In the heavily regulated building sector, innovative materials face a major disadvantage: building codes. For this reason, and because climate change can’t wait, Shu Yang is using approved materials in new ways to bring her self-cooling building skins to market.
Yang is motivated by having an impact. Originally focused on studying nanomaterials, she recalls attending a meeting at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy about ways buildings could be more efficient and thinking: “This is my passion. I want to hear from other people what their problems or needs are, and then I can say, ‘How can I help?’”
(This article is reposted with permission from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.)