Research Staff
Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the buildings staff at NLR.
Buildings and Industrial Energy Innovation Center Director
Achilles Karagiozis is the director of NLR’s Buildings and Industrial Energy Innovation Center. He manages a multidisciplinary team of more than 150 buildings researchers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, other federal agencies, and industry partners.
Regional Director, Applied Research for Communities in Extreme Environments
Bruno Grunau is regional director of Applied Research for Communities in Extreme Environments at NLR’s campus in Fairbanks, Alaska. He oversees the center’s work in building science, energy policy, and demonstration of healthy, affordable, durable shelter and energy infrastructure in extreme environments.
Group Manager, Housing Research
Chioke Harris leads a group of talented engineers and scientists leveraging computer modeling, lab experimentation, and field validation to conduct research and develop innovations furthering residential building energy efficiency.
Group Manager, Building and Industrial Equipment Research
Michael Deru manages the Systems Performance section of NLR's Commercial Buildings Research Group. He leads projects on the development and testing of novel HVAC systems, building performance simulations, performance metrics for adaptability, source energy factors, water, and the U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database.
Group Manager, Building and Industrial Stock
Marcus Bianchi leads a group of researchers advancing large-scale residential and commercial building stock energy models. He is also a thermal energy expert and employs his background to conduct research in thermal sciences modeling, analysis, and testing of advanced building envelope components and systems to improve the energy performance of buildings.
Group Manager, Building and Industrial Integration Research
Kim Trenbath leads a team of researchers and project managers on buildings and industrial energy innovation projects that pair technology development with community, stakeholder, and market needs. The team’s expertise includes strategic leadership, high-performing energy-efficient buildings, district energy and building energy modeling and analysis, laboratory evaluation, field validation, industrialized construction R&D, and technology commercialization.
Group Manager, Grid Edge and Advanced Controls
Xin Jin leads a group of researchers driving innovation at the grid edge and in advanced control technologies. The team’s core competencies include energy management, control-oriented modeling, building-to-grid integration, semantic interoperability, direct current (DC) building systems, cybersecurity, and AI-driven solutions. Through strategic partnerships with academia and industry, the team accelerates the development and commercialization of these technologies to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of U.S. energy systems.
Group Manager, Building, District, and Industrial Modeling
Nicholas Long is the building performance modeling lead in the Buildings and Industrial Energy Innovation Center.
Buildings Research Staff
See a complete list of our researchers on the National Laboratory of the Rockies Research Hub.
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Last Updated Nov. 6, 2026