Dr Gloria Pignatta | UNSW Research

My Expertise

I am an expert in the areas of Building Energy Efficiency, Net Zero and Positive Energy Buildings and Settlements, Energy Flexibility, Pre-cooling and Solar Pre-cooling, Energy poverty, Climate Change and Urban Heat Island adaptation and mitigation, Sustainable Buildings and Cities, Indoor/Outdoor thermal comfort, Cool materials, Daytime radiative cooling materials, Thermochromic materials, Geopolymers for building envelope, Smart monitoring, Smart energy management, Decision-making theories, and Life Cycle Assessment.

Keywords

cooling

building energy management

urban heat island

life cycle assessment

microclimate

challenges and mitigation strategies

thermal comfort

climate change

energy policy

urban and built environment research

Fields of Research (FoR)

Architectural Science and Technology (incl. Acoustics, Lighting, Structure and Ecologically Sustainable Design), Built Environment and Design, Urban Analysis and Development, Environmental Monitoring, Landscape Planning, Building, Architecture and Urban Environment not elsewhere c, Other Architecture, Urban Environment and Building, Architectural Heritage and Conservation, Renewable Power and Energy Systems Engineering (excl. Solar Cells)

SEO tags

Residential Energy Conservation and Efficiency

Energy Conservation and Efficiency

Expanding Knowledge in Built Environment and Design

Construction Materials Performance and Processes

Environmental Lifecycle Assessment

Health Status (e.g. Indicators of Well-Being)

Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing

Stone, ceramics and clay materials

Materials performance and processes

Energy Conservation and Efficiency not elsewhere classified

Biography

I am Scientia Lecturer and City Futures Research Centre (CFRC) Fellow (2021-2024) in the School of Built Environment (BE) - Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) at UNSW Sydney, focusing on building energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment. I am one of the members of High Performance Architecture Research Cluster and History and Theory of the Built Environment Research Cluster in the School of BE and Investigator at the Material and Manufacturing Institute (MMFI) at UNSW. I am a Civil Engineer with a Ph.D. in Energy Engineering from the University of Perugia, Italy. In 2017, I was Postdoctoral Associate and Building and Construction expert at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), in Singapore. In 2016, I was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Inter-University Research Center on Pollution and Environment “Mauro Felli" (CIRIAF), University of Perugia, Italy. My research collaboration network touches different countries: Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Denmark, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Sweden, USA, Canada, India, and Australia.

My Grants

2022: Digital Grid Future Institute (DGFI), "Development of a free open-source online tool to estimate solar pre-cooling potential in Australian housing stock" ($28,000)
2021-2022: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), "Sustainable apartment housing: new build and retrofit" ($105,436)
2020-2022: Australian Research Council Discovery Project,"Scalable daytime radiative cooling for buildings and the built environment" ($235,000)
2020-2022: Materials and Manufacturing Future Institute (MMFI), "Development of novel and sustainable geopolymer materials for Building Elements" ($30,000)
2019-2022: EUROPEAN COMMISSION, ERASMUS+ International Credit Mobility
2019-2021: Blacktown City Council, "Evidence Based Interventions for Urban Cooling Grant Funding" ($32,940)
2019-2021: NT Department of Trade, Business and Innovation, "Darwin – Supervision, Experiment and Evaluation of the Cooling Performance of the Shading and Greenery Mitigation Structure and Energy Saving Potential" ($72,727)
2019-2019: Orosi, "Optimised Zero Energy Residences in Sydney" ($15,000)
2019-2019: CRC For Low Carbon Living, "Rapid review - best practice techniques for urban cooling in Australian climate zones" ($10,000)
2019-2019: HCL Consultants Ltd, "Technical assistance for minimum energy performance standards for buildings in the Indian ocean commission (ioc) member states"
2019-2019: Australian Research Council Development and Support Grant
2018-2019: CRC For Low Carbon Living, "Preliminary Design of a Smart Climatic Road in Phillip St Parramatta" ($35,000)
2018-2020: The City of Parramatta Council, "Preliminary Design of a Smart Climatic Road in Phillip St Parramatta" ($35,000)
2018-2019: CRC For Low Carbon Living, "CPD-Managing Urban Heat" ($18,000)
2017-2018: CRC For Low Carbon Living, "Energy Efficiency Decision Making in the NSW Social Housing Sector" ($68,441)

My Qualifications

PhD in Energy Engineering (University of Perugia, Italy), P.Eng., M.Eng. (University of Perugia, Italy), B.Eng. (University of Perugia, Italy)
AGSM Certificate in Executive Management and Development (CEMD) (UNSW Business School, Australia)
AGSM Leading for High Performance (UNSW Business School, Australia)

My Awards

NSW PRESIDENT AWARD

2021: ECAN ADA Award for the best research outcome.
2020: FULT Good Practice Award 2020: Good Practice Case Study Award for education excellence focusing on postgraduate learning and teaching remotely.
2020: "Learning and Teaching Award 2020 for COVID-19 Learning Design through Technology" awarded by UNSW Built Environment, 2020.
2016: IC2UHI2016 Award: Award to Italy at the 4th International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Island in Singapore. In recognition of continuously conducting research and outreach in urban heat island related topics, “Outstanding UHI Group of Researchers Award”.
2014: IC2UHI2014 Award: Best paper award at the 3rd International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Island in Venice, Italy, for the paper “Experimental analysis and optimization of polyurethane waterproof liquid membrane for cool roof application” by A.L. Pisello, V.L. Castaldo, G. Pignatta, F. Cotana. Prize for the “Unique experimental approach for the UHI countermeasures”.

My Research Activities

My research touches on different fields of research, from engineering to architecture, material science, urban climate, among others, and addresses all of them from the same perspective of sustainable urban development. My practical and theoretical research in the field of built environment touches on the global problem of climate adaptation and mitigation, but also social challenges, such as energy inequality. My research aims to improve the thermal-energy, environmental, and acoustic performance of buildings and cities to enhance their liveability through the development and the implementation of advanced passive solutions. I led the design and construction of the 1st cost-effective Net-Zero Energy Settlement in Europe (2015-2021). This work led to commercial exploitation and an essential change in the Italian energy regulation, where it was introduced the Renewable Energy Communities concept in residential settlements for the 1st time in 2020. This achievement is gaining international impact and recognition at the academic and industry level.

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

challenges and mitigation strategies

Areas of supervision

I am available for Ph.D. supervision across energy efficiency and sustainability, Positive Energy Districts, advanced materials and technologies for the building envelope, mitigation and adaptation strategies for Urban Heat Island, indoor/outdoor thermal comfort, environmental acoustic, acoustic and thermal-energy performance in buildings, energy poverty, cool materials, green infrastructures, radiative cooling materials, Life Cycle Assessment, solar-based pre-heating and pre-cooling of buildings.

Currently supervising

Mehrangiz Mastoori UNIPG Joint PhD student
Mohammad Abousaeidi PhD student: "Adapting climate solutions to heat vulnerable neighborhoods"
Jilong Li, PhD student: "Geopolymer technology for high-performance building envelope"
Muhammad Shubhi Yuda Wibawa, PhD student: "Biomimetic design - An approach to mitigation techniques of UHI phenomenon in tropical urban area"
Shayan Naderi, PhD student: "Value proposition of solar pre-cooling in Australia"
Khan Rahmat Ullah, PhD student: "Energy Poverty in NSW. Characteristics, Impact, and Solutions"
Afifa Mohammed, PhD student: "Technologies Impact on Sustainable Buildings"
Otto Newhouse, PhD student: "Precinct Information Modelling for Integrative Energy Planning", PhD completion in 2022.

Please include the following documents when contacting me for a supervision request:

CV
Research proposal
List of Publications
Transcripts
English test results for international applicants

I suggest PhD applicants complete the self-assessment through https://selfassessment.research.unsw.edu.au/ and send me the result at g.pignatta@unsw.edu.au. I will then contact you if I believe it is feasible.

Available PhD scholarships: https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/study-with-us/scholarships-and-prizes

If you are interested in the "Anita B. Lawrence PhD Scholarship in Acoustics" and you are looking for a supervisor, don't hesitate to get in touch with me via email at g.pignatta@unsw.edu.au (please write "Anita B. Lawrence PhD Scholarship in Acoustics" in the subject line when sending the email).

My Engagement

Editorial Responsibilities

Editorial Board member of Energy Nexus Journal (Elsevier)
Guest Editor of Sustainability journal
Guest Editor of Energies journal
Guest Editor of Urban Science journal
Topic Editor of Climate journal

International Research Networks

2021-2024 Member of the IEA EBC Annex 83 “Positive Energy Districts”
2021-2024 Management Committee member of the EU COST Action "Positive Energy Districts European Network"
2021 Chair of the Guidance and Outreach workgroup of Cool Building Solution (CBS) collaborative led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
2021-2022 Management Committee member of the EU COST Action "European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation"

Memberships

2021 Associate member of AIA (Acoustic Italian Association)
2020 Member of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

University/Faculty service roles

2021-2022 Chair of the Early Career Academic Network Executive Committee (ECAN-EXEC) @UNSW
2021-2022 Representative member of the FADA ECAN subcommittee @UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture
2020 Member of the Early Career Academic Network Executive Committee (ECAN-EXEC) @UNSW
2019 Representative member of the FBE ECAN subcommittee @UNSW Built Environment
2019-2020 International Development Coordinator (IDC) from the ADI Unit @UNSW Built Environment

My Teaching

My teaching interests combine the areas of landscape architecture, sustainability, advanced materials and technologies, and climate responsive design to create a more livable built environment. I have completed the FULT Programm in 2019. Currenlty, I am: