Joseph Lstiburek is the founding principal of Building Science Corporation.
Dr. Lstiburek’s work ranges widely, from providing expert witness testimony to overseeing research and development projects, to writing for the ASHRAE Journal and buildingscience.com. Dr. Lstiburek’s commitment to advancing the building industry has had a lasting impact on building codes and practices throughout the world, particularly in the areas of air barriers, vapor barriers, and vented and unvented roof assemblies. For example, his work with industry partners through the Department of Energy’s Building America program led to significant research into the wetting and drying of walls and ultimately to a major code change relaxing the requirement for vapor barriers in the International Residential Code.
Dr. Lstiburek is also an acclaimed educator who has taught thousands of professionals over the past three decades and written countless papers as well as the best-selling Builder Guides. Fittingly, the Wall Street Journal has described him as "the dean of North American building science." He has a joy for telling tall tales to his protégés and audiences.
Dr. Lstiburek holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Building Science. While still an undergrad, Dr. Lstiburek worked as a residential construction manager; during his Master’s degree, he developed the Air Drywall Approach to air barriers. Other formative experiences include working on the Canada-wide Super Energy Efficient Housing R-2000 program and serving as senior engineer on commercial construction projects for Trow in Toronto. Dr. Lstiburek founded BSC in 1990 with his business partner Betsy Pettit, and he has been a key figure in establishing BSC as one of the most influential, innovative, and respected building science firms in North America.
AABSS 2023 PRESENTATIONS
We’ve Been There Before.
Joe will remind us where we started with building science in SW FL 25 years ago, where we are, and where we are headed. Expect him to vent on attics.
The Perfect Wall.
Joe will take us through his perfect wall layer-by-layer, then show us how to build it when our budget isn’t exactly perfect.
On Deck.
We can see the surface, but what lurks beneath where we are standing? Dirt, crawl space, basement, indoors, outdoors, or a never-never land building scientists call “picket fences?”
Pitch Perfect.
Keeping the roof on and the rain out may be our #1priority. How high or how can the roof slope? What material and how to fasten it? Why does tile last 400 years and Europe and less than 40 years here?
High Rise. Are they 20-story homes or 1-story homes stacked 20 high? How does air move through them? You all may not move around tall buildings but the same physics moves all air.
Piltdown Man. There are lies, damn lies, and insulation. Myths are entertaining. Some are useful. But some insulation claims aren’t true. That annoys Joe.(Read Joe’s June, 2022 ASHRAE Journal column to see what this is all about).
No Free Lunch. Adding insulation improves efficiency but can prevent drying. It turns out “There is no such thing as a free thermodynamic lunch.”( follow Joe and John Straube talking about in the ASHRAE Episode 4 Podcast in 2021).
John is one of the most exciting, humorous, and enlightening presenters in the nation. John started building houses in 1979 and by 1982 had begun to diagnosis and retrofit homes across the nation. He was inducted into the Building Performance Institute's Hall of Fame for lifetime commitment and dedication to the Home Performance Industry and was the 2013 recipient of the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry. He has been the principle designer of some of the largest building programs in the nation. John has a refreshing approach to the old adage do it right the first time. He presents a real life, blue-collar approach to building a more profitable business. John consults, and trains thousands of contractors from every trade each year. His messages are filled with solutions for today's issues.
AABSS 2023 PRESENTATIONS
MAD-AIR 2023 Mechanical Air Distribution and Interacting Relationships
"In the pursuit of the high quality, tight, super insulated, and energy efficient home, we might have built in problems that can be so elusive and hidden that the best of contractors only come away with stress-related illness rather than the answer that spells RELIEF".
These are words I wrote in 1986 in a paper titled MAD-AIR. Our code has changed airtightness and insulation levels with better installation.
These changes may have exposed us to a much madder MAD-AIR. We will compare 1986 to today and discover the changes and their effect on the house system. If you design, work on, rate, or assess retrofit needs this is a must-see presentation.
Receive a copy of the 1986 MAD-AIR paper that started it all as we revisit its findings and explore its present day implications.
PIONEERS OF BUILDING SCIENCE
The AABSS 2023 stage will host a very special reunion of groundbreaking building scientists Joseph Lstiburek, Gary Nelson, Neil Moyer and John Tooley.
Join us as they will share their experiences, discoveries and adventures together as they solved building science issues across the USA and developed methods and standards we still use today.
They will answer our questions and offer us advise. Meet them in person and share food and drinks immediately following the event on Wednesday 1-24-23.
Gary Nelson is a legendary building scientist, engineer and cofounder of The Energy Conservatory widely known for the Minneapolis Blower Door and innovations that followed. The idea for TEC was created in 1980 over lunches between partners Gary Anderson, then an auditor in St. Paul, and Gary Nelson, an engineer at the Minnesota Energy Agency, during which they would discuss the latest discoveries in residential energy efficiency. The blower door was one advance that captured their imagination.
Like so many great companies before it, TEC got its start in a garage where the two partners strove continuously to create a blower door design that would be more practical for mainstream contractors. That meant it had to be less expensive, lighter, and easier to use. They worked to make blower door testing more friendly, accurate, and efficient, and helped develop protocols for weatherization programs to prioritize air sealing efforts. Their efforts paid off and helped propel advances in construction and air sealing techniques that have become mainstream elements in both new construction and retrofit applications.
TEC quickly outgrew the garage business model and moved into a larger facility where innovation continued to flourish. During this time TEC developed many industry leading products including the firsthigh precision two-channel digital pressure gauge and the first automated blower door testing system. In the late 1980s, TEC was in the forefront of research that led to the understanding that duct leakage is a big problem (not just for energy) and led to the development of the Minneapolis Duct Blaster® system.
PIONEERS OF BUILDING SCIENCE
The AABSS 2023 stage will host a very special reunion of groundbreaking building scientists Joseph Lstiburek, Gary Nelson, Neil Moyer and John Tooley.
Join us as they will share their experiences, discoveries and adventures together as they solved building science issues across the USA and developed methods and standards we still use today.
They will answer our questions and offer us advise. Meet them in person and share food and drinks immediately following the event on Wednesday 1-24-23.
Neil is nationally recognized for his expertise in the field of building science and duct system diagnostics. In Florida, he is the beloved face of Building Science for his many students who were introduced to building science and trained by Neil during his many years teaching building science at the Florida Solar Energy Center.
He has inspected miles of ductwork, repaired hundreds of square feet of unintentional openings, and tested close to a couple of thousand homes and hundreds of commercial buildings. Also, he has worked with numerous homeowners and builders, both residential and commercial, in finding solutions to indoor air quality and moisture problems. Additionally, he has co-authored numerous scientific papers and articles relating to both commercial and residential building diagnostics and repair, with an emphasis on uncontrolled airflow and how it affects building performance.
He has been a trainer for many utilities, and at the conferences organized by Energy Efficient Building Association (EEBA) and Affordable Comfort. Neil was a lead scientist in demonstrating the effect of duct leakage in Florida homes. Following the work quantifying the problem, Neil led the effort to find low-cost, reliable methods to test and identify leakage. He served as an instructor for FSEC's Duct Doctoring workshop that educated many contractors and utility representatives on how to diagnose and repair duct leakage. He has continued that training effort by educating Class I energy raters. Due to his and other FSEC staff members' work, the Florida energy code was changed in 2001 to reflect a default parameter of leaky ductwork, providing credit for systems that were tested to be quantitatively airtight.
PIONEERS OF BUILDING SCIENCE
The AABSS 2023 stage will host a very special reunion of groundbreaking building scientists Joseph Lstiburek, Gary Nelson, Neil Moyer and John Tooley.
Join us as they will share their experiences, discoveries and adventures together as they solved building science issues across the USA and developed methods and standards we still use today.
They will answer our questions and offer us advise. Meet them in person and share food and drinks immediately following the event on Wednesday 1-24-23.
Joyce Owens FAIA RIBA, received the 2022 AIA Florida Gold Medal, the highest award AIA Florida bestows and in 2020, received the AIA Florida Medal of Honor for Design.A University of Notre Dame graduate, Joyce left her London-based practice after 15 years and relocated to Florida in 2004. Both her UK practice and now, her Florida firm have garnered attention and international publicity for numerous award-winning buildings & designs, which are environmentally and regionally sensitive, as well as culturally appropriate for their place.
In South Florida, Joyce has become “The Coastal Architect” and is a huge advocate of the climate-sensitive architectural style Tropical Modern which incorporates resiliency, as well as passive and active sustainable principles into the design. Joyce was elected to the prestigious College of Fellows at the national level of the American Institute of Architects in 2018 – the highest membership honor for exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society.
AABSS 2023 PRESENTATION
Coastal Florida : Rebuilding - Stronger - Smarter
Florida has been changing its building code for the better. Since Hurricane Andrew in 1992,we’ve been designing buildings to be stronger in the face of catastrophic storms. But have we been building smarter? Many homes are still built on wood pilings that deteriorate over time and can't provide the strength of concrete or even better concrete pilings below grade. Windows and doors are still installed in ways that leak air and water.
“Rebuild Smarter Stronger”, offers design knowledge for buildings that can withstand the devastating and harsh weather/climate of SWFL Florida and other coastal areas. Our expertise comes from decades of experience and knowledge. Together, we can build a smarter, stronger, and safer Florida.
Kimberly is Emerging Markets Sr Product Manager at Mitsubishi Electric Trane US.
Kimberly holds a Bachelor's Degree from Vassar College and Master Degree in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University.
Voting member of ASHRAE’s 62.2 and 227P technical committees. ACHR NEWS Top Women in HVAC Award, 2021
AABSS PRESENTATION
Chasing HVAC Unicorns
The hunt for mythical systems, fantastical designs and Legendary Tradespeople
Join Kimberley and Bryan on a quest for HVAC treasures; Health, Comfort, Efficiency, Reliability and Serviceability.
Along the way, we may encounter Mythical Creatures such as Infinitely Variable Heat Pumps, Mega-SEER & Abrica-Ductless Systems while enduring a constant barrage of HVAC Silver Bullets.
Explore invisible spaces for ducts. Meet magical Shrinking Trades People with X-Ray Vision and find out why they don't always deliver the magic.
Chasing HVAC Unicorns compares the magic that consumers want, versus current HVAC realities and limitations, while identifying the underlying challenges to progress. You may find more than one moral to this story.
With a sharp wit and sense of humor, Bryan Orr has quickly become one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in the HVACR industry; covering everything from duct fabrication to installation in his wildly successful HVAC School podcast.
He is the vice-president of service at Kalos Services Inc in Clermont, Florida which he started with his dad when he was 17.
AABSS PRESENTATION
Chasing HVAC Unicorns
The hunt for mythical systems, fantastical designs and Legendary Tradespeople
Join Kimberley and Bryan on a quest for HVAC treasures; Health, Comfort, Efficiency, Reliability and Serviceability.
Along the way, we may encounter Mythical Creatures such as Infinitely Variable Heat Pumps, Mega-SEER & Abrica-Ductless Systems while enduring a constant barrage of HVAC Silver Bullets.
Explore invisible spaces for ducts. Meet magical Shrinking Trades People with X-Ray Vision and find out why they don't always deliver the magic.
Chasing HVAC Unicorns compares the magic that consumers want, versus current HVAC realities and limitations, while identifying the underlying challenges to progress. You may find more than one moral to this story.
