2023 Slate of SBSE Candidates for Office

President-Elect

Omar Al-Hassawi

I'm an Assistant Professor at Washington State University School of Design and Construction. I hold a Ph.D. degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona. My teaching has been internationally recognized by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) who awarded Omar with the 2021 AIAS/ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award. Students under Omar’s guidance have received outstanding international recognitions including the AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten for Students Design Competition and the Timber in the City Design Competition. I am leading an effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop curriculum with emphasis in high-performing energy-efficient residential buildings delivered online through two certificate programs and one master’s degree program. The certificates launched in Spring of 2023 with rollout of the master’s degree expected in Summer of 2024.

Jonathan Bean

As SBSE’s Scholarship Chair since 2017, I have had opportunities both to observe and to contribute directly to SBSE’s support of current and future building science educators. I love that SBSE offers direct support, from tenure packet review services to scholarships and fellowships that fund students and faculty to attend conferences, symposia, and retreats. I also value the way that SBSE’s indirect support, providing opportunities for members to build and strengthen professional networks, develop new collaborations, and establish informal mentorships, has advanced our field. SBSE has always had an international outlook, but more work is needed to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field. In my work as Scholarship Chair, I have aimed to integrate best practices for reducing bias in our awards. I am deeply committed to ensuring that the future of our organization is representative of the broader building science community. As a gay man, I have experienced how this work is not always easy or comfortable, but I know it is needed. I look forward to finding ways that SBSE can continue and expand its tradition of welcoming future building science educators while also working to dismantle barriers. As demand for Sun Angle Calculators declines, and as university support for faculty and instructors continues to weaken, I see an opportunity for SBSE to augment and diversify our programs. Growing awareness of the pivotal role of buildings as both climate change contributors and potential solutions means that we are, and will increasingly be, well positioned as an organization to seek increased funding and support. For example, in the US, SBSE has much to offer to workforce development efforts that directly or indirectly require increased building science knowledge. Our international networks, and our unique ability to analyze interactions among culture, material, and building physics, have much to offer nonprofits and policymakers around the world who are looking for evidence-based, actionable responses to climate change. As President-Elect, I would work collaboratively to ensure the strength and longevity of SBSE’s academic mission and financial position, both through maintaining valuable traditions such as the Retreat and scholarship support and by exploring new directions. My priorities would include:

• Increasing scholarship and mentoring support for building science students at all levels,
• Augmenting or replacing support traditionally offered by institutions, such as travel and research seed funding, for both students and faculty, and
• Establishing SBSE as a hub for externally funded research and outreach.

No matter what lies ahead, we will be better and stronger individually and collectively with the backing of the Society of Building Science Educators. I look forward to working together to find our way to this future.

Treasurer

David Fannon

I first encountered SBSE as a graduate student when our professors advised us all to subscribe to the mailing list; and I lurked for a long while enjoying the knowledge and conversations. I joined in 2013 when I began my first academic appointment at Northeastern University in Boston. I’ve been teaching and researching the science and design of buildings there ever since, with lots of help from this community. I was particularly fortunate to attend and present at SBSE retreats in 2017 at Silver Falls and 2021 in Detroit. I am grateful for the collective wisdom, generosity of experience, and cheerful fellowship of this group, and would be glad if I can help sustain it. I have been serving on the education committee since 2020, helping to grow the resources at www.sbse.org/resources. If elected your treasurer, I would sustain Tom Collins’s faithful stewardship over the past years by working closely with the Scholarship committee, retreat planning committees, and the broader membership to collect, track, and disburse funds. Additionally, as building science and education continue to evolve, I am committed to helping the SBSE further develop our financial structures and resources to support our current and future goals, and look forward to the opportunity to work with the board and membership.

James Leach

I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture and Community Development at the University of Detroit Mercy, where I teach building science and technology courses, as well as seminars and design studios that a focus on data-driven, high-performance architecture and decarbonization. I have been involved with SBSE since attending my first in Retreat in 2016 in San Francisco. Inspired by this, and my subsequent attendance of the 2017 retreat, I became involved in the planning committee for the 2018 Retreat in Moravia, Iowa. In 2021, I co-chaired the Organizing Committee for the SBSE Retreat in Bloomfield Hills, MI, near Detroit. With pandemic travel restrictions in effect, we carefully planned this meeting to allow SBSE to welcome in-person and online attendees as a hybrid event, including guest speakers, and a variety of site and building tours in and around Detroit. I am happy to continue my involvement in and service to SBSE by offering my candidacy as SBSE Treasurer.

Secretary

Clarke Snell

I am running for SBSE Secretary, a position I currently hold. I am an Associate Professor of Architecture at New York Institute of Technology where I coordinate the Building Technologies sequence. I am also a licensed architect with a background in developing and applying sustainable and resilient building systems toward project carbon reduction for small projects. My current academic teaching and research focus is on simulating architectural performance as part of a baseline design workflow. I think the SBSE is a very important knowledge and networking resource for academic professional like myself and really enjoy doing my small part in keeping it running.