The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering is excited to announce our new faculty member, Dr. Jie Cai.

Dr. Jie Cai holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Mathematics. In 2015, he obtained his Ph.D. from Purdue University with a focus on multi-agent control for building energy system management. Prior to joining OU, Dr. Cai was a postdoctoral research associate with Ray W. Herrick Laboratories at Purdue University and also held a 50% appointment with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Within the postdoc appointment, he has been leading several industry- and DOE-funded projects related to whole-building fault detection and using building energy systems for power grid ancillary services.

His research focus has centered around modeling and advanced controls of building energy systems and their broad applications, including grid-interactive building operation, optimized control for variable-speed air-conditioning/heat pump systems, distributed control of sustainable communities, etc. He is excited about joining AME at OU and he is looking forward to working with the students, staff and other researchers at OU in establishing a vigorous building energy research program. He is hoping to see that the research work to be carried out at OU will contribute to a more sustainable and resilient society.

Why OU?
OU is a diverse community offering excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and it has close physical proximity to leading HVAC manufacturers.

What are you most looking forward to working at OU’s AME?
Working with the smart students, supportive staff members and world-class researchers to establish a vigorous research program.

Interesting facts about Jie Cai:

• Enthusiastic in hearing ideas from different fields
• Loves outdoor activities, especially fishing
• Big fan of math

Hometown:
Gaomi, Shandong Province, China