Dr. Bilec is responsible for providing research leadership and strategic MCSI direction, which includes developing new programs and promoting and facilitating leading-edge collaborative research. Dr. Bilec helps to build and provide support for a community of innovative researchers to enhance research capacity at the University and increase internal and external research opportunities for faculty and students. She works to develop networks between the Center and partners, acting as the nexus between the University and the community developing strong linkages with appropriate departments and programs. With the MCSI team, Dr. Bilec is focusing on developing and implementing a new design for circular economy program.
Dr. Bilec is an associate professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; she is the Deputy Director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. Dr. Bilec’s research program focuses on the built environment, life cycle assessment, sustainable healthcare, and indoor air impacts. She is interested in improving system-level environmental performance of buildings, while developing a deeper understanding of indoor environmental quality, occupant impacts, and energy use. She is the Principal Investigator of a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research project, NSF EFRI-Barriers, Understanding, Integration – Life cycle Development (BUILD). Dr. Bilec has over 40 journal publications and has secured over $6 million in funding, including 8 National Science Foundation grants. She has received four education excellence awards. Dr. Bilec’s work prior to academia included tenure at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh where she worked on green infrastructure projects, including the conversion of a 100-year bridge into a pedestrian bridge. Dr. Bilec serves on the Green Building Alliance board.
