Presentations

These presentations focus on exploring sustainable solutions to the interconnected challenges of food, energy, and water systems in urban areas. They highlight ongoing research and innovative approaches aimed at improving resource management, resilience, and sustainability. Through these discussions, each presentation contributes to a broader understanding of how integrated strategies can address these critical issues and promote long-term environmental, economic, and social benefits.

2023

Integrating agent-based simulation with biophysical models to explore urban food, energy and water systems

• Authors: Patel, P., & Krejci, C.
• Event: Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, May 20-23, 2023 (oral presentation)

Morphing-based fusion of weather modeling and satellite observations for improving estimation of diurnal land surface temperatures.

• Authors: Chen, W., & Zhou, Y.
• Events: Annual Meeting of American Association of Geographers, Denver, CO, March 23-27, 2023. Geology Graduate Student Seminar, Ames, IA

The impact of organic fertilizer amendments on tomato transplants

• Author: Huckins, E.
• Event: Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference, Ames, IA, January 20-21, 2023.

2022

An interactive GIS-based method to map feasible roof areas for PV panels.

• Authors: Ghiasi, S., and Passe, U.
• Event: Architectural Research Centers Consortium and European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE) International Join Conference, Miami, FL, 2022

Assessing near-building climates

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Society for Building Science Educators July 20-23, 2022.

Building a workflow to model a green façade in a graphical user interface for EnergyPlus.

• Authors: Collin, S., and U. Passe.
• Event: Architectural Research Centers Consortium and European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE) International Joint Conference, 2022

Connecting macro and micro climates through ventilation design

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Invited Keynote at Comfort at the Extremes (CATE) Conference, Edinburgh, UK, September 5-6, 2022.

Development of a modeling framework for refined residential occupancy schedules.

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Center for Advanced Power Engineering Research, UNC, Virtual, 2022

Estimating the diurnal cycle of land surface temperature by integrating weather modeling with satellite observations.

• Authors: Chen, W. and Zhou Y.
• Event: INFEWS PI Workshop, Virtual

Evaluation of bias correction methods for current and future RCM projections in hydrological regional applications.

• Authors: Brighenti, T., Gassman, P., Gutowski, W., and Thompson, J.
• Event: Wuropean Geophysical Union General Assembly, Vienna, AU, Virtual, 2022

Evaluation of management data, water balance outputs and other factors to assess the accuracy of multiple baseline SWAT simulation for the Des Moines and Skunk River watersheds that encompass the Des Moines Metropolitan area in central Iowa.

• Authors: Brighenti, T., Gassman, P., Liebman, M., Thompson, J.
• Event: INFEWS PI Workshop 2022

Exploring urban food, energy and water systems (FEWS) sustainability in central Iowa

• Author: Thompson, J.
• Event: ISU Environmental Science Symposium Keynote, Ames, IA, 2022

Food system modeling at the metropolitan scale: Comparing current to localized scenarios in the Midwest.

• Authors: Stone, T., Thompson, J., Rosentrater, K.
• Event: DataFEWSion Symposium, Ames, IA, 2022

Growing table food in the US Corn Belt: Urban and peri- urban producer perspectives on factors influencing potential expansion.

• Authors: Stone, T. F., Thompson, J.
• Event: Agriculture, Food and Human Values Conference, Atlanta, GA, May 21, 2022

Holistic strategies for natural ventilation in a warming urban climate.

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation Technical Seminar Series, 2022

How climate smart are local vegetables? And how a food system perspective could support Iowa vegetable production.

• Author: Stone, T.
• Event: Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference, Ames, IA, 2022

Improving ecohydrological simulations by incorporating accurate tile drainage and fertilizer application rate data: A case study of central Iowa

• Authors: Gassman, P., Brighenti, T., & Thompson, J.
• Event: 11th International Drainage Symposium, Des Moines, IA, August 30 – September 2, 2022.

Improving estimates of land surface temperature at hourly scale for thermal and ecological assessment

• Authors: Chen, W., & Zhou, Y.
• Event: Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Montréal, Québec, CA, August 14-19, 2022.

Integrating agent-based simulation with biophysical models to explore urban food, energy, and water systems.

• Author: Krejci, C.
• Event: IISE Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, 2022

Integrating social and biophysical models for urban food, energy and water systems.

• Authors: Brighenti, T., W. Chen, M. Dorneich, B. Gao, B. Ganapathysubramanian, P. Gassman, S. Ghiasi, N. Oran Gibson, C. Krejci, M. Liebman, A. Nair, U. Passe, K. Rosentrater, N. Schwab, T. Stone, J. Thompson, and Y. Zhou.

Investigating multiple SWAT-HAWQS baseline simulations via real system data implementation

• Authors: Brighenti, T., Gassman, P., Schilling, K., Srinivasan, R., Liebman, M., & Thompson, J. 2022.
• Event: International SWAT Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, July 11-15 (oral presentation)

Organic Tomato Transplants: Greenhouse Study

• Author: Erin Huckins
• Event: Sustainable Agriculture Spring Symposium 2022
• Abstract: Transplant production is likely to become more important as demand for locally grown food increases, as it enables growers to increase plants’ quality, uniformity, and growth rates. Although not all specialty crops are suitable for transplanting, several annual crops, including tomatoes, can be grown from transplant stock. To study the effect of organic fertilizers on tomato transplant crop growth, the following treatments were examined: high and low rate additions of organic bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, and fish emulsion to a standard organic media (‘Beautiful Land’) mix for plants grown under uniform temperature, relative humidity and light conditions in a greenhouse. Based on preliminary trial data, each dry fertilizer was applied at rates of two tbsp/gal of media and four tbsp/gal of media. Two rates of fish emulsion application were also used, at one ounce per gallon of water applied and at two ounces per gallon of water. Each rate for each fertilizer was labeled as a treatment. Every treatment included 100 plants (four replications) arranged in 25-cell transplant trays, and all plant material was placed in a random arrangement on growing benches in a single greenhouse bay. The experimental units for this study were four plants in the center of each 25-cell transplant tray. The following measurements were recorded; individual plant height, stem diameter, and Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) meter readings at weeks four, five, and six after seeding. Results and conclusions are awaiting data analysis.

Phenomena, poetics and performance: Research into ventilating spaces naturally

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Invited lecture and workshop Faculty of Architecture and Geography, University of Concepcion, Chile, Nov 30-Dec 1, 2022.

Through a biophysical lens: Assessment of multiple food system scenarios in the Des Moines metropolitan area using SWAT and LCA simulations.

• Authors: Stone, T., T. Brighenti, P. Gassman, J Thompson, M. Liebman, and K Rosentrater.
• Event: AGU 2020 Fall Meeting, Ames, IA, 2022

Using integrated modeling to simulate environmental impacts of increases in local table food production for the Des Moines, Iowa metropolitan area

• Authors: Brighenti, T., Gassman, P., Stone, T. & Thompson, J.
• Event: Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference, Denver, CO, July 31 – August 3, 2022

Using the SWAT model to investigate the accuracy of bias correction methods for current and future RCM projections in regional applications

• Authors: Brighenti, T., Gassman, P, Gutowski, W., & Thompson, J.
• Event: International SWAT Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, July 11-15, 2022.

Workshop: Water, agriculture and our very way of life – The contamination and protection of water sources from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico

• Authors: Passe, U., Zarecor, K., & Stevenson, M.B.
• Event: Growing Sustainable Communities Conference, Dubuque, IA, Oct 17-18, 2022.

2021

A framework for integrating high-resolution trees in urban energy use models

• Authors: Malekpour Koupei, D., Passe, U., and Thompson, J.
• Event: Proceedings of the Building Simulation Conference, Bruges, Belgium, September 1-3, 2021

A scalable assembly-free matrix finite element solver for heterogeneous architectures

• Authors: Tran, H., Fernando, M., Saurabh, K., Ganapathysubramanian, B., Kirby, R., and Sundar, H.
• Event: Super Computing Conference, St. Louis, MO., Nov. 14-19, 2021

A sensitivity analysis to investigate urban heat island impact on building energy consumption

• Authors: Ghiasi, S., Zhou, Y., Thompson, J., Marmur, B., Passe, U.
• Event: Proceedings of the Building Simulation Conference, Bruges, Belgium, September 1-3, 2021

Advances in urban neighborhood energy modeling for low resource communities.

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Social Inequality in Energy, Environment, and Technology, NSF-DOE CURENT Center, Knoxville, TN, 2021

Assessing a Community-Engaged Decision Framework for increased Urban Neighborhoods Resilience in a warming climate.

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and American Institute of Architects Intersections Conference on Communities, Virtual, 2021

Building a More Sustainable, Resilient, Equitable, and Nourishing Food  System: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies  Press.

• Author: Liebman, M.
• Presentation Link: https://doi.org/10.17226/25832, 2021

Challenges and Opportunities for Producers and Consumers in Central Iowa Urban Food Systems

• Author: Erin Huckins
• Event: ACLCA2020 Annual Conference, Virtual, ACLCA 2020 Presentation​​​​​​, April 21, 2021.

Computational study of natural ventilation in a sustainable building with complex geometry, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments

• Authors: Xu, F., Xu, S., Passe, U., and Ganapathysubramanian, B.
• Event: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2021.101153., 2021

Finding the best placement of PV panels using a GIS-based model.

• Authors: Ghiasi, S., and Passe, U.
• Event: Iowa Chapter, American Institute of Architecture Annual Conference, Des Moines, IA, 2021

Industrial scale large-eddy simulations with adaptive octree meshes using immerse-geometric analysis

• Authors: Saurabh, K., Gao, B., Fernando, M., Xu, S., Khanwale, M., Khara, B., Hsu, M.-C., Krishnamurthy, A., Sundar, H., Ganapathysubramanian, B.
• Event: Computers & Mathematics with Applications 97:28-44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.camwa.2021.05.028., 2021

Iowa UrbanFEWS: Integrating social and biophysical models for exploration of urban food, energy and water systems

• Authors: Thompson, J., Ganapathysubramanian, B., Chen, W., Dorneich, M., Gassman, P., Krejci, C., Liebman, M., Nair, A., Passe, U., Rosentrater, K., Schwab, N., Stone, T., Wang, Y., and Zhou, Y.
• Event: Frontiers in Big Data (Climate Change), 2021

Iowa UrbanFEWS: Integrating social and biophysical models for urban food, energy and water systems

• Authors: Thompson, J., Ganapathysubramanian, B., Chen, W., Dorneich, M., Gassman, P., Ghiasi, S., Krejci, C., Liebman, M., Nair, A., Passe, U., Rosentrater, K., Schwab, N., Sharma, T., Stone, T., Wang, Y., and Zhou, Y.
• Event: University Research Days (poster, virtual), Ames, IA,  March 23-25, 2021

Life cycle assessment: The basics.

• Author: Stone, T.
• Event: DataFEWSion seminar, Ames, IA, 2021

Modeling metropolitan food systems in the Midwest US: Life Cycle Assessment of current and local scenarios.

• Authors: Stone, T., J. Thompson, K. Rosentrater.
• Event: ACLCA Conference, Virtual, 2021

NAAB 2021 SP5 and SP6: How do they support Sustainable Design?

• Author: Passe, U.
• Event: Society of Building Science Educators Retreat, Detroit Michigan, 2021

Place-based methods for interdisciplinary research.

• Authors: Thompson, J., K. Zarecor, E. Baran, U. Passe.
• Event: Ames Laboratory Seminar Series, Ames, IA, 2021

Scalable adaptive PDE solvers in arbitrary domains

• Authors: Saurabh, K., Ishii, M., Fernando, M., Gao, B., Krishnamurthy, A., Hsu, M.-C., Sundar,  H., and Ganapathysubramanian, B.
• Event: Super Computing Conference, November 12-19, 2021

The impact of vegetative wall coverings on building cooling load reduction

• Authors: Fagbule, O., Thompson, J., & Passe, U.
• Event: Iowa State University Research Experience for Undergraduates Summer Poster Symposium, Ames, IA, 2020

Utilizing a novel mobile diagnostics lab to validate the impact of vegetative wall coverings in building cooling load reduction

• Presenters: Oluwatobiloba Fagbule and Rushi Patel Acknowledgements: Ulrike Passe and Janette Thompson
• Event: National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), 2021 Conference, Virtual, NCUR 2021 Presentation, April 12-14, 2021

Validating the impact of vegetative wall coverings on building cooling loads using heat-flux sensors and infrared images (poster)

• Authors: Fagbule, O., Patel, R., Thompson, J., and Passe, U.
• Event: National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), virtual, April 12-14, 2021

2020

As New Global Crises Emerge, Climate Change Continues

• Host: Ben Kieffer Interviewees: Peter Thorne, Eric Tate, Ulrike Passe
• Event: River to River, Iowa Public Radio, June 16, 2020

Characterizing urban building energy consumption at high spatiotemporal resolution using a City Building Energy Use Model (CityBEUM) for mitigation strategies under climate change.

• Authors: Zhou, Y., Chen, W. and Chen, Y.
• Event: AGU 2020 Fall Meeting, December 1-17, 2020

Climate-smart vegetable production: The environmental attributes of vegetables produced in conventional,  local and home-garden food systems in the Midwest US (poster)

• Authors: Stone, T., Rosentrater, K., Thompson, J., Nair, A.
• Event: American Center  for Life Cycle Assessment Conference Madison, WI, Virtual, September 21-24, 2020

LCA and TEA of conventional versus local production of vegetables for US Midwest cities (poster)

• Authors: Stone, T., Rosentrater, K., and Thompson, J.
• Event: American Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers International Meeting, ACLCA 2020 Presentation, July 13-15, 2020

Lifetime Energy Performance of Residential Buildings: A Sensitivity Analysis of Energy Modeling Parameters

• Authors: Diba Melekpour Koupaei, Manon Geraudin, Ulrike Passe
• Event: SimAUD2020 Conference, Virtual, May 25-27, 2020

Modeling the impact of urban land expansion on building energy use.

• Authors: Chen, W. and Zhou Y.
• Event: AGU 2020 Fall Meeting, Virtual, December 1-17, 2020