• Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • J. Mike Walker ’66 Professor II
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Zheng O'Neill

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Oklahoma State University – 2004
  • M.S., Thermal Engineering, Tongji University – 2000

Research Interests

    • Building/HVAC&R energy efficiency
    • Intelligent building controls and optimization
    • Grid-interactive efficient buildings
    • Building-to-grid integration
    • Heat pump and dehumidification technologies
    • Smart, connected and resilient communities
    • Well-being in the built environment

Industry Experience

    • 35 years of government and military experience – Member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service and Retired Colonel, U.S. Army
    • NASA astronaut with over 1,000 hours in space during four missions – STS-57, StS-70, STS-88, STS-109
    • Served in senior engineering positions at NASA, including Deputy Director of Engineering, Chief Engineer, and Principal Engineer
    • Led the Space Shuttle Program Safety and Mission Assurance Office directing efforts enabling the safe return of the Space Shuttle following the Columbia accident
    • 6 years of industry research experience – Principal Investigator, Staff Research Engineer/Scientist with United Technologies Research Center (UTRC, now Raytheon Technologies Research Center -RTRC ), East Hartford, CT. 
    • 2 years of industry consulting experience – Energy Analyst with Cimetrics, Boston, MA.

Awards & Honors

  • ASHRAE Crosby Field Award - 2024
  • Texas A&M Engineering Genesis Award - 2023, 2020
  • Texas A&M J. Mike Walker ’66 Faculty Fellow II - 2020-2022
  • ASHRAE Fellow - 2021
  • IBPSA Fellow - 2021
  • Best Paper Award for Building Simulation: An International Journal - 2021, 2013
  • The University of Alabama President’s Faculty Research Award - 2019
  • ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award - 2019
  • IBPSA-USA Emerging Contributor Award - 2018
  • ASHRAE Innovative Research Grant (IRG) Award - 2017
  • Educator of the Year, from ASHRAE Birmingham Chapter - 2016
  • DOE IAC Junior Faculty Research Award - 2015
  • United Technologies Research Center Outstanding Achievement Award - 2010

Selected Publications

  • Li, G., Z. Yang, Y. Fu, Z. O’Neill, L. Ren, O. Pradhan and J. Wen. 2024. A Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testbed for Cyber-Physical Energy Systems in Smart Commercial Buildings. Science and Technology for the Built Environment 30, no. 5 (2024): 415-432
  • Li, G., Z. Yang, Y. Fu, Z. O’Neill, L. Ren, O. Pradhan and J. Wen. 2024. A Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testbed for Cyber-Physical Energy Systems in Smart Commercial Buildings. Science and Technology for the Built Environment 30, no. 5 (2024): 415-432
  • Fu, Y., S. Xu. Q. Zhu, Z. O’Neill and V. Adetola. 2023. How Good Are Learning-based Control v.s. Model-based Control for Load Shifting? Investigations on A Single Zone Building Energy System. Energy 273 (2023): 127073
  • Pang, Z., Z. O’Neill, Y. Chen, J. Zhang, H. Cheng, B. Dong. 2023. Adopting Occupancy-Based HVAC Controls in Commercial Building Energy Codes: Analysis of Cost-Effectiveness and Decarbonization Potential. Applied Energy. 349 (2023): 121594.
  • Eisenhower, B., Z.D. O’Neill, S. Narayanan, V. A. Fonoberov and I. Mezic´. 2012. A Methodology for Meta-model Based Optimization in Building Energy Models. Energy and Buildings. 47:292-302 DOI:10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.12.001.
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