When wildfire smoke blankets the skies of southern Oregon, many families close their windows and hope for the best. But for Oregon State University’s Parichehr Salimifard, assistant professor of architectural engineering-mechanical engineering track, hope isn’t enough. She’s working to ensure that the air inside our schools and homes remains safe — no matter what’s happening outside.
Salimifard, who is also the Culbertson Faculty Scholar, leads a research program focused on indoor air quality and building resilience. Her work is especially timely as communities across the West face longer wildfire seasons and increasing air pollution.
“Our current focus is on how we can protect building occupants’ health against wildfire smoke and mitigate the exposure to particulate matter,” Salimifard said.
Studying air quality in schools and childcare centers
With support from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings Grant Program, Salimifard and her team are studying air quality in K–12 schools and childcare centers in southern Oregon — an area that experiences wildfire smoke almost every year. Her lab installs air quality sensors in classrooms, trains undergraduate students to maintain them, and collects data to help schools make informed decisions about ventilation and filtration.
But the work doesn’t stop at data collection. Salimifard is also developing toolkits and guidelines for school administrators, building managers, and the school community. These resources help communities understand how to adjust HVAC systems and building operations to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants.
“We’re gathering data and creating guides for how people can protect themselves against wildfire smoke,” she said.
Energy-efficient, healthy, and resilient buildings
Her vision is clear: buildings that are not only energy-efficient, but also healthy and resilient.
“We want buildings that don’t have to shut down when the next crisis hits,” she said. “Whether it’s wildfire smoke, a pandemic, or another airborne threat, our goal is to keep schools and other critical buildings open and safe.”
That mission is deeply personal. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Salimifard notes the toll that school closures took on students and families.
“The school closure had so much negative impact on students’ learning and the whole society,” she said. “So, I’m passionate about buildings that are sustainable, healthy, and resilient.”
Advanced Air Filtration Research
Her lab recently added a powerful new tool to its arsenal: a large, full-size air filtration test rig. The equipment allows her team to test air filters according to multiple international standards—an asset that only a handful of institutions nationwide can claim.
“It enables both basic research and industry-oriented studies with practical implications,” she said. The tool helps assess ventilation systems and reduce airborne disease transmission, as well as reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution entering buildings, such as wildfire smoke.
CoBE Projection: measuring building footprints
Salimifard’s work is also making waves nationally and internationally. In collaboration with Harvard and Boston University, she has led the development of a tool called CoBE Projection (CoBE stands for Co-benefits of Built Environment). CoBE Projection quantifies the footprint of buildings — including emissions (greenhouse gases and air pollutants), climate impacts, and public health impacts of energy use. The CoBE Projection tool is freely available to the public and designed to enable stakeholders — ranging from researchers and building designers to policymakers and even building owners with no prior experience — to use it for footprint analysis and informed decision-making by exploring different energy scenarios.
More recently, they have published a new paper that helped adapt the U.S.-based CoBE tool for use in the European Union.
“Across our different research projects, our goal is to reduce energy use while still providing healthier air for the occupants,” she said. “And we’re building systems that can withstand whatever comes next.”
