Brent Stephens, PhD

Dr. Brent Stephens runs the Built Environment Research Group in CAEE at IIT, which is dedicated to investigating problems and solutions related to energy supply, consumption, and conservation, resource use, indoor and outdoor air pollution, public health, and sustainability within the built environment.
His recent research projects include:

1. improving methods to measure the infiltration of outdoor particulate matter into homes
2. developing and applying a method to measure the infiltration of outdoor ozone into buildings
3. measuring the in-situ particle removal efficiency of HVAC filters in real environments
4. estimating the impacts of common air-conditioner design and installation issues on annual and peak electricity demand in single-family homes
5. characterizing the energy and air quality impacts of higher-efficiency HVAC filters in residential and light-commercial central air-conditioning systems

Other recent projects also include energy modeling of net-zero residences powered by solar PV, modeling the feasibility, costs, and emissions of integrating large-scale renewables into the generation portfolios of electric utilities, and a review of the public health impacts of inefficient cookstoves and other combustion devices in developing countries.

Current Research Projects

2012-2013: Linking HVAC filtration and the Wells-Riley approach to assessing risks of infectious airborne diseases, National Air Filtration Association (NAFA) Foundation

2012-2013: Impact of duct design on life cycle cost of residential HVAC systems, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI)

2012-2014: Building science measurements for the Hospital Microbiome Project, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (subcontract to the University of Chicago)