Dusan Licina

EPFL Smart Living Lab HOBEL
HBL 2 4C (Halle Bleue)
Pass. du Cardinal 13b
1700 Fribourg

EPFL Smart Living Lab HOBEL
HBL 2 4C (Halle Bleue)
Pass. du Cardinal 13b
1700 Fribourg

EPFL Smart Living Lab HOBEL
HBL 2 4C (Halle Bleue)
Pass. du Cardinal 13b
1700 Fribourg

EPFL Smart Living Lab HOBEL
HBL 2 4C (Halle Bleue)
Pass. du Cardinal 13b
1700 Fribourg

Expertise

Indoor air pollutant dynamics, transformation, and exposure science
Human inhalation exposure and health-relevant indoor air quality
Building ventilation, sensing, and environmental control
Continuous IAQ/IEQ monitoring and performance-based assessment
Energy–IAQ–carbon trade-offs in healthy, low-carbon buildings
Health-oriented building standards, certifications, and decision-support frameworks

Mission

HOBEL advances the science of healthier, lower-carbon indoor environments by connecting fundamental indoor air research with building operation and performance. We study how pollutants are generated, transformed, transported, and inhaled; quantify human exposure across real and controlled environments; and develop smart ventilation, sensing, and control strategies that improve indoor environmental quality while minimizing energy use. Our work combines laboratory and field experiments, environmental chamber studies, advanced sensing, mechanistic modeling, data-driven analysis, and multi-scale simulations from the human breathing zone to rooms, buildings, and urban environments. 
Dusan Licina is Associate Professor at EPFL and Director of the Human-Oriented Built Environment Lab (HOBEL) at EPFL Fribourg. His research advances the science of healthier, lower-carbon indoor environments by connecting fundamental indoor air science with building operation, ventilation, sensing, and performance assessment. He studies how pollutants are generated, transformed, transported, and inhaled indoors, and develops strategies to improve indoor environmental quality while reducing energy and carbon impacts. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Belgrade and a joint doctorate from the National University of Singapore and the Technical University of Denmark. Before joining EPFL, he was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley and Director of Standards Development at the International WELL Building Institute. He is a Fellow of the ISIAQ Academy, serves on the ISIAQ Board, holds leadership roles in ASHRAE technical committees, and is an Editorial Board Member of Indoor Environments. His work has been recognized with the ISIAQ Yaglou Award for contributions to sustainable healthy buildings and the ASHRAE Ralph G. Nevins Award for research on human responses to indoor environments. He advocates for buildings that are not only low-carbon, but also deliver “Michelin Star” indoor air quality.

Awards

Yaglou award

International Conference of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality & Climate (ISIAQ)

2022

Ralph G. Nevins Physiology & Human Environment Award

2018

Journal articles

Teaching & PhD

PhD Students

Hui Dong, Enes Gusinjac, Tianqi Liu, Maria Loizou, Taylor Oran Medina, Khadija Sharaf Din, Ruijie Zhu

Past EPFL PhD Students

Evangelos Belias (2023), Maria Viviana Gonzalez Serrano (2023), Han-Yun Jhang (2024), Joan Frédéric Rey (2024), Seoyeon Yun (2023)

Courses

Energy and comfort in buildings

CIVIL-407

The course presents the fundamentals of energy demand in buildings while emphasizing the need for the comfort and well-being of occupants. In addition, prioritizations and trade-offs between energy and comfort are discussed.

Indoor air quality and ventilation

CIVIL-460

This course covers the fundamentals of indoor air quality and ventilation strategies for optimal building air quality. Through lectures, discussions, modeling software, a hands-on group project, students explore indoor air pollutants, their properties, emission sources, and control mechanisms.