Blog Post

Stars of Our Community: Gail Brager

Posted by jteo on Oct. 1, 2025  /  Member Spotlight  /  Subscribe 0

Meet our featured member, Gail Brager, a Professor in the Building Science, Technology & Sustainability program at UC Berkeley and Director of the Center for the Built Environment (CBE), an industry/university collaborative research center with nearly 50 diverse partners from the building industry. Since joining the faculty 40+ years ago, Professor Brager remains passionate about teaching and conducting research that minimizes energy consumption while enhancing indoor environmental quality and occupant experience. An ASHRAE Fellow and also Past President of our Golden Gate Chapter, he research on adaptive thermal comfort is part of ASHRAE Std 55.  More recently, she co-authored a book called Experiential Design Schemas, intersecting building and health sciences with architectural design, and was elected to the Board of Directors for USGBC-CA.

How long have you been involved with ASHRAE in years? Describe the roles or capacities in which you are involved with ASHRAE.
I attended my first ASHRAE meeting in 1982, while still a graduate student. It was my first professional conference, and it felt like taking a sip from a fire hose—seeing the range of technical content, learning about the committee structure, engaging with smart and enthusiastic people, and being blown away by the magnitude of the trade show! In those days, there weren’t many women, and my biggest takeaway was how warm and welcoming everyone was. Since then, I have presented at and moderated numerous Symposium sessions, served on various Technical and Standards committees (e.g., TC 2.1 and SSPC 55), published in Transactions and the ASHRAE Journal, held leadership positions at both the national and chapter levels, and have been honored to receive several awards (Best Papers, Distinguished Service, Crosby Field, Ralph Nevins).

If you had to describe the ASHRAE community in three words, what would they be?
Competent, Caring and Collaborative

What has been your favorite ASHRAE memory, event, or experience, and why?
Overall, my favorite experience was working with ASHRAE SSPC 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy (aka, the “thermal comfort standard”). I enjoyed engaging with the wide range of hardworking people who volunteered their time, brought technical and policy expertise, and came from diverseprofessional backgrounds (manufacturers, contractors, consultants, academics, government representatives, users, and more). People didn’t always agree on the details, but they shared a common purpose. Thedialogues were always educational and often quite animated. It was a great place for academics and practitioners to join their skills. I learned that developing Standards is always grounded in solid science, but also shaped by professional experience, judgment, and compromise. By necessity, to get things done, people often invoked the adage, “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”

But my favorite singular memory was when I served as Golden Gate Chapter President in 1994–95. I believe I was the first pregnant person to hold that role. At my first meeting, I waddled up to the podium at eight months pregnant, missed my second meeting (for understandable reasons), and then was back at it! I trulyappreciated the respect and support I received (and to those of you reading this who were around back then—you know who you are, thank you!).

How has your involvement with ASHRAE influenced your career and personal growth? 
My work with ASHRAE, particularly in the early years, was instrumental to my career. While my involvement has been broad, two pivotal moments stand out. In 1986, I received an ASHRAE research grant as an Assistant Professor, leading a UC Berkeley research team that developed laboratory-grade field-study methods for studying thermal comfort in office buildings. Those methods have since been adopted worldwide.Then, in 1995, Richard de Dear and I received another ASHRAE grant, collecting raw data from these global field studies and assembling a combined database. This became the basis for the Adaptive Comfort Model, which was eventually integrated into ASHRAE Standard 55. The ACM showed that in naturally ventilated buildings—where occupants are more connected to outdoor climate swings and have personal control over operable windows—people tend to be comfortable across a wider range of conditions than in centrallycontrolled, air-conditioned buildings.

Beyond the technical research, my career and personal growth have been deeply enriched by the relationships I’ve built with ASHRAE colleagues. When I came up for tenure, many of them submitted my required outside letters of recommendation. They also modeled how to blend technical competence with professional integrity, environmental values, and empathetic mentorship.

Do you hold any ASHRAE or other professional certifications/licenses? If so, how have they benefited your career?  
I am proud to be an ASHRAE and IBPSA Fellow. As an academic, I have not pursued the professional certifications and licenses that many of my industry colleagues hold. My professional activity has been more oriented toward engagement and service than formal accreditations. For example, I was the founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Research Committee and was recently elected to the Board of Directors for USGBC-CA. I also serve on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Well Living Lab at the Mayo Clinic and the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Building and Environment. Engagement beyond academia is personally fulfilling and expands the reach of my impact.

Where do you see the industry heading in the next 5-10 years, and what developments are you most excited about?
The industry must demonstrate an unwavering commitment to addressing both the climate crisis and indoor environmental quality issues in our buildings (planet AND people) with the same urgency shown in the global COVID response. There is no time to waste. Addressing challenges in existing buildings is just as important—if not more so—than in new construction. We must also strengthen collaborative bridges: academia withindustry, architecture with engineering, building science with health sciences. Two areas of my work have focused on this.

The first is my research group, the Center for the Built Environment (CBE), an Industry/University Collaborative Research Center. Our mission is to improve sustainable building design and operation, minimizing energy usewhile enhancing indoor environmental quality and occupant experience. We have nearly 50 Industry Partners—including many active ASHRAE members—spanning architecture and engineering firms, contractors, manufacturers, utilities, government agencies, and building owners. Many university programs in building science are watching and hoping to emulate this model.

The second is my recent book, Experiential Design Schemas*. It bridges the data-driven language of building science and engineering (my background) with the more sensorial, poetic perspective of architecture (my co-author’s). It advocates for low-energy, climate-responsive buildings by foregrounding the human dimension—nature-connected, multisensory architectural experiences that enrich well-being while reducing energy use.

What is one key piece of advice you would offer to young professionals entering this field?
Sorry, I’m an educator/mentor by training—I can’t offer just one (and I’m not that good at following rules):

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