Adams Rackes has extensive education and research experience in architectural engineering, indoor environmental quality, and building performance simulation. He received a PhD in Architectural Engineering from Drexel University, where he conducted thesis research on optimizing building operation to integrate impacts on human performance, health, energy use, and the environment. His research interests include sustainable building design and control strategies to improve energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and occupant comfort.

1. Adams Rackes
adamsrackes@gmail.com
1609 S. Clarion Street • Philadelphia, PA 19148 • (267) 879-1345
Education
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Doctor of Philosophy in Architectural Engineering September 2012 – June 2017
Master of Science in Architectural Engineering June 2014
Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering (Summa Cum Laude) September 2009 – June 2012
Cumulative GPA: 4.0 (all levels)
Harvard University Cambridge, MA
Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature (Magna Cum Laude) September 1998 - June 2003
Cumulative GPA: 13.8 (out of 15)
Research Interests
• Sustainable design, operation, and control of energy efficient, healthy, and comfortable high performance buildings
• Building performance simulation, machine learning, and optimization techniques to improve building decision-making
• Sensor networks, statistical methods, and parameter estimation for enhancing real-time information about indoor air
• Building science, indoor air and thermal processes, and indoor environmental quality health and performance impacts
Work Experience
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Research Fellow and PhD Candidate September 2012 –
• Thesis research focuses on assessing, comparing, and integrating multiple human performance, health, energy,
economic, and environmental impacts of commercial building operation, in order to bring greater scientific basis and
computational intelligence to bear on optimizing those decisions, particularly ventilation control.
Laboratório de Eficiência Energética em Edificações (Laboratory for Building Energy Efficiency) Florianópolis, Brasil
Visiting Researcher (Fulbright research grant) February – November 2015
• Conducted extensive simulation-based investigation of parameters affecting passive building thermal comfort
• Developed Natural Comfort, a free early stage design tool for naturally ventilated commercial buildings in hot climates
Integrated Project Services Lafayette Hill, PA
Co-op Mechanical and Plumbing Engineer March – September 2010
• Performed thermal load, pressurization, air transfer, and related sizing calculations for pharmaceutical facilities
• Worked closely with architects and engineers to specify equipment, produce mechanical designs, and prepare plans
Bill Curran Design Philadelphia, PA
Senior Fabricator and Installation Mechanic September 2004 – September 2009
• Fabricated high-end stairs, furniture and other precise metalwork, and directed and coordinated on-site installations
Areas of Expertise
HVAC loads, HVAC equipment Building simulation, dynamical systems
Ventilation and indoor air processes Health and productivity in indoor environments
Model-based control and estimation Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Statistical analysis and parametric studies Nonlinear and global optimization techniques
Skills: MATLAB, Simulink, EnergyPlus, Python, R, CONTAM, Ruby, STATA, SPSS, AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp
Selected Honors
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, 2014 Fulbright Study/Research Grant, Brazil, 2014
Steven E. Giegerich Memorial Scholarship, 2014 ASHRAE Grant-in-Aid recipient, 2012
Activities and Affiliations
Member, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, September 2009 –
Member, International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ), October 2012 –
Member, International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBSPA), October 2012 –
Volunteer and advisor, Sustainability Workshop (high school), Philadelphia PA, September 2012 – May 2014

2. Journal Publications
• Rackes, A., Melo, A.P., & Lamberts, R. (2016). Naturally comfortable and sustainable: informed design guidance and
performance labeling for passive commercial buildings in hot climates. Applied Energy, 174, 256–274.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.04.081.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2016). Do time-averaged, whole-building, effective volatile organic compound (VOC)
emissions depend on the air exchange rate? A statistical analysis of trends for 46 VOCs in U.S. offices. Indoor Air, 26,
642–659. http://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12224.
• Hamilton, M., Rackes, A., Gurian, P. L., & Waring, M.S. (2016). Perceptions in the U.S. building industry of the benefits
and costs of improving indoor air quality. Indoor Air, 26, 318–330. http://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12192.
• Li, X., Tan, H., & Rackes, A. (2015). Carbon footprint analysis of student behavior for a sustainable university campus
in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 106, 97–108. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.11.084.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2014). Using multiobjective optimizations to discover dynamic building ventilation
strategies that can improve indoor air quality and reduce energy use. Energy and Buildings, 75, 272–280.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.02.024.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2013). Modeling impacts of dynamic ventilation strategies on indoor air quality of offices in
six US cities. Building and Environment, 60, 243–253. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.10.013.
Conference Presentations
• Rackes, A., Ben-David, T., & Waring, M.S. (2016, September). Toward making ventilation decisions based on expected
outcomes: A flexible multi-criteria framework. Paper accepted to be presented at ASHRAE/AIVC IAQ 2016, Alexandria,
VA, USA.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2016, September). Spatial resolution and sensor accuracy in routine indoor air quality
monitoring networks: are more sensors better? Paper accepted to be presented at ASHRAE/AIVC IAQ 2016,
Alexandria, VA, USA.
• Rackes, A., Hamilton, M., Gurian, P., & Waring, M.S. (2016, July). Do building industry professionals and stakeholders
believe what IAQ experts think is true? Paper presented at Indoor Air 2016, Ghent, Belgium.
• Rackes, A., Ben-David, T., & Waring, M.S. (2016, July). An integrated utility maximization approach to next-generation
commercial building ventilation. Paper presented at Indoor Air 2016, Ghent, Belgium.
• Rackes, A., da Fonseca, R.W., Beck, E.O., Scalco, V.A., Palladini, G.D., & Lamberts, R. (2015, October). Avaliação do
potencial de conforto térmico em escolas naturalmente ventiladas. Paper presented at the Encontro Nacional de
Conforto no Ambiente Construído (ENCAC) 2015, Campinas, Brazil.
• Hamilton M., Rackes A., Gurian P.L., & Waring M.S. (2015, December). Mental models of indoor air quality: does
anybody believe the research? Poster presented at Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA.
• Rackes, A., Ben-David, T., & Waring, M.S. (2014, July). Statistical models of whole-building volatile organic compound
emission rates in U.S. offices. Paper presented at Indoor Air 2014, Hong Kong, China.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2013, October). Advanced integrated indoor air quality and thermal air movement
strategies. Paper presented at ASHRAE IAQ 2013, Vancouver, Canada.
• Rackes, A., & Waring, M.S. (2012, July). Modeling impacts of dynamic ventilation strategies on indoor air quality over
the United States office sector. Paper presented at Healthy Buildings 2012, Brisbane, Australia.