Education

Ph.D. and M.S. in Systems Science and Engineering, Cornell University (2022, 2021)

M.S in Sustainable Building Science, Technical University of Munich (2017)

B.S. in Energy Engineering, University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (2012)

Keywords

Environmental Performance Simulation; Urban Decarbonization; Machine Learning; Spatial Analysis; Software Development

Biography

Patrick Kastner is a researcher and educator specializing in environmental performance simulation and the decarbonization of buildings and cities. He is an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and the Director of the Sustainable Urban Systems Lab. With a background in systems engineering, his goal is to empower architects and urban designers with software tools that place sustainability at the forefront of the profession. To this end, he leads a Vertically Integrated Project titled Surrogate Modeling for Urban Regeneration (SMUR), which attracts a diverse group of students ranging from sophomore to graduate level, representing various engineering disciplines and other related fields across campus. 

During his doctoral research, he developed Eddy3D, a microclimate modeling software toolkit for Rhino & Grasshopper, now adopted by leading institutions in both academia and practice. After completing his Ph.D., Kastner continued his work with the Environmental Systems Lab at Cornell AAP as a postdoctoral associate. There he provided decision support for the Ithaca Green New Deal to accelerate efforts to decarbonize Ithaca's building stock. He previously taught at Cornell and UPenn. 

Originally from Germany, Kastner holds a M.S. in Sustainable Building Science from TU Munich, and a B.S. in Energy Engineering from FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. While in Munich, he was fortunate enough to study at the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) and enjoyed his time leading the operations team at TEDxTUM.