Mohamad T. Araji, Ph.D. OEA LEED AP BD+C

Dr. Araji is an expert in design optimization, building science, data visualization, and urban climate-mitigation strategies. He has contributed to landmark projects that range from the Chicago DeCarbonization Plan to the world’s tallest buildings, Jedda Tower and the world’s first large-scale positive energy building, Masdar Headquarters. Numerous of these projects and winning competitions in his work portfolio at renown architecture firms in the United States apply innovative technologies to form high-performance, sustainable designs that generate minimal ecological footprint.

Dr. Araji is the recipient of several prestigious awards and grants. His current research program has been funded by NSERC and Mitacs, which are Canada's most prominent funding agencies. Among his international recognitions, Dr. Araji received the 2014 TÜV Süd Stiftung Visiting Professorship for his scientific excellence from the Technical University of Munich. On the basis of his expertise, he has been appointed as a Research Fellow and Trusted Jury Member for the selection of the Hans Fischer Fellows at TUM’s Institute for Advanced Studies. Dr. Araji also held the Guest Scientist position at the Oskar von Miller Forum in Munich for the Spring term in 2014. Part of his research was earlier fulfilled at the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center and the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Through his academic contributions, Dr. Araji received the 2020 Teaching Scholar Award and the 2017 Carl R. Nelson Teaching Excellence Award. He held Co-Chair of Environmental Design Studios in foundational studies from 2013 to 2018. Dr. Araji chairs Doctoral Defense committees and has been serving as a design crit and on dissertation committees for Master and Ph.D. students in Canada, USA, Europe and the Middle East. His keynote lectures have been extensively conducted worldwide. Dr. Araji’s distinguished collaborations have established partnership with directors and partners from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, HOK, and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill in Chicago, where he spent years of practice on buildings and urban projects that have transformed cityscapes globally.

Dr. Araji’s education was received in USA and Lebanon with Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and M.Arch from the University of Arizona. He is a founding member and co-chair of Built Environment Education in Washington, D.C. He is a licensed architect, holding professional registration with the Beirut Order of Engineers & Architects since 2003. He is a LEED accredited professional and member of several environmental and architectural societies, councils and associations, including the U.S. National Council of Architectural Registration Board, International Building Performance Simulation Association, and Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

• Saad, M. and Araji, MT. 2020. The Optimization of Double Skin Façade with Integrated Renewable Systems in the Canadian Built Environment. In the 2020 Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild August 12-14, 2020, Chicago, USA. Co-organized by ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA
• Araji, MT. 2019. Surface-to-volume ratio: How building geometry impacts solar energy production and heat gain through envelopes. Earth and Environmental Science. IOP Publishing, vol. 323, no. 1, p. 1203
• Araji, MT. and Shahid, I. 2018. Symbiosis Optimization of Building Envelopes and Micro-algae Photobioreactors. Journal of Building Engineering, 18, pp.58-65
• Araji, MT., Ray, S.D. and Leung, L. 2017. Pilot-study on Airborne PM2.5 Filtration with Particle Accelerated Collision Technology in Office Environments. Sustainable Cities and Society, 28, pp.101-107
• Araji, MT. and Shahid, I. 2017. A Mathematical Model Toward Energy Optimization with Building-Integrated Photovoltaics. Technology Architecture & Design, 1(1), pp.83-91
• Araji, MT. and Shahid, I. 2016. A parametric design algorithm for building integrated photovoltaics with net-zero energy performance. IEEE Xplore Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, July, pp. 1-6
• Araji, MT. and Shakour, SA. 2013. Realizing the Environmental Impact of Soft Materials: Criteria for Utilization and Design Specification. Materials & Design, 43, pp.560-571
• Araji, MT., Darragh, SP. and Boyer, JL. 2012. Paradigm in Sustainability and Environmental Design: Lighting Utilization Contributing to Surplus-energy Office Buildings. LEUKOS Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, 9(1), pp.25-45
• Araji, MT. and Boubekri, M. 2011. A Novel Way of Utilising Radiance-Matlab Visualisation for Façade Design Optimisation. Lighting Research & Technology, 43(1), pp.103-118
• Boyer, JL., Jalayerian, M., Silverstein, A. and Araji, MT. Systems Integration for Cost Effective Carbon Neutral Buildings: A Masdar Headquarters Case Study. In the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) 2010 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, May 17–22, 2010, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. pp. 1029-1039.
• Araji, MT. and Boubekri, M. 2008. Window Sizing Procedures based on Vertical Illuminance Levels and Degree of Discomfort Glare in Buildings Interiors. Architectural Science Review, 51(3), pp. 252-262
• Araji, MT., Boubekri, M. and Chalfoun, N.V. 2007.  An Examination of Visual Comfort in Transitional Spaces. Architectural Science Review, 50(4), pp. 349-356.

There are open positions for PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture through Dr. Araji’s research program. The key requirements for applicants include extensive skills in computational and digital tools with scripting for parametric design, physics simulation, and form finding optimization. Applicants should be able to develop analytical tools and workflows through CFD, heat-transfer, and form theories using Matlab, C++, C sharp, Python, Rhino and Grasshopper, Energy+, FloVENT or similar. Qualified applicants can email their resumes and relevant materials to Dr. Araji for review.