Dr Nima Izadyar

Nima Izadyar is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Chair of the Bachelor of Building Surveying (NBBS) program at the School of Built Environment, College of Sport, Health and Engineering (CoSHE), Victoria University. His primary Field of Research encompasses Building Science and Techniques as well as Architectural Engineering, with a particular focus on energy-efficient buildings, ventilation, indoor environment quality, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Building Surveying, and renewable energy. Nima has actively participated in various collaborative projects with both Australian and international scholars within the Built Environment domain, such as enhancing the NABERS Rating, improving passive design concerning energy efficiency and indoor air quality, digital construction tools, enhancing HVAC design to improve energy efficiency and impacts on indoor environment quality, biophilic design for improved indoor climate quality, stand-alone energy harvesting using renewable sources, and developing a predictive model for ventilation performance against indoor infections.

Having earned his PhD from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2020, Nima's doctoral research concentrated on mitigating cooling demand in medium to high-rise apartments situated in predominant cooling areas. His innovative approach involved utilising natural ventilation as a sustainable alternative to mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning. Notably, Nima explored the impact of balcony design alterations on the natural ventilation performance within indoor spaces. His outstanding achievements were recognised with the prestigious Signato Medal in 2021, including $10,000 cash reward and the Executive Dean Commendation for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Awards. Nima was also selected as the AIRAH Student of the Year, Higher Education or Research Award in 2020, a highly esteemed accolade in the ventilation industry.

Prior to his academic pursuits, Nima earned a Master of Energy Engineering in Iran in 2011, where his focus was on the optimal design of a District Heating System (DHS) as a natural gas alternative for heating purposes.

Nima boasts over seven years of research experience in various institutes across Australia and overseas. Notably, he contributed to the Affordable Heating and Cooling Innovation Hub (i-Hub) project, funded by AIRAH, as a research associate from February to September 2020. Additionally, he served as a research assistant under the High Impact Research (HIR) program at the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia, from February 2015 to January 2017. During this tenure, his research focused on harnessing energy from hybrid renewable sources (wind and solar) to provide cleaner energy alternatives for remote areas, as well as developing an environmentally friendly lighting system and charging station powered by hybrid energy sources.