Hanin Othman, Ph.D.
Researcher • Architect • Educator
Assistant Professor of Architecture | University of Arizona
I work at the intersection of building performance, indoor environmental quality, smart sensing, and computational technologies for the built environment. My research integrates low-cost sensing, IoT systems, mobile robotics, data-driven modeling, and digital twins to better understand how buildings perform and how they can become healthier, more adaptive, and more climate-responsive.
About
I am an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Arizona, where my research examines the interaction between people, buildings, environmental conditions, and emerging technologies.
My work focuses on developing sensing and computational approaches for understanding building and environmental performance across spatial and temporal scales. I am particularly interested in indoor environmental quality, low-cost environmental sensing, mobile and robotic sensing, smart building systems, digital twins, and data-driven methods that can translate environmental measurements into actionable design knowledge.
I received my Ph.D. in Architecture from Penn State University, where my doctoral research developed and validated an integrated IoT-based framework for mobile indoor air quality sensing. The work combined fixed and mobile sensor networks, environmental sensor calibration, autonomous robotic platforms, spatial monitoring, and predictive modeling to characterize indoor environmental conditions at higher spatial resolution.
Research Areas
- Indoor environmental quality and indoor air quality
- Low-cost environmental sensing and sensor calibration
- Mobile sensing, robotics, and autonomous environmental monitoring
- Smart buildings and IoT-based environmental systems
- Digital twins and data-driven building performance
- Building energy and environmental performance
- Climate-responsive design and urban microclimates
- Human-centered and health-oriented built environments
Research Lab
I am currently establishing a research group at the University of Arizona focused on intelligent, healthy, and climate-responsive built environments.
The lab will bring together architecture, environmental sensing, building science, robotics, computational methods, and artificial intelligence to investigate how buildings and urban environments can sense, interpret, and respond to changing environmental and human conditions.
Current and emerging research directions include mobile indoor environmental sensing, IoT-enabled building monitoring, digital twins, robotic environmental assessment, machine-learning-based environmental modeling, climate-responsive systems, and neighborhood-scale environmental performance.
Research Approach
My research connects environmental measurement with architectural decision-making. Rather than treating sensing, simulation, and design as separate activities, I investigate workflows that integrate physical measurements, computational models, and spatial information.
This includes combining fixed and mobile sensing systems, robotic platforms, building information models, digital twins, and statistical or machine-learning methods to better understand environmental variability and building performance.
Design Investigations
My design work complements my research by exploring how environmental performance, technology, and social considerations can inform architectural responses to complex problems.
These investigations address topics including climate-responsive infrastructure, net-zero and high-performance buildings, adaptive reuse, affordable housing, environmental equity, and community-centered design.
Together, they reflect my interest in design as both a creative practice and a mode of research capable of translating scientific and environmental knowledge into spatial strategies.
Highlights
- Developed and validated low-cost environmental sensing systems for indoor air quality assessment.
- Integrated fixed and mobile sensing with robotic platforms for high-resolution spatial environmental monitoring.
- Developed calibration and validation workflows for low-cost environmental sensors.
- Applied data-driven modeling to characterize spatial and temporal environmental conditions.
- Integrated sensing, building information, and digital-twin workflows for building and neighborhood-scale research.
- Led hands-on learning activities involving environmental sensing, IoT technologies, digital fabrication, and robotics.
Teaching & Mentorship
My teaching connects building science, environmental performance, design, and emerging technologies. I encourage students to understand buildings as dynamic environmental systems and to use evidence, measurement, and experimentation as part of the design process.
At the University of Arizona, my teaching includes building performance and sustainable design, with broader interests in human factors, environmental systems, sensing technologies, and research-based architectural design.
I am particularly interested in creating opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in authentic research through environmental measurements, sensor deployment, data analysis, prototyping, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Mission
Advance healthier, more intelligent, and climate-responsive built environments by integrating architectural design, environmental science, sensing technologies, and data-driven research.
Let’s Connect
I welcome conversations with students, researchers, designers, and collaborators interested in indoor environmental quality, smart buildings, sensing, robotics, digital twins, and climate-responsive design.