Dr. Lisa Ng is the Supervisory Mechanical Engineer/Group Leader of the Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation Group in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She graduated from the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Drexel University with her Bachelor's and Ph. D., with a two-year stint in a Taiwan architectural firm in-between. After her Ph. D., she completed a one-year post-doc at NIST. Her work is focused on airflow and indoor air quality performance in buildings, with a focus on low energy buildings as well as energy efficiency design and operation strategies in general. She is active in the development of strategies for incorporating more accurate infiltration estimates in building energy models and the application of multizone airflow and indoor air quality (IAQ) models to a range of building performance issues. She is also active in mentoring students through several programs at NIST.
How long have you been a member of IBPSA-USA?
I have been a member since 2020.
Why did you join IBPSA-USA?
I joined because I wanted to know what was happening in the building performance simulation community and IBPSA-USA does a great job gathering forward-thinking minds from diverse fields. I also noticed that not many people talk about infiltration modeling, which is my area of expertise, so I wanted to start a wider conversation among building simulation experts.
What’s your favorite part of being a member of IBPSA-USA?
The members are from diverse backgrounds, in different stages of their career, and have a passion for improving building simulation performance. This in turn helps us design and operate buildings that deliver on their promises of providing healthy spaces for people to live and work and striving to minimize their impact on the environment. I learn a lot from my fellow members and they inspire me to innovate.
Can you describe the volunteer work you do with IBPSA-USA?
I am currently co-chairing the IBPSA Mixa Working Group, under the Research Subcommittee. This Working Group plans the Mixa events (get it? Mixa rhymes with IBPSA and could also be “mixer”).
IBPSA Mixas are intended to be casual discussions with technical experts on emerging and exciting topics. We typically have technical lightning talks or panels followed by a time to connect with IBPSA colleagues from all different building-related fields. We hope members find these events educational and a fun way to meet people from all over the world!
“Infiltration: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” is one of the most popular IBPSA Mixa webinars to date! Check out the IBPSA-USA Youtube channel for more.
How did you get involved with this volunteer work?
Since my background is in research, I looked for committees under the Research Subcommittee in 2020. Back then, the Architectural Simulations subcommittee felt like the best fit. In 2021, the Research Committee proposed our subcommittee start hosting virtual happy hours, so Mixas started! Between 2021 and today, the Research Committee restructured the subcommittees so now we have become the Mixas Working Group. We hope that through our virtual happy hours/mixas, we can inspire research and collaboration around new and emerging fields of interest related to building simulation performance.
To someone who is interested in participating in IBPSA-USA, do you have any words of encouragement?
It’s great to participate in IBPSA-USA (or any organization) because (1) you are in the know about events and what everyone’s talking about and (2) you get to know people as you work with them. It’s so great to go IBPSA-USA conferences and already know a few friendly faces. If you are new to IBPSA-USA, just go to a meeting of any committee meetings. They are all open to all and I’m sure you can find a place that suits your availability and interests.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the field of building performance simulation?
This field is always changing – a new platform, a new application, a new tool – so if you want to jump in, you can at anytime. We’re all constantly learning something new, and we need new perspectives to think about building performance from different angles. If we want to design, build, and operate buildings of the future, we need more people to help us get there.
Fun fact that people probably don’t know about you!
I can’t sing, and don’t particularly like music, but I love karaoke. Who will sing with me at the next IBPSA-USA conference?!
