Keeping Cool: From Building Physics to Climate Resilience

RESEARCH PATHWAY: personal reflections on a career in research

Mat Santamouris (University of New South Wales) reflects on a research journey explaining how an early fascination with solar energy and building physics evolved into research on urban overheating, cool materials, and city-scale heat mitigation. The social imperative for research to address now is: Who is most exposed to extreme heat, and what can science do to protect them?

My research career evolved in close alignment with changing societal agendas to address energy scarcity, climate change, and thermal discomfort in buildings and cities. What began as an inquiry rooted in the physics of buildings and passive cooling strategies progressively expanded in scale, first to encompass urban microclimates and urban overheating, and later to the development of innovative materials and large-scale heat mitigation strategies aimed at protecting cities from extreme heat.

Throughout this trajectory, a consistent objective has been to translate scientific understanding into solutions that enhance thermal comfort, reduce energy demand, and promote environmental and social equity. At the same time, this process has not been without constraints: significant barriers frequently emerged in translating research into practice, including limited engagement frameworks with policymakers, institutional inertia, regulatory constraints, and the challenge of communicating complex scientific concepts to non-specialist audiences.

How cities are fighting back against the 'heat island effect'

As temperatures rise, researchers are rethinking how cities measure and respond to urban heat. But experts say successful solutions require finding solutions tailored to local conditions rather than relying on one-size-fits-all fixes.

Record-breaking heat and humidity are already upon us at the start of what is predicted to be a scorcher of a summer. 

Our cities, with their dark, asphalt surfaces, exhaust-emitting vehicles, and heat-trapping buildings, feel these temperatures the most. Many residents experience at least 8 degrees of additional heat just because of their neighborhood layout, according to Climate Central, which assessed heat patterns in 65 metropolitan areas.  

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Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects

 

UCL: Cooling Our Cities? Recent Developments in Urban Heat Mitigation Technologies

 

Speaker: Professor Mat Santamouris AM Professor Mat Santamouris AM is a Distinguished Professor of High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney. He is a Member of the Order of Australia. He previously served as Professor at the University of Athens, Greece, and has held Visiting Professorships at ten leading institutions worldwide, including in the UK, Japan, Italy, Korea, Singapore, China, Cyprus, and Malaysia

Member of the Order of Australia

I am deeply honoured to have been named a Member of the Order of Australia by the Governor‑General, a recognition that humbles me and fills me with gratitude. This distinction reflects not only my own efforts but, more importantly, the unwavering support, insight, and dedication of the many collaborators, colleagues, and mentors who have walked alongside me throughout my career.

Honorary Fellow - The Royal Institute of British Architects

The Royal Institute of British Architects has conferred upon me the distinguished honour of being elected an Honorary Fellow. I regard this recognition with profound gratitude and deep humility. It is an exceptional distinction, reserved for a very small number of individuals worldwide, and I am sincerely moved to be counted among them.