Engineering

Professor named to committee on safeguarding Defense buildngs

William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering and director of the Indoor Environment Center, was named to a National Academies committee charged with reviewing efforts to protect occupants of Department of Defense buildings from chemical and biological weapons attacks.

The committee falls under the National Academies' Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology and Board of Life Sciences. The group will provide advice to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency as the Pentagon plans, designs, constructs and operates future chemical- and biological-resistant facilities.

Part of the committee's job will be to analyze existing military and civilian studies on preventing and mitigating the effects of a chemical or biological release. The information will then be used in formulating new protection schemes.

Bahnfleth has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 1994. His research expertise includes indoor air quality, protection of buildings from chemical and biological terrorism, thermal storage, district heating and cooling, building energy use modeling and application of thermal sciences to buildings.

He previously served on a National Academies committee that reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Buildings Program.

Bahnfleth holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering and a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Illinois. He is a fellow and director-at-large of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Last Updated March 19, 2009

Contact