Dr Zaid Alwan, a Senior Lecturer  who has the academic and commercial expertise   in Low Carbon Design Sustainable construction. He is a ember of academic staff in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, UK.  

Prior to his academic career, Dr Alwan worked in the commercial sector as a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Low Carbon Assessor for both domestic and commercial buildings, working within multidisciplinary teams to optimise and deliver low carbon buildings. This cemented his belief that the vital issue of embodied energy was not fully recognised in low carbon building design and the future proofing of buildings. In 2016, based upon six journal papers and five conference papers as primary author, he completed a part-time doctorate by publication entitled ‘Building Performance Evaluation and BIM’.  In doing so, he relied upon detailed knowledge in whole energy systems and integration into BIM platforms, and developed a keen interest in steering a subject of worldwide importance from a largely professional domain towards greater recognition as an area meriting academic exploration.

Dr Alwan is currently supervising two doctoral students – one as main supervisor - and has acted as an external PhD examiner at different . He is an active member of BIM Academy, an industry-academia collaboration which enables technology development in the construction sector. His role in the Academy has been as a specialist in low energy developments, BIM and Building Performance, and he has been involved in organising workshops and mentoring for various industry partners, and taking Part in CPD development for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. He is also an active member of the BIM Academic Forum, (http://www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-academic-forum-uk/) a UK-wide university network that aims to  bring BIM approaches to higher education curricula.

Dr Alwan has rapidly developed a strong academic expert profile, and has acted as an academic reviewer for various high impact journals and conferences, covering academic papers, reviews and invited speeches, and chairing sessions at international conferences. More recently, he has been invited to join the scientific committee of the International SEEDS (Sustainable, Ecological, Engineering and Design for Society) conference, hosted by Leeds Beckett University.