List of Courses
ARE 501 – MEP Systems Engineering
Description: Components of MEP Systems; Building Codes and Standards; Mechanical Systems; Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems; Plumbing Systems; Electrical Systems; Power Distribution Systems; Lighting Systems; Fire Protection Systems; Integrated Design and Coordination; Building Information Modeling (BIM) for MEP; MEP Coordination and Clash Detection; Practical Applications and Case Studies; Automation in smart buildings and IoT in MEP Systems; Sustainability, Energy efficiency and management in MEP; Architectural Accommodation and Coordination of MEP Systems.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing
ARE 508 – Building Physics & Green Design
Description: Fundamentals of building physics; Climates and buildings; Thermal radiation in the environment; Water and its interaction with buildings; Heat transfer and Solar radiation on buildings; the effects of wind, air leakage, and ventilation; Indoor thermal environment. Building physics and their application in designing sustainable buildings; The role of building envelopes; Design for extreme desert and Arid Climates. Green-modern buildings design principles and climate-responsive strategies. Application of advanced technologies for improved building performance and sustainability. Building rating systems.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing
ARE 504 – Deep Renovation for High-Performance Buildings
Description: Deep renovation (DR) Investigating Existing Conditions, Strengthening Concrete Buildings, Repairing Deteriorated Concrete, Renovating Slabs on Grade, Renovating Building Façades, Energy efficiency via passive and active upgrades and technologies. Renewable energy technologies in DR (solar, wind, bioenergy, hydroelectric, and geothermal). Value Engineering for DR projects, Building Rating Systems, Building Envelop Load, Energy Conservation Measure, Passive and Active Design Strategies, Insulation and Thermal Bridges, Water Efficiency, and Building Management Systems (BMS).
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing
ARE 529 – Indoor Environmental Quality
Description: Design principles of the sustainable indoor environment. Total indoor environmental quality (TIEQ). Considerations and impact of IEQ on comfort, well-being, health, and productivity. Human physiological factors influencing IEQ. Thermal, visual, and acoustical comfort. Ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ). IEQ requirements and design criteria. Standard tests, analysis methods, and instrumentation for IEQ-field investigation. Surveying vs. monitoring, experiments, codes, standards, computer modeling, and IEQ assessment rating systems.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): None
ARE 537 – Building Envelope Systems
Description: Concepts of advanced building envelopes. Envelope materials, mechanical, chemical, and physical properties, and durability performance. Components of building envelopes, dynamic and interactive facades. Environmental-response and adaptive facades. Glazing system types and technologies. Innovative technologies for building skins, architectural membranes, and phase change materials. Integrating photovoltaics and solar thermal technologies. Double skin and cavity facades. Kinetic skins, biomimicry, and biomimetics. Intelligent sensing and control. Green walls and roofs.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing
ARE 552 – Safety, Ergonomics and Risk Analytics
Description: Safety, ergonomics, risk identification, risk analysis and simulation techniques. Intelligent safety and security systems (automated surveillance, access control, fire detection). IoT-based safety systems. Occupational noise exposure and active noise control. Smart fire systems, electrical systems safety, and occupant health. Emergency evacuation and wayfinding. Data analytics for safety (preprocessing, predictive/classification/clustering models). Ergonomic assessments, anthropometry, workstation design, lifting analysis, REBA, NIOSH, and human-system interaction.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing
EM 550 – Engineering Project Management
Description: Project management framework, strategic management and project selection, project organization, human aspects, conflicts and negotiations, scope, time, cost and risk management, contracts and procurement, project termination, agile principles, project management office, and modern developments (PMI, PRINCE2, ISO 21500). Case studies from various disciplines are used to clarify principles and tools.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): None
ARE 619 – Research Project
Description: Apply advanced research skills to analyze high-performance building engineering challenges across the project life cycle. Emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainability, and occupant well-being, integrating technical, economic, and environmental considerations. Students conduct an original research study documented in a comprehensive report and presented orally.
Type: Required
Prerequisite(s): None
ARE 533 – Energy Modeling & Simulation
Description: Energy use and trends. Heat flow in buildings, heating and cooling energy requirements, energy estimating methods. Building energy modeling and optimization: Energy simulation and calibration. Building energy audits and O&M. Analysis of alternative energy-efficiency measures. Solar PV technologies and system design guidelines. Net-zero energy buildings, energy management, codes and standards. Intelligent BEMS, building operation and control, CO₂ emissions reduction.
Type: Elective
Prerequisite(s): None