Dr Vanda Dimitriou

I recently joined the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University as a Lecturer in Digital Engineering. I hold a MEng in Civil Engineering from The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a MSc in ‘Low Carbon Building Design and Modelling’ and a PhD in ‘Data-driven methods for building energy modelling’ from Loughborough University.

I have worked as a Research Assistant for REFIT (EPSRC funded, Grant reference: EP/K002457/1) and as a Research Associate for the FP7 Design4Energy project (funded with the support of the European Commission, Grant agreement no: 609380), leading tasks and deliverables to successful completion. My main research interests are:

• dynamic thermal modelling and model calibration using real-world measured operational data, studying heat transfer from first principles to more complex building system representations; 
• Building Information Modelling, information transfer processes and interoperability with Building Energy Modelling at building and district scale to facilitate decision making;
• Digital twins of buildings and communities at the operational phase, to deliver a sustainable built environment.

Recently completed research projects 

• Design4Energy
• REFIT

• Hukkalainen, M.A., Klobut, K., Mäkeläinen, T., Dimitriou, V. and Leszczyński, D., 2018. Improving the Design of Energy-Efficient Building Retrofitting: Design Guidelines, Energy Simulations, and Selecting of Technologies. In Design Solutions for nZEB Retrofit Buildings (pp. 165-185). IGI Global.
• Kane, T., Firth, S.K., Hassan, T.M. and Dimitriou, V., 2017. Heating behaviour in English homes: An assessment of indirect calculation methods. Energy and Buildings, 148, pp.89-105
• Dimitriou, V., Firth, S.K., Hassan, T.M. and Fouchal, F., 2016. BIM enabled building energy modelling: development and verification of a GBXML to IDF conversion method. IN: Proceedings of the 3rd IBPSA-England Conference BSO 2016, Newcastle, 12th-14th September 2016, Paper no. 1126. (https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/22818)

I contribute to learning and teaching activities at postgraduate level. I began teaching as a Research Associate in 2016, leading module tutorials, coursework marking and assisting with lectures and preparation of teaching material. I am currently an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, working towards full fellowship.

Postgraduate

• 19CVP308, Digital Buildings in a Global Design Context

My experience in consultancy includes participation in BRE projects on quantitative and qualitative surveys (e.g. Energy Follow Up Survey), big data management and analysis. In my previous role as a Senior Consultant, I led the ‘Digital solutions in distributed energy’ team of an engineering consultancy office, acting as project manager and account holder for data mapping and crowdsourcing projects, focusing on fuel poverty and vulnerability of house occupants. Other activities from previous experience include: stakeholder engagement activities; energy strategies for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs); and heat network mapping and masterplanning at an urban scale, working closely with Local Authorities on projects funded with the support of the Heat Network Delivery Unit of the department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

Key collaborators

My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic and stakeholder partners, including:

• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
• Fraunhofer-Institute for Industrial Engineering
• UNINOVA
• University of Salford
• Technische Universität Dresden (TUD)
• CADCAMation SA
• University of Strathclyde
• University of East Anglia
• BRE