News and Updates

The Heidelberg Institute for Global Health (with support from the German research Foundation) awarded a project to Lars Junghans Gabriel Harp to undertake the simulation and design research around passive cooling for the mudbrick homes in Nouna, Burkina Faso.

Team is awarded Pressing Matters grant from Taubman College Dec 2022

Team is awarded a seed grant from the Center for Global Health Equity Feb 2023

Ana Paula completed field data collection in Brazil and Colombia. A variety of information for different housing and building types was collected. Ana Paula has also been working with Brazilian and U.S. student researchers to communicate the ethnographic and construction detail data gathered on the individual and family histories of self-built homes and existing dwelling conditions. Partners in Brazil and Colombia are still collecting temperature data. Once data analysis and representation is complete and shared with partners in both locations, the team and partners will start to define and organize for the upcoming in-person capacity building workshops. The co-production of the workshops between team members and partners abroad will be virtual and over the winter semester. June-August 2023

Lars has started to develop thermal dynamic models based on the data received thus far from Brazil and Burkina Faso. We have also hired research assistants based at U-M and will potentially hire more to assist with simulations. May-Aug 2023

Phase 1 Trial in Nouma, Burkina Faso: Building information measures for three different housing types in Nouma have been collected and shared with the U-M team. Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), and the Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna (CRSN) in Burkina Faso have been independently analyzing the results of the effects of the reflective cooling treatment. Depending on those results, it may become apparent that there is a strong need to employ multiple passive cooling interventions in combination (versus just one in addition to reflective coating). Our goal is to provide prioritized passive cooling interventions to the team by this fall so they have time to design the second phase of the study and organize the procurement and logistics for the materials to arrive with time to install before Feb/Mar. June 2023

Initial stages of the design research and project documentation around passive cooling options, appropriate technologies, materials, and other aspects. We have two research assistants at UM working on these issues. May-Aug 2023

Benjamin Nelson-Mercer wrapped up his phase doing fluid dynamic simulations. Michael Swers has joined, and is working with Lars to continue additional simulations. Elana Ho is also joining to work with Lars on the Thermal Dynamic Simulations.

Naneh Ghazarians, visiting intern from U. Portsmouth (UK), developed a great set of illustrations of passive cooling interventions that we can use for our communications and discussion materials.

Brianna Bartlett and Marisol Mendez have been working on a booklet of existing conditions to illustrate and document the various housing typologies, material (re)uses, and socio-political contexts using data collected during site visits and assembled secondary research.

The team was selected for the Bold Challenges Boost Program, receiving some start-up funding and team development support to pursue larger-scale impact. Neil Carver joins the project temporarily from the OVPR Bold Challenges team, and has been working with us to map out our team strategy and deliverables in pursuit of select large-scale support for the team and or research objectives. September 6, 2023

Marie O’Neill presented on Climate Vulnerability and Health—How Are We Responding? to the Center for Global Health Equity 2023-2024 Distinguished Seminar Series.

Ana Paula and Lars presented view presentation slides here in the Center for Global Health Equity Distinguished Seminar Series on Heat & Health: Co-Producing Solutions for Passive Cooling in Self-Built Housing Feb 2, 2024

Gabe traveled to the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center to join the REFLECT Consortium Kick-off meeting, part of a multi-country trial of cool roofs as a practical climate change adaptation globally, providing evidence for scaling of the intervention. March 4-8, 2024

Calor e Moradia Autoconstruída: Mobilizando Conhecimentos e Co-Produzindo Estratégias de Resfriamento Passivo para Promover a Saúde em Assentamentos Precários April 5, 2024

Calor e Moradia Autoconstruída: Mobilizando Conhecimentos e Co-Produzindo Estratégias de Resfriamento Passivo para Promover a Saúde em Favelas e Ocupações June 1, 2024

Climate Futures Exhibition @ Liberty Research Annex