OPPOSITE Left to right: Caleb Rismiller, Benjamin Kokaly, Meghan Megowan, Parichehr Salimifard, C. Victoria McCrary, Lillian Moo, and Jalil Mokhtarian Mobarakeh. TOP McCrary, Mobarakeh, and Moo conduct sensor co-location experiments to evaluate low-cost indoor air quality sensors. BELOW Salimifard and Mobarakeh slide test rig. “The school closure had so much negative impact on students’ learning and the whole society,” she said. “So, I’m passionate about buildings that are sustainable, healthy, and resilient.” Her lab recently added a powerful new tool to its arsenal: a large, full-size air filtration test rig. The equipment allows her team to test air filters according to multiple international standards — an asset that only a handful of institutions nationwide can claim. “It enables both basic research and industry-oriented studies with practical implications,” she said. The tool helps assess ventilation systems and reduce airborne disease transmission as well as reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution entering buildings, such as wildfire smoke. Salimifard’s work is also making waves nationally and internationally. In collaboration with Harvard and Boston University, she has led the development of a tool called CoBE Projection (CoBE stands for Co-benefits of Built Environment). CoBE Projection quantifies the footprint of buildings — including emissions (greenhouse gases and air pollutants), climate impacts, and public health impacts of energy use. The CoBE Projection tool is freely available to the public and designed to enable stakeholders — ranging from researchers and building designers to policymakers and even building owners with no prior experience — to use it for footprint analysis and informed decision-making by exploring different energy scenarios. More recently, they have published a new paper that helped adapt the U.S.-based CoBE tool for use in the European Union. “Across our different research projects, our goal is to reduce energy use while still providing healthier air for the occupants,” she said. “And we’re building systems that can withstand whatever comes next.” 5 OREGON STATE ENGINEERING WINTER 2026
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