UW Architectural Engineering Receives DOE Zero Energy Design Designation

The University of Wyoming’s architectural engineering Bachelor of Science degree program has earned a Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The new designation, awarded to 14 educational programs from nine collegiate institutions, recognizes the growing importance of zero-energy design, which means a building produces as much energy as it consumes in a year. The designation honors postsecondary academic programs that require students to apply the best practices of zero-energy design in their projects.

The 2024 cohort joins 39 programs from 26 institutions that earned the three-year designation in 2022 or 2023. Recognized academic programs included architecture, real estate development and construction science/management.

Aysha Demir, an assistant professor in UW’s Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management -- one of the faculty advisers for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences’ 2023 Solar Decathlon team’s fourth-place finish -- says the new designation recognizes the program’s sustainability focus.

“We are incredibly proud to have received this recognition from DOE. It validates the hard work we have put into building a curriculum actively engaging our students in learning about zero-energy design,” Demir says. “This designation acknowledges the innovative education our students receive in our design studio courses, and it is an exciting milestone for our architectural engineering program.”

The DOE designation recognizes that UW’s architectural engineering program has four design studio courses in which students learn the principles of building science, energy-efficient design and integration of solar power.

The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences has participated once in DOE’s Solar Decathlon competition’s build program, and this involvement in the decathlon led to Demir sending in UW’s curriculum and meeting with DOE staff members for consideration for the ZEDD status.

During the collegiate competition, students design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings that mitigate climate change and are affordable, resilient and energy efficient.

“With this recognition from DOE, we anticipate our students will gain greater exposure to job opportunities in energy-efficient building design, opening new doors for them in sustainable design,” Demir says.

Anthony Denzer, a professor and head of the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, says DOE’s designation acknowledges many years of curriculum development.

“For about 15 years, we have emphasized the importance of energy-efficient building design,” Denzer says. “As aspiring engineers, our students embrace this challenge; they want to make buildings that are more economical, more comfortable and more socially responsible.”

To learn more about UW’s Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, visit www.uwyo.edu/civil.