Andreas Athienitis
Professor
Department: Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Faculty: Engineering and Computer Science
Expertise:
Computer-aided Design, Energy Efficiency, Solar Energy, Thermal/Heating Systems, house sustainable environmental green
Language(s) spoken:
English
Professional associations:
Eng., PhD, FCAE, FASHRAE, FIBPSA
Dr. Andreas K. Athienitis is a Professor of Building Engineering at Concordia University. He obtained a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (1981) from the University of New Brunswick and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo (1985). He is the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of two consecutive NSERC strategic networks: Smart Net-zero Energy Buildings Strategic Research Network (SNEBRN: 2011-2017) and NSERC Solar Buildings Research Network (SBRN: 2005-2011). He held a Senior NSERC/Hydro Québec Industrial Research Chair and a Concordia University Research Chair, Tier I (2006 - 2024). He was profiled as one of 25 top innovators in Québec by Actualité Magazine (Sep. 15, 2009). He is a Fellow is of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (2011), a Fellow of ASHRAE (2017) and a Fellow of IBPSA (2017). He was named Concordia University Research Fellow (Senior) in 2010. In 2022-23 he led as Scientific Director the successful Concordia University CFREF proposal for $123M on “Electrified Resilient and Decarbonized Communities” (2023-30) and now Chairs its Scientific Committee and Leads Theme 1.
He is author/co-author of more than 300 refereed papers, three books on building thermal and solar modelling and design, and more recently an advanced book on modelling and design of net-zero energy buildings. He is a recipient of eight best paper awards, including ASHRAE Willis H. Carrier award. He has served as Associate Editor of the ISES Journal "Solar Energy" and in ASHRAE Technical Committees. He has received several awards, including an NSERC-ADRIQ (Association pour le développement de la recherche et de l'innovation du Québec) Celebrate Partnerships Award in 2012 together with Hydro Québec and CanmetENERGY. His international activities include subtask leader for IEA SHC/ECBCS Task 40/Annex 52 focused on net-zero energy solar buildings, and contributing author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for Direct Solar Energy. He led several innovative projects demonstrating building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal systems such as the John Molson School of Business building at Concordia and the energy design of the first near net-zero energy demonstration house in Canada, the EcoTerra. He played a key role in the conception and development of Canada’s first net-zero energy institutional building – the Varennes Library (2016). He is Chair of the Canadian Academy of Engineering Roadmap to Resilient, Ultra-Low Energy Built Environment with Deep Integration of Renewables.
He has received more than $30 M of research grants as P.I. including approximately $14 M for the SBRN and SNEBRN research programs (2005-2016). In 2011 he led the development of the $4.6M Solar Simulator and Environmental Chamber (SSEC) laboratory at Concordia. He has supervised over 100 students at all levels, 15 of whom have become professors in Canada, the US and overseas. He has served both as Graduate Program Director of Building Engineering. He is the founding Director of the Concordia Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies (2012).