April 24, 2026
High-Reflectance Materials for Mitigating Urban Heat Islands and Global Warming
19:00 | “Six Dynasties Pine” Master Lecture Series | Hashem Akbari | Concordia University
Rapid urbanization has intensified the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, triggering a cascade of environmental issues ranging from increased building energy consumption to public health risks. This lecture will examine the mechanisms behind UHI formation and explore mitigation strategies centered on high-reflectance materials.
Biography of the Speaker
Professor Hashem Akbari is a Professor in the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University, Canada. A pioneer in the field of urban climatology, he founded the Heat Island Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1983, serving as its director for over two decades. Under his leadership, the group became the world’s preeminent research institution for heat island studies.
Professor Akbari was a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He is the first to propose "cool roof" technologies to mitigate urban climate change and pioneered the development of the "Cool Roof Time Machine," which received the R&D 100 Award in 2016.He has established several non-profit research organizations (including the Global Cool Cities Alliance and the Cool Roof Rating Council) and maintains active research collaborations worldwide.
Professor Akbari has made significant contributions to the development of environmental standards, including ASHRAE Standards 90.1 and 90.2, and California Title 24 Building Standards. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Energy and Buildings.
Location
Auditorium of the Sipailou Campus, Southeast University
