Building Energy and HVAC&R Research Group

People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Zheng O’Neill （邓峥）
Dr. O’Neill is a Professor, J. Mike Walker ’66 Professor II at  J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She was previously an Associate Professor at The University Of Alabama between 2013 to 2019. From 2006 to 2013, she was a Principal Investigator at United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), East Hartford, Connecticut, where she was responsible for the development and field-implement of advanced building optimal controls, building performance monitoring, energy diagnostics and low energy/net zero energy buildings. She was with Cimetrics in Boston as an Energy Analyst from 2005 to 2006. Originally from China, Dr. O’Neill received her Ph.D.  in Mechanical Engineering from the Building and Environmental Thermal Systems Research Group at Oklahoma State University in 2004, and is a registered Professional Engineer. She has led or been involved with proposals leading to external research awards totaling over $30 million since 2014, and has over 200 journal and conference papers published. She is an ASHRAE Fellow and IBPSA Fellow.  She was a member of IBPSA–USA Board of Directors from 2011 to 2013. Currently, she is the Chair of ASHRAE TC 7.5 Smart Building Systems, and is on the Editorial Board of Journal of Building Performance Simulation & an Associate Editor of Science and Technology for the Built Environment. She is the member of ASHRAE’s Research Administration Committee (RAC), which oversees and coordinates all ASHRAE research activities.

 

 

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One Page Summary

​Zheng O’Neill, PhD, PE, ASHRAE Fellow, IBPSA Fellow
Professor | J. Mike Walker ’66 Professor II
J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Texas A&M University
Mechanical Engineering Office Building (MEOB) 326
College Station, TX, 77843
Ph: 979-845-4931 | Email: ZOneill@tamu.edu

 

Research Associate

Zhiyao Yang, Senior Research Engineer I

  • Ph.D., Purdue University
  • M.S., Purdue University
  • B.S., Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Research Projects: Hardware-in-the-Loop, Heat Pump Systems, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings, Smart and Connected Homes

 

Mingzhe Liu, Research Engineer III

  • Ph.D., The University of Tokyo
  • M.S., The University of Tokyo
  • B.S., Harbin Institute of Technology
  • Research Projects: Modeling and Optimization, Heat Pump Systems, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Graduate Student

Caleb Calfa, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump Systems, Model Predictive Control, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Guowen Li, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Modelling and Optimization, Model Predictive Control, Cyber-physical Security, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Mingjun Wei, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis
  • Research Projects: Building Resilience, Model Predictive Control, Smart and Connected Homes


Youngsik Choi, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University
  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University
  • Research Projects: Building Decarbonization, Optimization-based HVAC Controls

 

Yuhang Zhang, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Artificial Intelligence, District Heat Pump Systems

 

Mingyue Guo, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Chongqing University
  • Research Projects: Deep Reinforcement Learning, Model Predictive Control,  Optimization

 

Nathaniel Smith, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump Systems, Absorption

 

Hang Guan, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., HVAC Engineering, Zhengzhou University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump Systems, Absorption

 

Hunter Simon, M.S. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Project: Smart and Connected Homes

 

David Ventura, M.S. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Project: Smart and Connected Homes

 

Zixuan Qi, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Chongqing University
  • Research Projects: Building Resilience & Large Language Model

 

Ruizhi Song, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., HVAC Engineering, Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Dehumidification and Controls

 

Habiba Hussein Ghoneim, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M – Qatar
  • Research Projects: Building Simulations and EnergyPlus

 

Undergraduate Student

Matthew Frazier

  • Research Project: Energy Resilience

 

Alumni

— Research Associate

Arkasama Bandyopadhyay, Research Assistant Professor (2022)

  • Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
  • B.S., Oklahoma State University
  • Research Projects: Ground Source Heat Pump System, Smart Building Service

 

Yangyang Fu, Research Engineer III (2022)

  • Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder
  • M.S., Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings, Advanced Control, Fault Detection and Diagnostics

 

— Ph.D.

Fan Feng (2023)

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • Thesis – Dynamic Building Envelope with Phase Change Material (PCM) and Multi-layered Fenestration Using Model Predictive Controls

 

Tao Yang (2023)

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Central South University
  • Thesis – Investigations on Benefits of Energy, Cost, and Comfort for Residential HVAC Systems with Adaptive Model-Predictive Control

 

Zhihong Pang (2022)

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Tongji University
  • Thesis – Development, Quantification, and Demonstration of Occupant-Centric Controls for Smart and Healthy Buildings

 

Xing Lu (2022)

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • M.S., Energy and Power Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Tongji University
  • Thesis – Development and Evaluation of High-Performance HVAC Control Sequences for Variable Air Volume (VAV) System

 

Yanfei Li (2018)

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – An Innovative Fault Analysis Framework to Enhance Building Operations

 

Joseph Carpenter (2018)

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama, Co-advised by Dr. Zheng O’Neill and Dr. Keith Woodbury
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Mississippi State University
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Mississippi State University
  • Thesis – Using Inverse Regression Models to Create Gray Box Models for Industrial Facilities

 

Fuxin Niu (2017)

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Uncertainty Quantifications and Operation Optimization of Buildings as Virtual Batteries for the Grid with High Penetrations of Renewables

 

— M.S.

Jonathan  Maxwell, M.S. Student

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Thesis – Exploration of Residential Water heating modeling and load shifting via model predictive control

 

Thomas Firsich (2024)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Thesis – Developing the Texas A&M Smart and Connected Homes Testbed (TAMSCHT)

 

Blake Smith-Cortez (2023)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Thesis – Demonstrations of Geofencing Occupancy-Based Control in Smart and Connected Homes

 

Mengyuan Chu (2023)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Syracuse University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Chongqing University
  • Thesis – A Maximum-impact Adversary Design for Network-based Control Systems in Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Ben Cottrell (2020)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Using Cooling Tower Data to Model the Best Approach Temperature

 

Aaron Henry (2020)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Development of A Hardware-in-the-loop Framework with Modelica for Energy Efficient Buildings

 

Zhengwen Hao (2018)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Model-based Estimation on Building Envelope Infiltration

Defeng Qian (2017)

  • M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Solar Powered Ground Source Heat Pump Systems

Liu Liu (2016)

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Thesis – Energy Modeling and Calibration of a Mixed-use Building with Laboratories, Offices and Classrooms

 

—  B.S.

Timothy Wagner (2023)

  • B.S., Texas A&M University
  • Research Project: Smart and Connected Homes

 

Chelsea LaSalle (2023)

  • B.S., Texas A&M University
  • Research Project: EnergyPlus Modeling

 

Marcos Figueroa-Casas (2023)

  • B.S., Texas A&M University
  • Research Project: Smart and Connected Homes

 

Angelo Casale (2022)

  • B.S.,  Architectural Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump System, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Astrid Doennem (2021)

  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • M.S., Technical University of Denmark (DTU)