StaSIO Team
Alejandra Menchaca – AIRLIT studio
Alejandra is a Founding Principal at AIRLIT studio, where she leverages her background in mechanical engineering and building science to provide project teams with advanced sustainable design knowledge as well as energy modeling and occupant comfort expertise. She is passionate about early design analytics work, working with clients to ask the right performance questions early enough into the design. Alejandra is a co-founder of StaSIO, an active member of ASHRAE, and served five years in the USGBC Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Group. She holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and has lectured at the Harvard GSD and MIT.
Chris Savage – Olson Kundig
Chris is a building performance analyst at Olson Kundig, where he works on building performance, software/tools/workflow development, internet-of-things (IoT) devices, and sustainable design, among other things. He is involved in a variety of project design studies, including climate analysis, energy modeling, daylighting & glare, and thermal comfort. Chris comes over to the AEC industry after spending over a decade as a physics researcher, bringing with his significant experience in modeling, simulations, and data analysis. He has a PhD in physics from the University of Michigan and an MArch from the University of Minnesota.
Kritika Kharbanda – Henning Larsen
As the Head of Sustainability for Henning Larsen, Kritika spearheads the global sustainability team’s initiatives, strategies, and growth. She contributes by developing sustainability goals and methodologies for achieving those goals for diverse projects worldwide, from educational, cultural, and civic buildings to labs, offices, and masterplans. Her work lies at the intersection architecture, sustainability, and technology. With a masters specializing in Energy and Environments from Harvard Graduate School of Design with cross-enrollment at MIT, Kritika was a Social Innovation and Change Initiative Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.
Her commitments within the broader building science community include contributing to the global Carbon Leadership Forum, International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), and local carbon-focused policy efforts in Boston and New York City. She also is serving on the ULI New York’s Climate and Sustainability Council and is part of the Young Leaders Group.
Michael Sawford – A2 Efficiency
Michael is a senior consultant at A2 Efficiency with over 15 years’ experience as a building energy modeling software developer, consultant, and director. He is part of a team providing performance engineering, energy modeling, utility consulting, and strategic energy advisor services. Using a deep level of building simulation expertise to impact carbon reduction policies for buildings and engage with a diverse set of stakeholders and clients. Michael is a co-founder of StaSIO, an active member in ASHRAE committees for Standard 209 and Standard 229. Michael holds a BSc in Mathematics and Physics from the University of York, and has guest lectured at the Georgia Tech HPBL and Columbia University GSAPP.
Nick Lassek – LEO A DALY
Nick is High Performance Building Engineer at LEO A DALY where he focuses on early-phase performance analysis and sustainability. As a Professional Mechanical Engineer and commissioning agent, Nick’s knowledge of MEP systems/controls and building envelope helps project teams successfully integrate. He is an active member in ASHRAE and a Sustainable Design Leader through BuildingGreen. Nick has a Masters degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Nebraska.
Guanzhou Ji – Carnegie Mellon University
Guanzhou is a PhD student in Building Performance and Diagnostics at Carnegie Mellon University, where he focuses on indoor photometry, computational photography, and physics-based rendering, and explores computational methods for light estimation and scene understanding. His research work has been published and presented at various professional venues, including Building Performance Analysis Conference and Velux Daylight Academic Forum. He won Honorable Mention for Innovation in the 2021 Summer Challenge organized by Project STASIO. Guanzhou received Master of Architecture (Lighting Design) from University of Washington and used to work at Framework (Seattle).
Alfonso E. Hernandez – Gensler
Alfonso is an Architect, a Computational Building Performance Strategist and a Design Integrator at Gensler, where he is the Director of Sustainability. He has extensive experience in Resilience / High Performance Based Design, Building Performance Modeling & Simulations (Daylight/Glare, Solar, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Thermal & Energy Modeling), Performance Parametrics, Solar Form Finding and Performance Oriented Design Integration
He has been involved in over 250 LEED & non-LEED projects worldwide and has been part of several research initiatives with the Gensler Research Institute. He has written for and presented at conferences such as SIMBuild, ASHRAE BPAC, Façade +, Tech +, Advanced Building Skins, the Performance Huddle and PLEA among others. Alfonso has also taught at the graduate & undergraduate levels at the Hines College of Architecture and Design at the University of Houston.
Mili Kyropoulou – University of Houston
Mili is an Assistant Professor at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design at the University of Houston. An international architect, researcher, and educator, she focuses on climate-responsive, human-centric design using advanced environmental analytics. Mili holds an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Design from the Architectural Association (AA) in London and studied architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is a past president of the IBPSA-Houston chapter, a voting member on the Daylighting Committee for the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and serves on the board of directors for the Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES). A RIBA Chartered Architect in the UK, a registered architect in both the UK and Greece, and a LEED Accredited Professional, Mili brings a global perspective informed by over 14 years of experience in sustainable design practices across industry and academia.
Stasio Alumni
- Kjell Anderson – LMN Architects
- Supriya Goel – PNNL
- Jacob Dunn – ZGF Architects (Co-Founder)
- Tarek Rakha – Georgia Institute of Technology
- Aman Singhvi – AECOM
- Amarpreet Sethi – DLR Group
- Rushyan Yen – Amazon