Nina Baird
Assistant Professor | Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA, UNITED STATES
Nina Baird's research includes work in district geothermal systems, wastewater energy recovery, and energy-effective affordable housing.
Biography
Dr. Nina Baird, PhD, MSPH, is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Architecture and Co-Chair of Carnegie Mellon’s Green Practices Committee. Nina’s courses explore the dynamic interactions between buildings and the environment. She challenges students to think creatively and critically about improving building performance to support environmental and human health. Her courses combine technical understanding and measured performance assessment with an eye towards new technologies and better integrated solutions.
At CMU, with its international student mix, Nina also engages students in consideration of the context of sustainability, based on location-specific factors such as natural resources, population density, climate, culture, and the pace of development. Her applied research includes work in district geothermal systems, wastewater energy recovery, and energy-effective affordable housing.
Nina came to CMU from a prior career as an environmental health consultant to federal agencies in Washington, DC. Throughout her career, she has been involved in community service and encourages students to be active advocates for and contributors to the world they want. Within Pittsburgh, Nina is involved in development of improved community energy infrastructure and provides consulting in high performance affordable housing. Within CMU’s Green Practices Committee, she is currently focusing on wastewater reclamation and reuse, and development of a campus water plan.
Nina holds a BA with honors in English from Amherst College, a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and both a Master of Science in Sustainable Design and a PhD in Building Performance and Diagnostics from Carnegie Mellon University.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Affordable Housing
Wastewater Energy Recovery
Human Health
Environmental Health
District Geothermal Systems
Energy Efficiency
Media
Publications:
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Videos:
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Industry Expertise (3)
Research
Education/Learning
Health and Wellness
Accomplishments (2)
Teaching Assistant Commendation (professional)
2007 Carnegie Mellon University
Graduate Student Teaching Award (professional)
2009 Carnegie Mellon University
Education (4)
Carnegie Mellon University: M.S., Sustainable Design 2005
Carnegie Mellon University: Ph.D., Building Performance and Diagnostics 2015
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: M.S., Public Health 1992
Amherst College: B.A., English with Honors 1978
Affiliations (3)
- ASHRAE
- Society of Building Science Educators
- National Groundwater Association
Links (3)
Event Appearances (3)
Leveraging the Building Code for High Performance Multifamily Affordable Housing
National Energy Codes Conference
2017-07-18
CHP and Wastewater Reclamation & Reuse: Sustainable Infrastructure Options for CMU
Allegheny County Green Action Team
2017-06-27
Sustainable District Energy Options for Pittsburgh
Delivering Economic Resilience in the New Energy Paradigm Harvard Business Review, Pittsburgh, PA
2017-05-09
Articles (2)
Geothermal Conditioning: Critical Sources for Sustainability
Sustainable Built Environments2020 Use of thermal energy in the earth or earth-coupled fluid as a heat source and heat-transfer reservoir for heating or cooling, without further conversion such as electric power generation
Urban Energy Information Modeling: High-Fidelity Aggregated Building Simulation for District Energy Systems
Building Information Modeling: BIM in Current and Future Practice2015 As pressure for new energy supplies grows, the inefficiency of centralized supply and conventional electricity generation seems increasingly extravagant. Better time-of-use management within centralized grids is one possible improvement; well-integrated district energy systems are another. A district energy system is a system that serves more than one building.
