Dr. Jan Kośny leads Fraunhofer CSE’s Building Enclosures & Materials group. Jan is a civil engineer with 35 years of experience in building science. He specializes in analyzing the energy performance of buildings and development of novel building envelope materials and systems, thermal insulation and radiation control technologies, thermal storage, and building integrated solar technologies.
Prior to joining Fraunhofer in 2010, Jan spent 12 years teaching building science as a professor of the Rzeszow Technical University, Poland, and 18 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has published over 150 technical articles, 200 reports, and numerous patents related to advanced building concepts. During his work for Fraunhofer CSE, Jan has led several research projects focused on development of low-flammable plastic foams, nanoporous insulations, and PCM-enhanced building products.
Jan received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He is a member of ASHRAE TC 4.4 on Building Materials and Building Envelope Performance, TC 2.8 on Building Environmental Impacts and Sustainability, and TC 4.7 on Energy Calculations. He has represented the United States at many international organizations and standards bodies including Annex 24/42 (Compact Thermal Storage, Solar Heating and Cooling) and Annex 23 (Applying Energy Storage in Buildings of the Future) of the International Energy Agency. In 2018, Jan was appointed by the Fulbright Foundation World Learning Program as a Fulbright specialist.
