Stefano Schiavon

Stefano Schiavon
Born	(1981-11-04) November 4, 1981 (age 44) Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Citizenship	Italian and American
Alma mater	University of Padua (MSc, PhD)
Known for	Indoor environmental quality; thermal comfort; low-energy building design
Awards	REHVA Young Scientist Award (2010); Ralph G. Nevins Award (2013); WELL Community Award (2021); Building & Environment Best Paper Awards (2018, 2024)
Scientific career
Fields	Architecture, building science, architectural engineering, civil and environmental engineering
Institutions	University of California, Berkeley; Polytechnic University of Turin
Thesis	Energy savings with personalised ventilation and cooling fans  (2009)

Stefano Schiavon is an Italian researcher in building science who focuses on reducing energy demand while improving occupant health and comfort. ^[1] He is Professor of Architecture and of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as Associate Director of Research at the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) and chairs the university’s MS-PhD programme in Building Science, Technology and Sustainability. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Education

Schiavon earned an MSc in Mechanical Engineering (2005) and a PhD in Energy Engineering (Building Science, 2009) from the University of Padua in Italy. ^[2] His doctoral work examined energy savings achievable through personalised ventilation and desk-fan cooling.

Career

After completing post-doctoral research at UC Berkeley, Schiavon spent a brief period as an assistant professor at the Polytechnic University of Turin (2010–2011) before returning to UC Berkeley, progressing from assistant professor in Architecture (2011) to full professor in both Architecture and Civil & Environmental Engineering (2022). ^[5] He has held visiting-scholar posts at the Technical University of Denmark, Tsinghua University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and, most recently, the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore.

Schiavon’s laboratory and field studies have advanced knowledge of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, occupant satisfaction and low-energy HVAC systems. His Google Scholar profile lists more than 14,000 citations and an h-index above 55. ^[6] Recent projects include work on the accuracy of thermal comfort models, personal comfort systems, radiant cooling, and personal comfort models.

Awards

• REHVA Young Scientist Award (2010) for early-career contributions to HVAC research. ^[7]
• Ralph G. Nevins Physiology and Human Environment Award (ASHRAE, 2013) recognising impactful studies on human responses to indoor environments. ^[8]
• WELL Community Award (International WELL Building Institute, 2021) for advisory work on healthy buildings. ^[9]

Selected publications

Schiavon has published more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles; notable papers include:

• Altomonte, S., & Schiavon, S. (2013). Occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings. Building and Environment, 68, 66-76. ^[10]
• Schiavon, S., & Lee, K. H. (2013). Dynamic predictive clothing insulation models based on outdoor air and indoor operative temperatures. Building and Environment, 59, 250-260. ^[11]
• Schiavon, S., & Melikov, A. K. (2008). Energy saving and improved comfort by increased air movement. Energy and buildings, 40(10), 1954-1960. ^[12]

References

1. "Stefano Schiavon – People". Center for the Built Environment. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
2. "Stefano Schiavon". UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
3. "International WELL Building Institute". resources.wellcertified.com. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
4. "Stefano Schiavon". CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
5. "Stefano Schiavon – Faculty profile". UC Berkeley Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
6. "Stefano Schiavon – Google Scholar". Google Scholar. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
7. "Stefano Schiavon". UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
8. "Stefano Schiavon - Executive Bio, Work History, and Contacts - Equilar ExecAtlas". people.equilar.com. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
9. "A Year to Celebrate: 2021 IWBI Awards". International WELL Building Institute. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
10. Altomonte, Sergio; Schiavon, Stefano (2013-10-01). "Occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings". Building and Environment. 68: 66–76. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.06.008. ISSN   0360-1323.
11. Schiavon, Stefano; Lee, Kwang Ho (2013-01-01). "Dynamic predictive clothing insulation models based on outdoor air and indoor operative temperatures" . Building and Environment. 59: 250–260. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.08.024. ISSN   0360-1323.
12. Schiavon, Stefano; Melikov, Arsen K. (2008-01-01). "Energy saving and improved comfort by increased air movement" . Energy and Buildings. 40 (10): 1954–1960. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2008.05.001. ISSN   0378-7788.