research environment. It was a… Education Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:00:35 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6ac2161ea65d10651249b6a2 https://city.umd.edu/news/6ac2161ea65d10651249b6a2 City@UMD has designed HedgeHog Mini, a compact indoor air logger that runs on three AA batteries and needs no power outlet or internet connection. It is the battery-powered sibling of HedgeHog Maxi: where the Maxi streams to the center’s dashboard, the Mini keeps every reading on a microSD card. HedgeHog Mini in its 3D-printed case, 85 × 64 × 43 mm (3D model). What it measures Three sensors on a… Research Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e3a3b8ca5d6f26eb671a1 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e3a3b8ca5d6f26eb671a1 Researchers from City@UMD and the University of Maryland School of Public Health recently completed a new series of EMIT-2 experimental sessions in a controlled indoor environment. The work brings public health, building science and engineering together to document influenza exposure under carefully controlled conditions. The setting Inside the experimental chamber During scheduled sessions,… Research Thu, 13 Aug 2026 21:42:19 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233dd https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233dd Researchers from City@UMD and the University of Maryland School of Public Health have published a computer vision framework that measures four parts of every indoor interaction: distance, time together, whether people face each other and how loudly they talk. It combines them into one measure of relative airborne exposure. Gautam Vanama led the study with Shengwei Zhu and Jelena Srebric of… Research Mon, 04 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7f85978b5d6a6fff065e2f https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7f85978b5d6a6fff065e2f City@UMD high-school research alumnus Joshua Akolly investigated whether air infiltration alone could maintain acceptable carbon dioxide levels in a multifamily residential building. His project connected indoor-air-quality measurement with the everyday factors that make residential ventilation difficult to evaluate, including occupancy, window and door use, weather, and changes in household… Education Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7f6f57310bc95b1f407116 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7f6f57310bc95b1f407116 Five students from Eleanor Roosevelt High School completed a year of mentored research at City@UMD, turning questions about indoor environments into working sensors, structured experiments, analyzed data and original research boards. The 2025-2026 experience introduced Abigail Tsegaye, Angie Ramirez-Alvarez, Charles Ehrenreich, Immanuel Mateo and Onyedika Okwesili to the full research process,… Education Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233fa https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233fa The Nebula Research Data Fellowship is helping University of Maryland undergraduates develop transferable data-analysis skills by working with real datasets from Clark School research laboratories. Associate Dean for Research and City@UMD Director Jelena Srebric founded the program in spring 2025 to connect students, research mentors and data-intensive engineering projects. From laboratory to… Education Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233da https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233da A new National Academies report led by City@UMD gives public transit agencies a research-based framework for improving air quality inside buses while protecting passenger comfort, safety and system reliability. Dr. Jelena Srebric served as project director and principal investigator for the University of Maryland-led study, with Dr. Shengwei Zhu serving as a co-principal investigator. TCRP… Research Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e5 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e5 New City@UMD research shows how small language models, large language models and neural networks can use physiological measurements to predict personal thermal comfort. The study by Lingzhe Wang, Gautam Vanama and Jelena Srebric moves personal conditioning systems closer to responding automatically to an occupant instead of relying only on manual adjustment. Human-centered environmental control… Research Sun, 15 Feb 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e2 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e2 The multidisciplinary EMIT-2 team has published its controlled influenza transmission study in PLOS Pathogens. The work brought together City@UMD engineering, the University of Maryland School of Public Health and collaborators in medicine, virology and epidemiology. The study tested a controlled human influenza transmission framework using donors with naturally acquired infections. Controlled… Research Wed, 07 Jan 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9ce https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9ce City@UMD congratulates Jeffrey Daniel Rosenzweig on completing his doctoral work in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland under the guidance of Dr. Jelena Srebric. His December 12, 2025 milestone marks the completion of years of advanced study, research and collaboration in the Clark School of Engineering. Doctoral milestone Completing a PhD at the University of Maryland Doctoral… People Fri, 12 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e575b7cdae012fe41076d https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e575b7cdae012fe41076d City@UMD celebrates Hamed Sobhani, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on November 12, 2025, and will complete his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland in December 2025 under the guidance of Dr. Jelena Srebric. His doctoral work connected building science, public health and computational modeling to improve how researchers understand airborne virus… People Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233ee https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233ee City@UMD researchers have completed a systematic review of ultraviolet inactivation rate constants used to design germicidal ultraviolet systems for air, surfaces, water and other media. The study by Hamed Sobhani, Shengwei Zhu, Richard L. Vincent, Hevander Da Costa and Jelena Srebric converts a large and sometimes inconsistent body of literature into practical design guidance. A critical… Research Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f1 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f1 City@UMD researchers have evaluated how portable filtration, germicidal ultraviolet fixtures and filtered air curtains can be placed strategically in hotels used as quarantine facilities. The work by Hamed Sobhani, Shengwei Zhu and Jelena Srebric used measurements from an actual quarantine hotel to create and validate a multizone airflow model. Protecting rooms and shared corridors Quarantine… Research Thu, 01 May 2025 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233eb https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233eb A City@UMD study has introduced a method for modeling operating desalination plants when important system specifications and measurements are incomplete. Sebastian A. Romo, Michael Storch Jr. and Jelena Srebric demonstrated the approach using data from four field installations. The field-data challenge Real plants rarely arrive with every parameter Detailed desalination models often require… Research Thu, 01 Feb 2024 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f4 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f4 The Fall 2023 issue of Maryland Mechanical Engineering's METRICS magazine features City@UMD and its work to make growing urban environments healthier, more resilient and more sustainable. The feature presents the center's research as a connected portfolio spanning indoor health, energy efficiency, transportation and clean water. Center for Sustainability in the Built Environment Distributed… Center News Fri, 24 Nov 2023 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e8 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233e8 University of Maryland researchers have developed a durable glass-based coating that can cool the material beneath it without electricity. The work combines materials science with building-performance analysis to examine how passive radiative cooling could reduce energy use and carbon emissions. City@UMD Director Jelena Srebric co-authored the study and contributed expertise on building carbon… Research Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9c9 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9c9 City@UMD celebrates Lingzhe Wang, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland on June 23, 2023, under the guidance of Dr. Jelena Srebric. His research placed the individual occupant at the center of indoor environmental control, connecting breathing-zone air quality, physiological measures of thermal comfort and building energy… People Fri, 23 Jun 2023 18:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f7 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e7181eede4c24e35233f7 University of Maryland Facilities Management has highlighted its collaboration with City@UMD on TerpFootprints, a campus energy and water dashboard designed to support operations, research and education. The platform turns existing meter records into a shared view of how buildings across the College Park campus use electricity, thermal energy and water. Campus as a living laboratory Making… Campus Thu, 25 May 2023 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e75d5c6c0ba26fc6add59 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e75d5c6c0ba26fc6add59 The EMIT-2 research program completed its first quarantine field period from February 20 through March 5, 2023. The cohort marked an important restart for a controlled influenza-transmission study delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The multidisciplinary program brings together the University of Maryland School of Public Health, City@UMD, the University of Maryland School of Medicine and… Research Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9c6 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e65dc6307681bfffeb9c6 City@UMD celebrates Sebastian Antonio Romo Duenas, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland on June 21, 2022, under the guidance of Dr. Jelena Srebric. His work created a practical modeling framework for comparing desalination technologies that are normally evaluated with different assumptions, operating ranges and performance… People Tue, 21 Jun 2022 17:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/629faca404acc30016b38da6 https://city.umd.edu/news/629faca404acc30016b38da6 In collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health, City@UMD team published a paper entitled "Tradeoffs between ventilation, air mixing, and passenger density for the airborne transmission risk in airport transportation vehicles." This document can be accessed at free of charge until July 14, 2022: Sources Related links Source 1 · authors.elsevier.com Research Tue, 07 Jun 2022 19:53:08 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e8e5352876a345afb5515 https://city.umd.edu/news/6a7e8e5352876a345afb5515 A wearable micro air cleaner developed by City@UMD was named a finalist for the University of Maryland's 2022 Invention of the Year award in the Physical Sciences category. The CDC-supported device was designed to provide filtered air directly to a wearer's breathing zone while improving comfort during prolonged use. A different approach to personal protection Supplying clean air where the wearer… Research Wed, 18 May 2022 16:00:00 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/61671c4a11b5a700165d4afe https://city.umd.edu/news/61671c4a11b5a700165d4afe City@UMD team developed a novel device for delivery of clean air right in front of person’s face providing safety and comfort at a very low energy cost. This work is supported by a federal grant from the Center for Disease Control (grant number 000HCCLG-2021-53308), and intended use is for health, meat packing and education workers. Sources Related links Source 1 · prweb.com Research Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:50:02 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/61671bda11b5a700165d4a91 https://city.umd.edu/news/61671bda11b5a700165d4a91 University of Maryland hosted Secretary Anthony Blinken in his outreach efforts to promote the Biden Administration's plan to support U.S. manufacturing. President Pines and Associate Dean Srebric hosted the tour of the University's facilities that preceded Secretary Blinken’s speech. The tour featured advanced manufacturing facilities and products led by the university students as future… UMD Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:48:10 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/61671b8111b5a700165d4a34 https://city.umd.edu/news/61671b8111b5a700165d4a34 A prestigious international conference on Healthy Buildings was held at the Technical University of Oslo on June 21-23, 2021. Dr. Srebric presented an invited keynote speech entitled “How can we mitigate future respiratory virus diseases? - Findings from five studies on COVID-19 transmission”. City@UMD research team conducted several field studies focused on exposure reduction in public spaces… UMD Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:46:41 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6179784eacb092001641497c https://city.umd.edu/news/6179784eacb092001641497c In summer 2021, Kerry Sanders from NBC's Today Show provided an early warning about the role that air conditioning could play in the suppression or spread of Covid-19 viruses in indoor environments. He interviewed Dr. Jelena Srebric and Dr. Donald Milton from the University of Maryland, who brought to his attention that air cleaning such as filtration and UV light could support air conditioning in… UMD Sat, 17 Jul 2021 03:16:45 GMT https://city.umd.edu/news/6110a0b56fd4187fbf37e602 https://city.umd.edu/news/6110a0b56fd4187fbf37e602 Today, the White House convened leaders from across the Administration to announce new federal investments in building energy efficiency and electrification, as well as new opportunities to modernize homes and businesses which will create good-paying, union jobs. National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm,… Politics Thu, 27 May 2021 03:27:49 GMT