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William M. Healy (Fed)

Division Chief

Dr. William M. Healy is the Chief of the Building Energy and Environment Division of the Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Dr. Healy originally joined the Division as a mechanical engineer within the Heat Transfer and Alternative Energy Systems Group and served as Group Leader from 2007 to 2022. In addition to leading the group, he managed the Net-Zero Energy, High-Performance Buildings Program from 2012 to 2020. His research interests involve evaluation of the performance of net-zero energy homes, the development of improved test methods and metrics for assessing the performance of water systems, and the use of advanced sensing and data analytics for determining energy performance. Dr. Healy has also investigated improved sensing methods for determining the moisture content within building envelopes. As a result of this effort, he and his collaborators were awarded a patent on the use of ultra-wideband radar to map the moisture state of a wall. Additional efforts have included support of insulation testing through finite element modeling and participation in efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to develop the infrastructure to allow for data from sensors to be propagated to applications that require knowledge of hazard levels.

From March 2020 until March 2021, Dr. Healy served a detail in the NIST Program Coordination Office in the Office of the Director of NIST.  In this role, he assisted the Office in meeting its mission of planning NIST-level strategies, budget initiatives, and programs; assessing and evaluating programs and investments for NIST and the Department of Commerce; and coordinating policy activities including internal NIST efforts, engagement with the Department of Commerce, and interagency opportunities.  

Dr. Healy is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He currently serves as Chair of ASHRAE's Residential Buildings Committee. He is a past chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 6.6: Service Water Heating Systems and served as a voting member on Standard Project Committee 118.2 (Method of Test for Rating Residential Water Heaters).  He has served as a voting member on ASHRAE TC 7.5: Smart Building Systems, ASHRAE TC 4.4: Building Materials and Building Envelope Performance, and SPC 146: Method of Testing and Rating Pool Heaters. He also served on a Working Group for ASHRAE's Task Force for Building Decarbonization. Additionally, Dr. Healy is an instructor in the Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals program, where he has taught courses entitled Energy and the Environment, Thermal Systems Design and Analysis, Applied Heat Transfer, and Scientific Computing.

 

Awards

ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award (2019)

Jacob Rabinow Applied Research Award (2016)

Department of Commerce Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award (2013)

ASHRAE Technical Paper Award (2012)

Department of Commerce Silver Medal (2009)

 

Publications

November 2022 NIST Premise Plumbing Research Workshop: Summary and Findings

Author(s)
Andrew K. Persily, Marylia Duarte Batista, William M. Healy, Mark A. Kedzierski, Lingnan Lin, Natascha S. Milesi-Ferretti, Tania Ullah, David A. Yashar, Stephen Zimmerman
Premise plumbing systems need to meet a range of performance goals including occupant health and comfort, energy and water efficiency, and reduced environmental

How Residential Water Heating is Changing

Author(s)
William M. Healy, Carl Hiller, James Lutz
Water heating system energy use is typically the second largest in U.S. residences behind space conditioning (space heating and cooling). Recent advances are

National Institute of Standards and Technology Environmental Scan 2020

Author(s)
Heather Evans, Kristen K. Greene, William M. Healy, Elizabeth Hoffman, Kate Rimmer, Anna V. Sberegaeva, Neil M. Zimmerman
The 2020 National Institute of Standards and Technology Environmental Scan provides an analysis of key external factors that could impact NIST and the
Created October 9, 2019, Updated December 15, 2023