Building Energy and HVAC&R Research Group

People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Zheng O’Neill （邓峥）
Dr. O’Neill is  J. Mike Walker ’66 Associate Professor at  J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering in Texas A&M University at 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 $27.11 million since 2014, and has over 160 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 Vice 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. 

 

 

Google Scholar Profile: Click here

One Page Summary

​Zheng O’Neill, PhD, PE
J. Mike Walker ’66 Associate Professor
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

Arkasama Bandyopadhyay, Research Assistant Professor

  • 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

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

 

Zhiyao Yang, Research Engineer III

  • Ph.D., Purdue University
  • M.S., Purdue University
  • B.S., Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Research Projects: Thermal Storage, Heat Pump System, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Mingzhe Liu, Postdoctoral Researcher

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

 

Graduate Student

Tao Yang, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Architectural Engineering, Central South University
  • Research Projects: CO2-based Demand Control Ventilation, Occupant-Centric Control, Smart Homes

 

Fan Feng, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Adaptive Building Controls, Optimization-based Control in Buildings

 

Caleb Calfa, Ph.D. Student

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

 

Guowen Li, Ph.D. Student

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

 

Mengyuan Chu, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Syracuse University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Chongqing University
  • Research Projects: Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings, Cyber-physical Security, Model Predictive Control

 

Wenqi Jia, Ph.D. Student

  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Tongji University
  • Research Projects: Optimization of Heat Pump and Energy Storage Systems for Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

 

Mingjun Wei, Ph.D. Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis
  • Research Projects: Building Resilience


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

 

Mingyue Guo, Ph.D. Student

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

 

Thomas Firsich, MS Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: Smart and Connected Homes, Grid-interactive Heat Pumps

 

Blake Smith-Cortez, MS Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump System, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings, Testing of Occupancy Sensors

 

Nathaniel Smith, MS Student

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: TBD

 

Undergraduate Student

Timothy Wagner

  • Research Project: Smart and connected homes

 

Chelsea LaSalle

  • Research Project: EnergyPlus Modeling

 

Marcos Figueroa-Casas

  • Research Project: Smart and connected homes

 

Alumni

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

 

Angelo Casale (2022)

  • Undergraduate student in Architectural Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Research Projects: Heat Pump System, Grid-interactive Efficient 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

 

Astrid Doennem (2021)

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

 

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

 

Yanfei Li (2018)

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

 

Zhengwen Hao (2018)

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

 

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

 

Defeng Qian (2017)

  • Ph.D. 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