Biography

Boris Karamata is launching new research activities in the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Performance-Integrated Design (LIPID) at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) at EPFL. Boris Karamata holds a Master of Science in Microengineering from EPFL (1994). He specialized in optics and photonics through his PhD in the Laboratory of Biomedical Optics at EPFL (2000-04) and as a senior engineer in the industry at Logitech (2005-10). Between 1995 and 1999 he was with the European Space Technology and Research Center in the Netherlands and with the Tyndall National Institute in Ireland, working mainly in the field of microfluidic systems for space and biology applications, respectively. His research activities are at the crossroad between science, engineering and architecture. He currently focuses on the following two main axes: (i) adaptive building skins to provide optimal indoor daylighting and thermal comfort, and (ii) designs for efficient solar energy harvest and transformation. Adaptive building skins shall incorporate novel solar and climate responsive designs based on passive actuation with an emphasis on architectural integration. Efficient solar energy harvest and transformation shall be achieved with a solar concentrator independent of the position of the sun (no tracking device) that combines custom optics and material phase change properties. Presently, a particular emphasis is put on investigation of systems dedicated to hot and sunny climates like in the Middle-East countries. He is a teacher in the frame of the MSc program in architecture on methods for providing energy to ensure comfortable indoor conditions. He is a tutor in the new Master program in Energy Management and Sustainability, taking place between EPFL and its Middle-East extension. He owns more than 20 peer-reviewed papers as well as several patents in different domains.