Dr. Som S Shrestha is a Distinguished R&D Staff who leads Building Envelope Materials Research (BEMR) group within the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His current research focuses on developing technologies to enhance building energy efficiency and enable demand flexibility. Some of the research areas that Dr. Shrestha is leading include the following:
- Building envelope that can redirect unwanted heat and coolness https://www.ornl.gov/news/buildings-loop
- New high-performance insulation materials https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/multi-scale-simulations-and-machine-learning-guided-design-and-synthesis
- Thermal energy storage for buildings https://www.ornl.gov/news/national-laboratories-launch-buildings-consortium-leveraging-benefits-thermal-and
- Modeling tool to guide the development of low thermal conductivity materials https://thermopi.ornl.gov/calculate
- Energy savings and moisture transfer calculator https://airleakage-calc.ornl.gov/#/
Dr. Shrestha is:
- ASHRAE Fellow
- 2025 ASHRAE Winter Conference Technical Program Chair https://www.ashrae.org/conferences/2025-winter-conference-orlando/2025-winter-conference-technical-program
- Recipient of the ASHRAE Exceptional Service Award, Distinguished Service Award, and a technical paper award,
- ORNL Graduate Advisor with the University of Tennessee Bredesen Center,
- Serves on ASHRAE Conference and Exposition Committee and multiple ASHRAE committees,
- An active member of ASME and ASTM, and
- ASHRAE-certified Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP)
Some of Dr. Shrestha’s recently completed works at ORNL include thermal performance evaluation of various radiant barrier systems, thermochromic coatings for building applications, development of a protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials, and evaluation of lower-GWP alternative refrigerants.
Before joining ORNL, he worked at Industrial Assessment Center at Iowa State University and as a mechanical engineer in Nepal. Shrestha earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University in 2009.
