News
Find out the latest news, publications and events happening at the Institute for Health in the Built Environment.
Article on the use of virtual screens published in LEUKOS
An article co-authored by Siobhan Rockcastle, Galen Sollom-Brotherton Whalen, Aaron Milgrim, and Robert Davis titled, “The Use...
Article on health and energy tradeoffs for a luminaire level lighting control system published in Energy and Buildings
A new journal article by Siobhan Rockcastle and Alen Mahic was just published in Energy and Buildings. This paper introduces a...
Build Health 2023 event announced, November 3rd, 5-8PM
Our annual research consortium event, Build Health, is a time during which we convene a diverse transdisciplinary group from...
Microbiomes of garden vs supermarket produce and effects on the human gut microbiome
Did you know that every day, we eat billions of microbes (bacteria, fungi, viruses) inhabiting our food? According to Wasserman...
IHBE researchers to present two papers at Building Sim 2023
Two research papers have been accepted to the Building Simulation 2023 conference in Shanghai, China. Both papers introduce...
IHBE returns from opening the Transpecies Design Exhibit at the 2023 Venice Biennale that is featured in Dezeen
IHBE Interim Director Fretz recently returned from Venice to help setup and launch the University of Oregon's Transpecies Design...
Agriculture in the Built Environment: IHBE Awarded Grant
Crops on rooftops, walls, and inside buildings? We want to find out what's possible for growing food in cities, and what...
The Gardener Microbiome: New Paper
What types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses inhabit garden soil? Does gardening without gloves affect your own skin microbiome? ...
New Paper: Temporary Establishment of Bacteria from Indoor Plant Leaves and Soil on Human Skin
That plant you have on your desk? You are in relationship with it- well, microbially at least. Dr. Gwynne Mhuireach at BioBE is...
The Impact of School Facilities on Student Learning & Engagement
A team of researchers at the University of Oregon’s NetZED Laboratory are taking a deep dive into how school buildings affect...
New Publication: Novel VOC Breath Tracer Method for Studying Aerosol Transmission
It’s important to stay six feet apart, but eventually it stops mitigating disease transmission risk. Several studies suggest...
New Paper: Toward Integrating Numeric Disease Transmission Risk in Energy Code and Ventilation Standards
What if every building you entered was filtering out airborne pathogens, harmful particulates, and actively monitoring the...
Congratulations to Interim Director Mark Fretz!
Our very own Mark Fretz is now the interim director of IHBE. Congratulations Mark! See the letter from the Dean of the...
Congratulations to Dean Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg
IHBE Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg has accepted a new position as Dean of the College of Architecture at the University of...
New Award: Housing Energy Upgrades through Hacienda Development
IHBE & ESBL are working as a team with PAE Engineers to help over a 1000 people in low-income housing save on their energy...
Growing Food on Buildings? New Proposal Submitted
Imagine a city with crops on every rooftop. This might seem odd at first, but 80% of food will be consumed in cities by 2050,...
A New Horizon for Acoustics & Affordable Housing: University of Oregon Awarded $16 Million for Research
The Institute for Health in the Build Environment and the University of Oregon has been awarded more than $16 million in federal...
Professor Van Den Wymelenberg to be a panelist at August 18th National Academies Indoor Air Workshop – Sign Up Now!
The pandemic made indoor air quality management an urgent issue for many. On average, Americans spend 70% of the day indoors....
Professor Judith Sheine Represents UO Design Research on Housing, Climate and Resilience to U.S. Delegation
The U.S. Select Committee on the Climate Crisis recently visited the Port of Portland's T2 site, the location for the Oregon...
Podcast: Director Wymelenberg Goes On-Air with EC&M
Our Director, Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg sat down with EC&M's (Electrical Construction & Maintenance) Editor In-Chief,...
Welcome to Poppy: New Consortium Member
A warm welcome to Poppy, the newest member of our Build Health Consortium! Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world...
The Future of Design: Taskshade at Wanted Design NYC
Mira Zimmerman of ESBL virtually interviewed Taskshade Co-Founder, Designer, and former ESBL student Peter Van Liefde to find...
In the News: Innovation for Managing Future Epidemics
Our work on air quality and viral spread has been featured in the University of Oregon publication Around the O. Improving air...
Members & Collaborators: Register for the 2022 Build Health Symposium
Check out our 2022 Build Health Symposium lineup! We will be having some incredible talks at our Symposium on June 16th &...
In the Media: Oregon’s Leadership Supports Mass Timber Coalition Work
Oregon's Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently visited the Tall Wood Design Institute to learn more about our Mass Timber...
In Conversation: Talk on the Pandemic Built Environment
See our researchers talk with Jack Gilbert, mSystems Editor-In-Chief, on the pandemic built environment. Read the publication...
Social Distancing Only Goes So Far: New Paper on COVID-19 Near & Far Field Exposure & Time
Our latest preprint on COVID-19 and aerosol transmission: "A novel VOC breath tracer method to evaluate indoor respiratory...
Mass Timber Coalition Launches
The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition has launched their website at masstimbercoalition.org. As of today, the Oregon Mass Timber...
Resilient Housing: Partnering with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma
We are excited to announce our partnership with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma of HomeWork development. In our continued efforts...
IHBE Part of Build Back Better Mass Timber Coalition
Lead by the Port of Portland, the University of Oregon's Institute for Health in the Built Environment and Energy Studies in...
“Dormzilla” is Inhumane: IHBE in the News
This week, our Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg sat down with Vice to weigh in on a controversial design for a dormitory at UC...
Life-Saving Lights: How Lighting Control Systems May Keep Occupants Healthy
Your sustainable lighting system may be a new way to keep people healthy and potentially save lives. New articles are out about...
Global Building Health: CLEAN 2020 Summit Meets to Assess COVID-19 Limitations & Discuss Population Health Solutions
Business leaders, building scientists, engineers, microbiologists and more are working together to reopen facilities around the...
Keep Those Windows Open: New Research on Aerosol Surveillance of COVID-19
COVID seems like it is here to stay, and as we move into an endemic era, we need reliable and cost-effective solutions to...
Students Collaborate to Create Taskshade: The Sustainable Solution to Office Glare
Do you work in a naturally-lit office? You probably have an issue with screen glare. The current fix? Put down the shades and...
What Material is Really Healthiest? Testing Chemical & Microbial Emissions
Ever wondered how that fir trim in your house might be impacting you? What about the microbial community on your concrete...
Tracking Viruses Through the Vents: New Paper Out
Can your hospital, apartment, hotel, or office protect you from viral particles in other rooms? We are working on it! In the...
IHBE Receives University of Oregon OVPRI 2021 Innovation Award!
"The translation of research to innovation led by your group to address urgent challenges presented by COVID-19 are commendable...
The Bright Future of Healthy Buildings: New White Paper
In our ongoing work to design sustainable, efficient, and healthy buildings, we have a new publication out that talks about the...
Behavior, Circadian Rhythms, and Lighting: New Paper
Can your office or home lighting be optimized for your health? We think so! While research on circadian rhythms and light has...