Umberto Berardi

Dr. Berardi is the current President of the Canadian Acoustical Association and of the International Association of Building Physics (IABP).

Dr. Berardi has been Canada Research Chair in Building Science (from 2021 to August 2024) and Full Professor and Director of the BeTOP center at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada (from August 2014 to August 2024). His main research interests are related to the study of innovative solutions and new materials for improving the performance within the built environment. Dr. Berardi' works on integrating nanotechnologies into building systems focus on organic bio-PCMs, and on granular aerogel.

Dr. Berardi has an extensive publication record, including 200 peer-reviewed journals, 200 international conference papers, and ten books. Notable highlights include 4 articles in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (2023 Impact Factor: 16.300); 1 in Chemical Engineering Journal (IF: 13.273); 2 in Journal of Hazardous Materials (IF: 10.588);  1 Business Strategy and Environment (IF: 10.302); 1 in Resource Conservation and Recycling (IF: 10.204); 4 in Applied Energy (IF: 9.746); 1 in Environment international (IF: 9.621); 1 in Journal of Cleaner Production (IF: 9.297); 2 in Science of the Total Environment (IF: 7.963); 3 in Sustainable Cities and Society (IF: 7.587); 3 in Energy (IF: 7.147); 1 in Environmental Research (IF: 6.498); 1 in Journal of Environmental Management (IF: 6.789); 5 in Building and Environment (IF: 6.456); 1 in Energy Policy (IF: 6.142); 1 in Sustainable Development (IF: 6.159); 1 in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (IF: 6.064); 20 in Energy and Buildings (IF: 5.879); and 1 in Applied Thermal Engineering (IF: 5.295). 

Dr. Berardi’s publications have received 20,000 citations in Google Scholar, where he has an h-index of 64, while Scopus database counts over 12,500 citations and an h-index of 55. He is the author of the most read paper ever in Architectural Science Review; the most-cited and most-read paper in the International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development; the most cited paper in Applied Acoustics and in Sustainable Development; the second most cited paper in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society; one of the ten most downloaded articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews in 2014. At the International Conference on Applied Energy in 2016 in China, he was awarded as the author of one of the ten most cited papers in the journal Applied Energy.

In 2024, Dr. Berardi chaired the Sustainability Forum in Toronto and was the Chair of the International Conference on Building Physics (IBPC). Dr. Berardi was also the Chair of the conference X IAQVEC 2019 (10th Int. Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings) in Bari, Italy, which attracted 400 attendees. Moreover, he was the International Committee Chair of the International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction (ICSDEC) 2016 in Tempe (Arizona), and the Technical Program and Leadership Committee Chair of ICSDEC 2015 in Chicago (Illinois). He has been a member of the scientific committee of over 40 international congresses held in 30 countries and has often organized and chaired special sessions. He has also given over 30 keynotes at international conferences worldwide.

Dr. Berardi contributes to several academic and scientific communities. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Canadian Acoustics (from 2019 to 2023). He has been the editor of several special issues for journals such as Building and Environment, Energy and Building, Journal of Building Performance Simulation, Science and Technology for the Built Environment, Building Simulation, Sustainable Cities and Society, Buildings, Sustainability, and Advances in Mechanical Engineering. 

He is the Associate Editor of the  Journal of Building Engineering. Moreover, he is a member of the editorial board of the following journals: Energy and Buildings, Sustainable Cities and Society, Journal of Building Performance Simulation, Building Simulation, Sustainable Development, Intelligent Building International, Buildings, Sustainability, and Energy and Policy Research. He has acted as a reviewer for over 100 journals and has been recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer for over 20 journals, including Building and Environment, Energy and Buildings, and Sustainable Cities and Society.

His awards include (among others): Frontiers in 2024, the 2023 European Thermophysical Properties ECTP-NETZSCH AWARD; the 10th Canada's Clean16 award and Clean50 winner (list category: R&D), 2021; the Young Researcher Award by the AIGE in 2019; Early Research Career Excellence Award, Ryerson University, 2018; the Best Italian Engineer in North America award by the ISSNAF (Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation) in Washington in October 2016; among others.

Dr. Berardi has a body of funded research comprising over $2.5M in government and private sector sponsored research. He has been awarded a CFI-JELF; NSERC Discovery Grant; Early Research Award from the MRI - Ontario; Building Excellence Research and Education Grants from the BC Housing - Homeowner Protection Office; OCE-VIP projects; Ryerson Research Fund for Tools and for Undergraduate Research Experience and several NSERC Engages.