Renowned Sustainability Expert, Ian Shapiro Joins SyracuseCoE and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) is proud to announce that Ian M. Shapiro, an award-winning engineer and author, will be joining SyracuseCoE today as associate director of Building Science and Community Programs. In this role, he will serve as the leader for the new SyracuseCoE Building Assessment Center (BAC), launching this fall. He will also begin teaching in the fall semester as professor of practice at the College of Engineering and Computer Science in its Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE).

The BAC will be focusing on assessing and improving the energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality of non-industrial buildings (e.g., residential, commercial and schools), complementing Syracuse University’s Industrial Assessment Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s and led by MAE assistant teaching professor Jackie Anderson. 

Prior to joining the University, Shapiro founded Taitem Engineering in 1989, a successful full-service consulting engineering firm in Ithaca, NY, specializing in sustainability, energy efficiency, engineering design, research and consulting. The firm has grown to over 30 staff with satellite offices in five other U.S. cities. The name of the company is an acronym, consistent with its mission, “Technology As If The Earth Mattered.” Shapiro will continue to sit on the board of directors for the company. Taitem has been an active SyracuseCoE Industry Partner for many years, with Shapiro collaborating on many sponsored research and demonstration projects.

Before founding Taitem Engineering, Shapiro was an employee of Carrier Corporation in Syracuse where he designed heat pumps and air conditioning equipment. His work has generated nine patents, including the most recent in 2008, for an innovative desiccant cooling system.

Shapiro was honored as Green Building Advocate of the Year in 2016 at the New York State Green Building Conference at SUNY ESF for his work promoting the need to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on humans and the natural environment.

“We are thrilled to have Ian Shapiro join our team,” says Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, SyracuseCoE Executive Director. “With his extensive expertise in sustainable building practices and engineering, coupled with his influential contributions as an author and inventor, Ian is well-positioned to make a significant impact on Syracuse University students, faculty, SyracuseCoE partner companies and our community. We are excited to see the innovative projects and research that will emerge under his leadership and are confident that he will bring positive changes not only to SyracuseCoE but also to the larger community.”

“And I am equally thrilled by this opportunity,” says Shapiro. “To join SyracuseCoE’s nationally-recognized work, to teach at Syracuse University, to return to Syracuse after 30 years, are all things I could not have imagined. I hope I can contribute in a helpful way to SyracuseCoE’s work, to bring in ideas from the design and consulting world, and to channel SU’s findings back into the world. I’m also so excited to teach and interact with students. I always find that I learn so much from students!”

With over 35 years of experience in the industry, Shapiro has led several applied energy conservation research projects and worked on design and energy projects in New York and nearby states. He has led the development of several software applications that are used in the areas of HVAC, energy and indoor air quality fields, including TREAT (Targeted Residential Energy Analysis Tools), which was awarded the 2005 National R&D 100 Award. Shapiro has developed and delivered workshops to owners, developers, designers and contractors in the area of energy and HVAC to advance sustainability efforts in the industry. With his deep expertise in engineering and green building, he has presented at many Syracuse University and SyracuseCoE forums, symposiums and events.

He has co-authored the textbook Green Building Illustrated, 2nd Edition (Wiley, 2020) and the professional reference book Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings (Wiley, 2016). Green Building Illustrated is a graphical and methodical presentation of the theory, practices and complexities of sustainable design, illustrated by Francis D.K. Ching. It has been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Portuguese. Shapiro is also the co-author of the Ithaca Energy Code Supplement, one of the most advanced energy codes in the nation. Shapiro helped to develop New York State’s Integrated Physical Needs Assessment, which is required for all affordable multifamily projects undergoing rehabilitation, as well as other state and local technical policy requirements. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Syracuse University. 

Shapiro holds an undergraduate degree from McGill University, and an M.S. from Columbia University, both in mechanical engineering. Shapiro is a licensed engineer in the states of New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.