Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) awards seed grant to Ulrike Passe

Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture has been awarded $29,999 by the seed grant program of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) at The University of Iowa for the research project "Extreme Heat Adaptation Strategies for Buildings and Neighborhoods in the Upper Midwest Using Novel Urban Energy Modeling Techniques," for the period July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.

The goal of the project is to integrate a set of urban and suburban adaptation scenarios into a hybrid data-physics model developed by ISU’s  sustainable cities group lead by Passe that will support community preparedness for extreme heat events. By mid-century (2036–2065), one year out of 10 in the Midwest region of the United States is projected to have a 5-day period that is 13°F warmer than a comparable earlier period (1976–2005). High humidity due point days are also increasing . The hybrid data-physics model assimilates weather, building, and near-building microclimate data integrated with a building energy simulator to develop preliminary adaptation strategies for building interior conditions during real-time events applicable to the urban Midwest. The proposed project refines this model and adds initial adaptation scenarios that will later be co-designed with the team’s community partners to acknowledge the needs and challenges of low-income populations who are especially vulnerable during extreme heat events. Co-PIs are Linda Shenk, Associate Professor of English, Bill Gutowski, Professor of Geological And Atmospheric Sciences and Yuyu Zhou, Assistant Professor of Geological And Atmospheric Sciences.

Congratulations to Ulrike, Linda, Bill, and Yuyu!