The Time Scales of Heat: Leveraging the Thermal Capacity of Existing Structures to Passively Cool Buildings

Eduardo (Edu) Gascón Alvarez is a doctoral student at MIT Architecture's Building Technology group, advised by Professor Caitlin Mueller and Professor Les Norford. His research focuses on the design of integrated construction systems that contribute to a heat-resilient, resource-efficient built environment. Before MIT, Edu completed his Bachelor's and Master's studies in Architecture at the Valles School of Architecture—ETSAV, UPC—and worked at BBG, a structural consultancy firm based in Barcelona.

Jaya Manideep Rebbagondla is a Master's student in Computational Science and Engineering at MIT. He is interested in analyzing physical systems using numerical methods, machine learning, and optimization techniques. He is developing computational models to evaluate and optimize the coupled structural and thermal performance of building structural elements and membrane dehumidification based HVAC systems.