Environmental
Addressing the Microclimate
A city model in RWDI’s boundary layer wind tunnel.
By Luke Carothers
Neetha Vasan is a Senior Microclimate Scientist and Associate at Rowan William Davies & Irwin (RWDI) LLC, who specializes in building engineering with a focus on assessing the aerodynamic and wind resistant properties of construction projects. Using state-of-the-art software and modeling, Vasan helps city planners and the real estate development industry create wind and climate-responsive buildings and outdoor spaces. This in turn proves critical to improving pedestrian safety and comfort in urban planning. Vasan’s work involves evaluating the interaction of microclimate variables like wind, sunlight, temperature, snow, and other environmental factors within the built environment and human experience. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Vasan describes her first steps into the industry as a leap of faith. After a chance introduction, Vasan joined RWDI and entered a “niche field [she] had very little knowledge about.” This leap of faith put her in the position of Wind and Microclimate Engineer with RWDI India where Vasan analyzed the aerodynamic forces on buildings and evaluated wind speeds and microclimate in
Neetha standing in front of the Austin, TX city skyline.
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csengineermag.com
Summer 2024
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