Kumar Biswajit Debnath

(He/Him)

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As an architect and building physicist, I pioneer Bio-Intelligent Building Systems—an interdisciplinary approach that harnesses living materials, AI-driven design, biotechnology, vernacular design practices, and building physics to engineer passive, self-regulating structures for extreme climates, from arid deserts and polar outposts to space habitats. I integrate biomimetics, bioclimatic strategies, and time-tested vernacular techniques—drawing on nature’s playbook, from the Saguaro cactus’s water-storage ribs to the Namib Desert beetle’s moisture-harvesting shell—to create adaptive architectures that both cushion against and help mitigate climate change. With deep expertise in mycelium-based composite material bio-fabrication and characterisation, AI-driven design and fabrication, and building systems instrumentation, prototyping, testing, and simulation, I advance active and passive cooling/heating, natural ventilation, and daylight optimisation, pushing the frontiers of sustainable, circular, net-zero building technologies.

Experience

  • 2024–present
    Chancellor's Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
  • 2021–2024
    Research Associate in Passive Building Design , Newcastle University
  • 2018–2021
    Research Associate in Sustainable Building Design, Heriot-Watt University

Education

  • 2019 
    Cardiff University, PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • 2014 
    Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
  • 2012 
    Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.)

Publications

  • 2025
    The role of surface interventions in bio-welding mycelium-based composites, 10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01326
  • 2024
    Remote work might unlock Solar PV's potential for cracking the 'Duck Curve', 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123378
  • 2024
    Although feasible, falling renewables costs might not benefit Bangladesh’s energy sector's decarbonisation: Is this another ‘debt-fossil fuel production trap’? , 10.1016/j.esd.2024.101416
  • 2024
    A mixed-methods approach for evaluating the influence of residential practices for thermal comfort on electricity consumption in Auroville, India., 10.3390/electricity5010007
  • 2023
    Climate change, extreme heat, and South Asian megacities: Impact of heat stress on inhabitants and their productivity, 10.1115/1.4064021
  • 2022
    Why is Bangladesh’s electricity generation heading towards a GHG emissions-intensive future?, 10.1080/17583004.2022.2068454
  • 2021
    Rural cooling needs assessment towards designing community cooling hubs: Case studies from Maharashtra, India, 10.3390/su13105595
  • 2020
    Understanding residential occupant cooling behaviour through electricity consumption in warm-humid climate, 10.3390/buildings10040078
  • 2020
    Modelling community electricity demand for UK and India, 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102054
  • 2018
    Corruption significantly increases the cost of power plants in developing contexts, 10.3389/fenrg.2018.00008
  • 2018
    Forecasting methods of energy planning models, 10.1016/j.rser.2018.02.002
  • 2018
    Challenges and gaps for energy planning models in the developing-world context, 10.1038/s41560-018-0095-2

Grants and Contracts

  • 2023
    Data-driven bio-fabricated carbon-negative building skin for passive cooling (BioCOOL)
    Role:
    Chief Investigator (CI)
    Funding Source:
    University of Technology Sydney

Professional Memberships

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
  • Associate Member, Institute of Architects, Bangladesh (IAB), Bangladesh

Contact Kumar for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision