Transforming Canadian Cities: Toward Equitable and Decarbonized Urban Transportation through Electrification, Automation, Shared Use, and Transit-Oriented Development
Funded PhD position in Building Engineering
Last updated: July 16, 2025, 1:17 p.m.
Supervisory details
Supervisor: Bruno Lee
Department: Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science
University: Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Start date: Flexible (Fall 2025 preferred)
PhD Fellowship: 35K CAD per year for 4 years
Project overview
This project explores how Canada can achieve climate goals through resilient, electrified transit systems rooted in equitable Transit-Oriented Development. By integrating engineering, policy, and spatial analysis, it aims to produce actionable insights and foster cross-sector collaboration for smarter, inclusive transportation planning.
Role description
- Analyze energy demand curves and usage patterns in transit-oriented developments (TODs) to support low-carbon infrastructure.
- Develop and simulate distributed energy resource (DER) models for transit hubs and adjacent mixed-use communities
- Evaluate climate-adaptive building designs by integrating HVAC, renewable energy, and building envelope systems.
- Support data-driven decision-making by contributing to energy performance modeling and climate risk assessments.
- Collaborate with researchers and stakeholders to inform equitable and affordable TOD policies across Canada.
Research areas
- Building Energy Performance Assessment
- Computational Simulation
- Integrated Building Design
- Energy Efficiency
- Robust Performance Systems
- Sustainable Design Criteria
- Academic background in Building Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a related field with a focus on energy systems or sustainable building design.
- Experience with computational building simulation tools (e.g., EnergyPlus, TRNSYS, eQuest) to support building energy performance assessments.
- Knowledge of integrated building systems, including HVAC, lighting, and envelope design, to evaluate energy efficiency and robust performance.
- Proficiency in data analysis and modeling using tools such as Python, MATLAB, or R to support simulation-driven design decision-making.
- Demonstrated interest in sustainable design principles, climate resilience, and the development of low-carbon, high- performance building strategies.
Please combine the following documents into a single PDF file.
- Letter of intent strongly aligned with the project and the research domain of the professor
- Academic CV
- Transcripts
- References
- Publications, if any
- Any other documents that might benefit your file
If you are already in Canada, or if you’re a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, please highlight this in your communications.
Send your PDF file to bruno.lee@concordia.ca with the subject Transforming Canadian Cities_Your name_PhD.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
Questions/contact
For all questions, please contact Alisa Makusheva at alisa.makusheva@concordia.ca.
