Diba Malekpour Koupaei, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR). She earned a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University in 2022 with a focus on energy efficiency assessments in the residential housing stock. Diba also holds master’s degrees in Civil Engineering (2020) and Sustainable Environments (2018), both from Iowa State University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering (2015) from the Art University of Isfahan.

Diba’s research interests are in energy-efficient buildings, integrated control systems for optimal building operations, and smart-built environments and grids. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, Diba worked as a research analyst at the environmental non-profit Slipstream where her efforts were focused on quantifying energy systems’ performance, life cycle cost economics, and emissions reduction potential. Her work at CSBR is primarily focused on the development and administration of Minnesota’s Sustainable Building B3 Guidelines.