International Association for Urban Climate

Helen Ward and Matthias Demuzere appointed to the Board

2018-12-27 in IAUC Admin

We are delighted to announce the election of Helen Ward (University of Innsbruck) and Matthias Demuzere (Founder and CEO Kode, Affiliated researcher at Ghent University and Leuven University) to the Board of the IAUC for the term 2019 – 2022.

Helen Ward obtained her PhD in urban micrometeorology at King’s College London and worked as a post-doc at Reading University and is now based at the Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. For the past two years, Helen has served as editor for the ‘Projects’ section of Urban Climate News and she has been involved in the promotion of diversity and equality within IAUC.

Matthias Demuzere obtained his PhD (IWT) in Science at KU Leuven, where he also completed a six year FWO post-doc. He has been on research stays at the National University of Singapore, Monash University and the MPI for biogeochemistry in Jena. He is currently working as a freelance climatologist for the start-up Kode that aims to protect the most vulnerable communities and enable sustainable resilience. Mathias Demuzere has coordinated the IAUC Bibliography Committee for the past four years.

Helen Ward and Matthias Demuzere will replace Edward Ng (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Fei Chen (NCAR, USA) whose terms on the Board expired. The IAUC executive also thanks Edward Ng and Fei Chen for their commitment and contributions to IAUC and to its Board.

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by Andreas Christen

Call for Nominations for two IAUC Board members

2018-11-07 in IAUC Admin, IAUC Statements, Members

We are calling for nominations for two new members of the Board of the International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC) for the term 2019 – 2022. This is to replace Edward Ng (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) and Fei Chen (NCAR, USA) whose terms on the Board expire in 2018. We thank Edward Ng and Fei Chen for their commitment and contributions to IAUC while serving on the Board.

Please note that the Board is seeking new members eager to play an active role in the development of the society and who reflect the diversity of our membership. IAUC is committed to and promotes inclusive and equitable participation of a diverse community in its membership. Based on our diversity statement, we strongly encourage nomination of candidates who diversify the board in terms of fields of study, geographical location, gender, etc. We further encourage nominations from young scholars, including graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

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by Andreas Christen

Wilhelm Kuttler receives 2018 Luke Howard Award

2018-10-05 in Awards

Wilhelm Kuttler in his address at the award ceremony

Congratulations to Wilhelm Kuttler, the recipient of the 2018 Luke Howard Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Urban Climatology. Wilhelm Kuttler from the University of Duisburg-Essen receives the Association’s highest honour for his outstanding leadership in the development of urban climate science, and for his promotion of the international community that has emerged and led to the formation of IAUC. Internationally, for many years Prof. Kuttler has been a leader in the development of the field of urban climatology and its communication. The official award ceremony took place at the 10^thConference on Environmental Meteorology (METTOOLS) of the German Meteorological Society in Braunschweig, Germany on September 25, 2018.

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by James Voogt

5th International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Islands Hyderabad, India Dec 2-4, 2019

2018-09-20 in Newsletter

IC2UHI 2019 organizing team reminds you that the abstracts submission deadline is approaching. You still have 10 days for the submission of your abstract(s).

Submit abstract here

The Fifth International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Islands (IC2UHI), will be devoted to the science, engineering and public policies to help relieve the excess heat and air pollution in urban environments. It has long been recognized that the excessive heat and smog in many cities, the “Urban Heat Island” (UHI), is partly due to the choices of building materials, vegetation and urban design. Scientists, engineers, builders, architects, and government officials concerned with improving the urban environment are urged to participate in the 5th IC2UHI.

Important Dates for the Conference

Abstract  Opening June 1, 2018
Abstract  Deadline Sep 30, 2018
Abstract  Acceptance Nov 30, 2018
Draft Full Paper April 30, 2019
Return Review July 15, 2019
Revised Full Paper Sep 1, 2019

Scientific Scope of the Conference

Cool materials development & characteristics
Urban vegetation and greenery
Measurement techniques and standards
Policies, rating and labelling programs
Remote sensing of cities and urban climates
Outdoor comfort and health in the urban environment
Analysis of UHI and its effects across scales
Modelling and forecasting urban climate and weather
Impact of UHI on the urban economy
Resilient design of buildings in response to changing climates
Effect of UHI on urban poor
Anthropogenic heat and urban morphology
Implementation of urban heat mitigation strategies
Any other topic related to Urban Heat Island

It is proposed to publish accepted papers in electronic conference proceedings with Elsevier and selected papers in Energy and Buildings Journal Special Issue: Countering urban Heat Island (UHI) and Climate Change Through Mitigation and Adaptation.

Venue & Secretariat:

Center for IT in Building Science
IIIT, Gachibowli, Hyderabad
Telangana, India-500032
E-mail: info@heatislandcountermeasures.org

Conference Chair

Prof. Hashem Akbari
Concordia University Montreal
E-mail: hakbari@encs.concordia.ca

Organising Chair

Prof. Vishal Garg
IIIT Hyderabad
E-mail: vishal@iiit.ac.in

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by James Voogt

Call for Papers: Handbook of Extreme Weather and Climate Events

2018-09-20 in Journal Special Issue, Projects

There is at present a paucity of specific literature, which combines the theory and practice of management of extreme weather and climate events. The “Handbook of Extreme Weather and Climate Events: understanding and managing the extreme impacts of climate change” is a concrete attempt to address this need.

The Handbook will focus on both, future projections of weather and climate extremes deriving from climate models, and the impacts seen at present across all five continents. This combination of appraisals of the present problems and expected ones in the future, will make this publication especially useful not only as a tool for teaching and research, but also in guiding policy-making. Ultimately, the “Handbook of Extreme Weather and Climate Events: understanding and managing the extreme impacts of climate change” is expected to provide a meaningful contribution towards increasing the preparedness of both, industrialised and developing countries, to cope with extreme weather and climate events.

It will be be published as part of the “Climate Change Management Series”, the world´s leading peer-reviewed book series on climate change adaptation, published with Springer: https://www.springer.com/series/8740

The topics to be tackled include- but are not limited to- the following ones, whose scope sometimes overlap:

* Causes and consequences of floods: flash floods, urban floods, river floods, coastal floods
* Droughts and the impacts of dry spells
* Heat waves and the urban heat island effect
* Impacts of extreme events to biodiversity and ecosystems services
* Impacts of extreme events to heritage sites and buildings
* Health impacts of extreme events
* Impacts of extreme events on water availability
* Impacts of extreme events to people and communities (e.g. farmers, pastorialists, urban and peri-urban populations)
* Climate change management strategies to handle and cope with extreme weather and climate events
* Others (please consult the editorial team if you have any ideas)

Expressions of interest to contribute to the Handbook, initially consisting of a 200 words abstract with the full details names and contact of the authors, should be sent to Svenja Scheday at: svenja.scheday@haw-hamburg.de by 30th November 2018. Full papers are due by 20th February 2019. Further details will be discussed with the authors whose abstracts have been accepted.

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by James Voogt

Research Assistant Professor / Post-doctoral Fellow – Faculty of Architecture: University of Hong Kong

2018-09-03 in Positions

The Faculty of Architecture of the University of Hong Kong invites applications for appointment as Research Assistant Professor/Post-doctoral Fellow (Ref.: 201801377), to commence as soon as possible for 3 years, with the possibility of renewal subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance.

Applicants should possess a Ph.D. degree in Architecture/Urban Planning, Geography or related fields. They should have at least 2-3 years’ experience in sustainable urban or built environment research, preferably in the contexts of climatic-sensitive planning; and demonstrated experience of working with researchers using urban science or Geographic Information System analytics to process and develop land use dataset for planning implementation. They should also have excellent written and spoken communication skills, the ability to work independently and in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, and the ability to work with external parties. Those with expertise knowledge and technique of applied remote sensing and big data/open data informatics are preferred. Applicants with more research experience will be considered for appointment as Research Assistant Professor.

The appointee is expected to communicate and collaborate effectively with other related research teams to facilitate inter-faculty, inter-disciplinary and innovative research with the international and interdisciplinary partners. He/She will work and develop a land use land cover database and advance knowledge of fast urbanization and sustainable development especially for less developed countries in Asia. He/She will be responsible for applying for research grants, preparing academic publications including journal papers and reports to achieve milestones and deliverables, liaising with different research teams, and may be required to undertake teaching duties related to the project.

A highly competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience will be offered, in addition to annual leave and medical benefits. The appointment of Research Assistant Professor will attract a contract-end gratuity and University contribution to a retirement benefits scheme, totaling up to 15% of basic salary.

Applicants should send a completed application form together with an up-to-date C.V., a personal statement and a 3-year research plan to the Faculty at foaapp@hku.hk. Application forms (341/1111) can be downloaded at http://www.hr.hku.hk/apptunit/formext.doc. Further particulars can be obtained at http://jobs.hku.hk. Closes September 30, 2018.

The University thanks applicants for their interest, but advises that only candidates shortlisted for interviews will be notified of the application result.

The University is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to equality, ethics, inclusivity, diversity and transparency

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by James Voogt

Call: Scholarships to young researchers from developing countries (except Brazil) to take part of their training in Brazil

2018-08-22 in Awards, Student_Positions

A call from CNPq/TWAS http://resultado.cnpq.br/2040398098522170 is now available. It aims to grant scholarships to young researchers from developing countries (except Brazil) to make part of their training in Brazil, at the level of Doctorate-sandwich, Doctorate Full or Post-Doctorate.

It is a fine opportunity for those who are researching about the interactions of urban structures and climate to come work with us at the Laboratory of Environmental Comfort at the School of Architecture, UFMG. Our interdisciplinary group is formed by architects, engineers, geographers and meteorologists. We are currently working on urban climate maps with professor Dr. Lutz Katzschner (University of Kassel), thermal comfort indexes in urban precincts, urban energy fluxes monitoring (Project MegaCities headed by professor Dr. Amauri Pereira at the University of São Paulo), modeling of urban areas using ENVI-Met and developing new urban design strategies for tropical cities taking into account the energy and water balance as well as environmental education for community participation in the decision process.

Prof. Dr. Eleonora Sad de Assis
Laboratory of Environmental Comfort (LABCON)
Dep. Technology of Architecture and Urban Planning (TAU)
School of Architecture – The Federal University of Minas Gerais
697 Paraíba Street ZIP CODE 30130-141 CITY Belo Horizonte, MG Brazil
Phone: +55(31)3409-8873 Fax:+55(31)3409-8822 Mobile:+55(31)99616-7717

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by James Voogt

Special Issue: Impacts of Urban Overheating on Human Life: the Potential of Mitigation and Adaptation Technologies

2018-08-22 in Journal Special Issue

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to contribute original research and review articles to the special issue of the International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health (ISSM 1660-4601) entitled as “Impacts of Urban Overheating on Human Life: the Potential of Mitigation and Adaptation Technologies“. This special issue belongs to the section “Climate Change and Human Health“.

Special issue information:

Local climate change, including but not limited to the Urban Heat Island effect, is driven by the increasing expansion of our cities and enhanced by global climate change. The ensuing outcome is one of the main environmental challenges of today with major impacts on energy and human health. As the outdoor ambient temperature is increased during the cooling season, total and peak cooling energy and electricity demands rise consequently. Additionally, urban overheating impacts human well-being and health, ranging from increased thermal stress to peaks in morbidity and mortality, specifically during heatwaves. Therefore, it is paramount that mitigation and adaptation strategies for urban heating and overheating are proposed and assessed in detail.

To respond to this urgency, Environmental Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health invite researchers to contribute original research and review articles dealing with all aspects of urban heating and its impact on human life in urban areas. These contributions include recent experimental and modeling studies, implementing techniques and developments tailored to the assessment of urban heating, as well as mitigation and adaptation scenarios proposed and assessed in various urban climates. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

To investigate the impact of urban overheating on building energy needs, electricity demand, health, economy, and hygrothermal comfort.
To propose comprehensive methodologies and metrics for quantifying the local and global impact of urban overheating.
To present the cooling potential of innovative mitigation and adaptation technologies (from both urban and building design perspectives). In particular, we are interested in original contributions on the development and testing of methods to measure and model the performance of consolidated and advanced technologies, with the identification of the elements of uncertainty, evaluating their reliability and performance in the context of the application.
To evaluate the impact and role of advanced mitigation and adaptation policies on human health, energy, peak electricity demand, environment, economy, and comfort.
To present innovative application of mitigation and adaptation solution in large-scale projects both at the theoretical and experimental level.

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2019.

For more information and instructions for authors visit here.

Guest Editors
Dr. Negin Nazarian
Dr. Riccardo Paolini

Scientific advisor
Professor Mattheos Santamouris

Special Issue URL: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/special_issues/UOL

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International Association for Urban Climate

Recent Announcements

Urban Climate News

Helen Ward and Matthias Demuzere appointed to the Board

Call for Nominations for two IAUC Board members

Wilhelm Kuttler receives 2018 Luke Howard Award

Call for Papers: Handbook of Extreme Weather and Climate Events

Research Assistant Professor / Post-doctoral Fellow – Faculty of Architecture: University of Hong Kong

Call: Scholarships to young researchers from developing countries (except Brazil) to take part of their training in Brazil

Special Issue: Impacts of Urban Overheating on Human Life: the Potential of Mitigation and Adaptation Technologies

Discussion Groups