About Us +
Researchers in the Building Technology & Urban Systems Division (BTUS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory develop data and technologies that increase energy efficiency and improve the health, safety and comfort of building occupants, in the United States and worldwide.

We work closely with industry partners, academics and government officials to achieve these goals, and share our research widely
Research +
We are at the forefront of cutting-edge research that redefines building technology and explores all areas of urban systems.

We have been leaders for decades in developing energy-efficient windows, improving indoor air quality, coming up with new ideas to fix the nation's electricity grid, and so much more.

Visit our research areas at the right to find out more.
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Publications +
Enjoy presentations from Building Technology & Urban systems research experts on a wide variety of topics in the areas of building energy efficiency, the electricity grid and how it relates to buildings and much more.
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Tools & Guides +
Explore our tools, guidebooks and software and download for free.

We offer a variety of technologies designed to simulate and model real-world circumstances to assist in energy-saving programs and help building owners build better buildings. These tools can help calculate performance of building systems like windows and shades, help consumers and builders pick the best windows for a variety of applications and much more.

Publications

Publications By Research Area

2011

Garcia, Guillermo, Raffaella Buonsanti, Evan L Runnerstrom, Rueben J Mendelsberg, Anna Llordes, André Anders, Thomas J Richardson, and Delia J Milliron."Dynamically Modulating the Surface Plasmon Resonance of Doped Semiconductor Nanocrystals."Nano Letters 11.10 (2011) 4415 - 4420. DOI

2008

Richardson, Thomas J."Phase transitions in non-hydride switchable mirror thin films."Phase Transitions 81.7-8 (2008) 807 - 813. DOI

Anders, André, Jonathan L Slack, and Thomas J Richardson."Electrochromically switched, gas-reservoir metal hydride devices with application to energy-efficient windows."Thin Solid Films 1 (2008).

2006

Slack, Jonathan L, James C.W Locke, Seung-Wan Song, Jason Ona, and Thomas J Richardson."Metal hydride switchable mirrors: Factors influencing dynamic range and stability."Solor Energy MaterialsSolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 90.4 (2006) 485-490. DOI

2003

Richardson, Thomas J, and Jonathan L Slack."Lithium-Based Electrochromic Mirrors."203rd Meeting of the Electrochemical Society (2003).

2002

Richardson, Thomas J, Baker Farangis, Jonathan L Slack, Ponnusamy Nachimuthu, Rupert C.C Perera, Nobumichi Tamura, and Michael D Rubin."X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Transition Metal-Magnesium Hydride Thin Films."Journal of Alloys and Compounds 356-357 (2002) 204-207. DOI

Farangis, Baker, Ponnusamy Nachimuthu, Thomas J Richardson, Jonathan L Slack, Rupert C.C Perera, Eric M Gullikson, Dennis W Lindle, and Michael D Rubin."In Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study of Hydrogen Absorption by Nickel-Magnesium Thin Films."Physical Review B 67.8 (2002). DOI

Farangis, Baker, Ponnusamy Nachimuthu, Thomas J Richardson, Jonathan L Slack, Bruno K Meyer, Rupert C.C Perera, and Michael D Rubin."Structural and Electronic Properties of Magnesium-3D Transition Metal Switchable Mirrors."Fifth International Meeting on Electrochromism (2002). DOI

Richardson, Thomas J."New Electrochromic Mirror Systems."Solid State Ionics 165 (2002) 305-308.

Myers, Whittier R, Lin-Wang Wang, Thomas J Richardson, and Michael D Rubin."Calculation of Thermodynamic, Electronic, and Optical Properties of Monoclinic Mg₂NiH₄."Journal of Applied Physics 91.8 (2002) 4879-4885. DOI

2001

Richardson, Thomas J, Jonathan L Slack, Baker Farangis, and Michael D Rubin."Mixed Metal Films with Switchable Optical Properties."Applied Physics Letters 80.8 (2001) 1349-1351. DOI

Richardson, Thomas J, Jonathan L Slack, Robert D Armitage, Robert Kostecki, Baker Farangis, and Michael D Rubin."Switchable Mirrors Based on Nickel-Magnesium Films."Applied Physics Letters 78.20 (2001) 3047-3049. DOI

2000

Richardson, Thomas J, Jonathan L Slack, and Michael D Rubin."Electrochromism in Copper Oxide Thin Films."4th International Meeting on Electrochromism (2000).

Richardson, Thomas J, and Michael D Rubin."Liquid Phase Deposition of Electrochromic Thin Films."Electrochimica Acta 46 (2000) 2119-2123.

1999

Armitage, Robert D, Michael D Rubin, Thomas J Richardson, Nada O'Brien, and Yong Chen."Solid State Gadolinium-Magnesium Hydride Optical Switch."Applied Physics Letters 75.13 (1999) 1863-1865.

1998

Richardson, Thomas J, Klaus von Rottkay, Jonathan L Slack, Franck Michalak, and Michael D Rubin."Tungsten-Vanadium Oxide Sputtered Films for Electrochromic Devices."Electrochemical Society: Molecular Functions of Electroactive Thin Films 98-26 (1998).

von Rottkay, Klaus, Michael D Rubin, Franck Michalak, Robert D Armitage, Thomas J Richardson, Jonathan L Slack, and Peter A Duine."Effect of Hydrogen Insertion on the Optical Properties of PD-Coated Magnesium Lanthanides."Electrochimica Acta (1998).

Rubin, Michael D, Shi-Jie Wen, Thomas J Richardson, John B Kerr, Klaus von Rottkay, and Jonathan L Slack."Electrochromic lithium nickel oxide by pulsed laser deposition and sputtering."Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 54.1-4 (1998) 59-66. DOI

Michalak, Franck, Klaus von Rottkay, Thomas J Richardson, Jonathan L Slack, and Michael D Rubin."Electrochromic Lithium Nickel Oxide Thin Films by RF-Sputtering from a LiNiO₂ Target."Electrochimica Acta 44 (1998) 3085-3092.

1997

von Rottkay, Klaus, Thomas J Richardson, Michael D Rubin, Jonathan L Slack, and Lisen Kullman."Influence of stoichiometry on the electrochromic cerium-titanium oxide compounds."11th International Conference of Solid State Ionics (1997).

von Rottkay, Klaus, Thomas J Richardson, Michael D Rubin, and Jonathan L Slack."Effective Medium Approximation of the Optical properties of electrochromic cerium-titanium oxide compounds."Proceedings of the SPIE 3138 (1997) 19-Sep.

von Rottkay, Klaus, Nilgün Özer, Michael D Rubin, and Thomas J Richardson."Analysis of Binary Electrochromic Tungsten Oxides with Effective Medium Theory."Thin Solid Films 308-309 (1997) 50-55.