Joseph Lstiburek
If you are not familiar with the resources made available to you by Dr. Joe we recommend visiting:
www.buildingscience.com
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.
John Straube is an Associate Professor joint-appointed to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. He researches and teaches building science, building materials, and engineering design with a focus on high-performance low-energy sustainable buildings. A registered professional engineer he is also a Principal at RDH Building Science Inc., where he leads forensic investigations, hygrothermal measurement and analysis research projects, and design projects in the areas of low energy building design, highly durable building enclosures, new building materials and systems, and extreme climate buildings.
Professor Straube authored “High Performance Enclosures” and co-authored “Building Science for Building Enclosures” with Eric Burnett. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education from the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers (NCHRC).Professor Straube is a member of the CSA A371 Masonry Construction Standards Committee, the CAN/ULC S741-08 Standard for Air Barrier Materials, the American Society of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Canada among others.