Xiang “Jason” Zhang

Xiang “Jason” Zhang came to Arizona State University from a postdoctoral research fellow position at the University of Pennsylvania to educate students in a distinct blend of architectural design and engineering disciplines.

As a new assistant professor with a background in both civil engineering and architecture, Zhang holds a joint appointment in the Del E. Webb School of Construction in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, and The Design School, part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

Zhang plans to develop new courses that will bring students from both academic units together. He sees a disconnect between architectural design and engineering and aims to enhance the collaboration between designers and engineers to support a more sustainable built environment and society.

“This position offers me a great opportunity to educate the next generation of architects and engineers together, with the goal of bridging the ‘language gap’ between designers and engineers from the very beginning of their education,” he says.

Zhang began his academic career studying architecture, with an emphasis on sustainable and environmental building design. During his undergraduate and master’s degree studies, he gradually developed an interest in building energy efficiency to reduce building energy consumption and corresponding carbon emissions to ease the climate crisis.

For his doctoral degree, Zhang embraced his newfound passion. He built on his architectural background by studying civil engineering, and his thesis focused on data-driven modeling of building energy performance.

“The rapid development of data science and the Internet of Things, or IoT, has made data-driven approaches to enhancing building energy efficiency more feasible and cost-effective,” Zhang says. “I find this area very intriguing and believe it has tremendous potential.”

Beyond his degree studies, Zhang took part in a variety of international architecture and engineering research experiences as a student and intern. He worked in positions at the National University of Singapore, Japan’s Tokyo Institute of Technology and Hokkaido University and more.

Zhang’s recent research in the field has resulted in more than 10 international journal articles and a Best Paper Award at the Conference on Building Energy and Environment 2022. To acknowledge his contribution to the field of building physics, he was also recently promoted to a board member position for the International Association of Building Physics, serving from 2024 to 2027.

Outside of work, Zhang enjoys singing, songwriting, playing the guitar and learning to play the piano. An avid world traveler, he’s also visited about 30 countries.

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.

Written by TJ Triolo