Author: Fernanda Cruz Rios

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It took year-long reviews, redirections, persistence, and a lot of hard work, but I believed too much in this work to not fight for it. I’m excited to share that our paper is finally out, and I’m very proud of it! I also dream of a world where this type of work becomes unnecessary. But…

Dr. Cruz Rios presents at the Engineering for One Planet Symposium

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in News and Updates

Happy to have presented our poster at the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) Symposium! As Drexel transitions from quarters to semesters, our team in the Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering at Drexel University used this moment of curricular redesign to intentionally strengthen how sustainability and climate resilience are built across our programs. We…

Annual AE 444 field trip: 2025 edition

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Field trip to a #LEEDPlatinum, #WELLcertified building right next to our campus. Students had the opportunity to see first-hand several of the high-performance building systems (even beyond the envelope — because everything is connected) we’ve talked about in class. Green roof, rainwater collection and storm water management, biophilia, hydronic systems, electrochromic glass panels, IAQ controls……

Dr. Cruz Rios participates in Drexel Society of Women Engineers panel

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in Uncategorized

Honored to participate in a Drexel Society of Women Engineers panel with my brilliant colleagues Jennifer S. Atchison and Jill Wenderott . We talked about our dreams and our struggles, about the fallacy of impostor syndrome, separating your value from your work, managing your time and protecting your work-life balance, having powerful women on your…

Dr. Cruz Rios presents at the Industrial Ecology Day 2025

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in News and Updates

I’m honored to be in this panel for the Industrial Ecology Day 2025: Navigating the Sustainability Job Market in Challenging Times. Students, postdocs, and early career professionals attended the event, where I talked about my career trajectory, gave advice to those interested in pursuing academic careers, and shared our work at CIRCLE lab. This event…

AE 444 students develop systems thinking skills for building envelope design

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AE 444 (building envelope systems) students presented the first deliverable of their class project: a building envelope redesign. Using their junior design or an existing building as starting point, they propose strategies to improve the envelope performance. The first deliverable guides them through a few analyses to culminate in their redesign goals to be carried…

Marc Brune (PAE) teaches guest lecture at AE 444

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Our Drexel University School of Engineering ‘s architectural engineering students enjoyed two outstanding guest lectures during the past couple of weeks! I’d like to thank Marc Brune, PE from PAE who just gave an inspiring presentation on their developer-led Living Building. Students saw how it was possible, feasible, and financially sound to build with environmentally…

CIRCLE lab PhD Student Mohsen Bahmanyar presents on resilient design for extreme climates at AE444

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At Building Envelope Systems we had the pleasure of having Mohsen Bahmanyar, our new PhD student at CIRCLE lab, present on resilient design for extreme climates! He showed us a project of his own, a building in the desert of Iran, and how he incorporated passive heating and cooling strategies like thermal mass, courtyards, earth…

AE 444 students create infographics on passive cooling strategies

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Another infographic round, this one for passive cooling strategies! Architectural engineering students at Drexel University School of Engineering read the recent article Cooling People, Not Spaces (available below) and each created an infographic on one of the cooling strategies illustrated in the article. Passive heating and cooling strategies are increasingly important to create sustainable, resilient…

AE 444 students create infographics on innovative smart materials for building envelopes

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