Argonne scientist advances energy sciences through professional leadership
Scientist Ralph Muehleisen of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory was recently re-elected to the Board of Directors of IBPSA-USA, the U.S. affiliate of the International Building Performance Simulation Association.
IBPSA is a global leader in the promotion of building simulation science and one of the largest professional organizations in the world for building scientists and engineers. Muehleisen, Argonne’s Principal Building Scientist, served on IBPSA’s Board of Directors from 2017 to 2019, and the board will continue to benefit from his leadership and expertise in building science during the 2019 to 2021 term.
“It’s great to see Argonne scientists serving as leaders in the national and global advancement of energy sciences.” — Don Hillebrand, director of Argonne’s Energy Systems division
At Argonne, Muehleisen leads research to improve the energy efficiency, resilience and sustainability of current and future built environments. He is the group manager for the Buildings and Environment section in Argonne’s Energy Systems division and an Adjunct Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
“The Board of Directors of IBPSA-USA is responsible for the development of new initiatives in education, industry advocacy, equality, research and more,” said Muehleisen. “We see continued growth in size and impact of the organization as essential to society and to increasing the efficiency and performance of buildings.”
Muehleisen has extensive experience serving in leadership roles for several other professional organizations, including the Acoustical Society of America, the Architectural Engineering Institute and the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE), where he was also on the Board of Directors.
“I think my experience in INCE during a time of growth is very similar to what is happening at IBPSA-USA, and I can bring ideas of what worked — and what didn’t work — to the rest of the board,” said Muehleisen.
The new Board of Directors was elected on January 12, 2019, at the IBPSA Winter Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. As a board member, Muehleisen is the co-chair of the organization’s Urban Scale Simulation Subcommittee of its Research Committee, and he will become the chair of the Editorial and Publications Committee. In addition, he was a founding member of the Chicago Chapter of IBPSA-USA and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
“It’s great to see Argonne scientists serving as leaders in the national and global advancement of energy sciences,” said Don Hillebrand, director of Argonne’s Energy Systems division. “Ralph is an energetic and natural leader who has brought much to Argonne and is now sharing his knowledge with other innovative leaders in his field.”
Muehleisen’s work is sponsored by the DOE Building Technologies Office, within the department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) mission is to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to equitably transition America to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, and ensure the clean energy economy benefits all Americans, creating good paying jobs for the American people — especially workers and communities impacted by the energy transition and those historically underserved by the energy system and overburdened by pollution.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.