Marianne Touchie

Background

Marianne Touchie joined the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor in July 2016 and received tenure in 2022. She is jointly appointed in the Departments of Civil & Mineral Engineering and Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto and Director of the Building Energy and Indoor Environment Lab. She completed her BASc (2009) and PhD (2014) in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. Upon completion of her PhD, she became the Building Research Manager at the Toronto Atmospheric Fund and was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Touchie’s research focuses on reducing the environmental impact of buildings while improving the occupant experience. She has developed novel building performance assessment methods and integrated retrofit approaches that consider both energy efficiency and the quality of the indoor environment. Dr. Touchie is one of Canada’s leading authorities on multi-unit residential building performance, particularly in the social housing sector. Her interdisciplinary research program explores the interactions between occupant behaviour, the building enclosure and mechanical systems and how these three factors can be engineered to improve energy performance, indoor environmental quality and occupant comfort, health and wellbeing.

Dr. Touchie is one of Canada’s inaugural Clean 50 and has received numerous awards for teaching and research including the ASHRAE New Investigator Award, UofT’s Connaught New Researcher Award and the McCharles Prize for early career research distinction. She is also the co-founder and former President of the Building Science Specialist Board (BSSB) of Canada. She currently serves as a BSSB board member and as a voting member on ASHRAE Technical Committee 4.3 on Ventilation and Infiltration. She teaches courses in Building Science, HVAC Fundamentals and Building Performance Assessment.

My Research Website

https://hab.civmin.utoronto.ca/people/dr-marianne-touchie/

Education and Designations

PhD Civil Engineering (2014) University of Toronto
BASc Civil Engineering (2009) University of Toronto

 

Research Interests

Building science

Building energy use

Indoor environmental quality

Thermal comfort

Energy modelling

Building environmental monitoring

Building retrofits

Occupant behavior

Heat pump technology

Low-energy buildings

Publications

Teaching

Course CodeTitle & DescriptionSessionDay(s)Start TimeEndSection
CIV375HFall Scheduled by the Office of the Faculty Registrar.
CIV575H
Studies In Building ScienceFall 2022Scheduled by the Office of the Faculty Registrar.
MIE507HScheduled by the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

News Mentions

Two new faculty members join Civil and, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Collaboration is the key to success and the driving factor behind the hiring of two new professors that are cross-appointed with the Departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Civil Engineering. Professors Marianne Touchie (CivE, MIE) and Fae Azhari (MIE, CivE) joined the Faculty at the beginning of July. Professor Touchie completed a BASc and PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on improving the energy performance and indoor environmental quality of existing buildings to make them more comfortable, healthy and sustainable through comprehensive retrofits. Professor Azhari holds degrees in Civil Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology and University of British Columbia, Industrial Engineering from UC Berkeley, and Structural Engineering and Mechanics from UC Davis. She specializes in structural health monitoring (SHM) of engineering systems. U of T Engineering spoke with the new professors to find out more about their research and what they’re looking forward to at U of T: Fae Azhari Could you explain the focus of your research? My work focuses on SHM of engineering systems. Similar to the way a doctor would point out when an organ is malfunctioning in a patient’s body during regular check-ups, SHM is able to diagnose and locate any anomalies in an engineering system. Since this diagnosis happens at a very early stage, the remedial procedure will usually be timely and cost effective. My goal is to address some of the gaps in the succession of tasks from sensor development to implementation and decision making. Why did you choose U of T? Long before pursuing academia, I visited Toronto and the campus here. The historical feel and the intellectual vibe stayed in my mind. I’m so happy to be working here now. My research field is multidisciplinary, and having access to the many great resources, facilities, colleagues and mentors at U of T will be extremely valuable in advancing my research and career. What are you most looking forward to in your new position? I like the sense of collegiality at U of T and look forward to effective collaborations with other researchers. As a new professor, what one piece of advice would you give to new students? At university you are often your own teacher so expect to be treated that way. Try to be proactive and do not be afraid to ask questions. What do you hope to accomplish in your new position/during your time at U of T Engineering? I hope to one day truly ‘profess’ my subject.; to understand the old and new bodies of knowledge in such a way that I can properly judge their significance and place in the grand scheme of things. Marianne Touchie Could you explain the focus of your research? My research focuses on the question of how do we improve the quality of our indoor environment as we strive for greater energy efficiency? Making buildings more comfortable and healthy often come at an energy cost. Why did you choose U of T? U of T is my alma mater so I am well aware of the significance and impact of the research done here and I am looking forward to collaborating with so many talented colleagues and students in both the lab and the classroom. What are you most looking forward to in your new position? With a cross appointment between Civil Engineering and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, I’m excited to bring together students from across disciplines. As a new professor, what one piece of advice would you give to new students? Allow yourself to wrestle with a problem before asking for help. It is effortless to use Google or message someone to find an answer. But this process doesn’t improve your own ability to problem solve, think critically or take your own position on an issue. During your time at U of T you will gain plenty of technical knowledge but transferable skills like problem solving will be of the most valuable after graduation. What do you hope to accomplish in your new position/during your time at U of T Engineering? Within Civil Engineering, I would like to continue growing the Canadian Centre for Building Excellence (CCBE) with Professors Kim Pressnail and Jeffrey Siegel into a world-renowned research centre for healthy, energy efficient buildings. I would also like to create stronger links through multidisciplinary design courses which will give students an opportunity to tackle today’s important problems with colleagues from a variety of technical backgrounds.

Two new faculty are cross appointed with CivE and MIE

Collaboration is the key to success and the driving factor behind the hiring of two new professors that are cross-appointed with the Departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Civil Engineering. Professors Marianne Touchie (CivE, MIE) and Fae Azhari (MIE, CivE) joined the Faculty at the beginning of July. Professor Touchie completed a BASc and […]

Contact

Marianne Touchie
Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering
University of Toronto
35 St. George St.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M5S 1A4

 

Office: GB314B

Tel: 416-978-5919
Fax: 416-978-6813

marianne.touchie@utoronto.ca

beie.mie.utoronto.ca