Diana E Hun
Group Leader for Building Envelope Materials Research and Subprogram Manager for Building Envelopes
Bio
Diana Hun's research includes integrating the latest developments in materials and manufacturing techniques into building envelopes. For instance, she leads several interdisciplinary teams that are developing autonomous self-healing sealants; pre-installed sealants for prefab construction; overclad panels for building envelope retrofits; low-carbon, recyclable, biobased foam insulation; and lighter and thinner precast insulated panels. She is also a member of teams that are investigating active envelope systems, non-intrusive building envelope diagnostic tools, and low-carbon concrete mixes. Under Hun's leadership, ORNL has expanded its capabilities to include the Advanced Construction Lab and the Sustainable Materials Lab.
Before joining ORNL, Hun was a Senior Associate at Walter P. Moore, which is an international consulting firm that specializes on the design of complex structures. Hun received a PhD in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin with a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Awards
2023 Distinguished Researcher Award, ORNL - Buildings and Transportation Science Division
2023 R&D 100 Award Finalist; On-Demand, Pressure-Triggered Sealant for Prefab Building Construction
2023 R&D 100 Award Finalist; A novel approach for salt hydrate PCM encapsulation
2023 Finalist for Advancing Prefabrication Team of the Year Award
2022 Finalist at CAMXACED22 Awards for Composites Excellence
2022 Air Barrier Association of America Industry Partner Award
2021 R&D 100 Award; Autonomous Self-Healing Sealant
2020 Federal Energy and Water Management Award; Empower Wall
2020 ORNL Innovation Award
2020 ORNL Significant Event Award; Empower Wall
2008 – 2009 Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA) Scholarship
2006 – 2009 National Science Foundation (NSF) IGERT Fellowship
Trademarks and Patents
Shrestha S, Feng T, Hun DE. Fast Solid-State Thermal Switch with Large ON/OFF Ratio. Invention Disclosure 202004771.
Shrestha S, Saito S, Demchuk Z, Park B, Hun DE et al. Facers to increase initial thermal resistivity and reduce aging of foam insulations. Invention Disclosure 202305444.
Boudreaux P, Partridge W, Jatana G, Zhang R, Iffa E, Hun DE, et al. Building Air Leak Detector Using Reference-Free Background Oriented Schlieren Photography. US Non-provisional patent application 18/377,580.
Boudreaux P, Partridge W, Jatana G, Hun DE, et al. Projected Patterns for Enhancing Background Oriented Schlieren Photography. US Non-provisional patent application 18/377,608.
Maldonado B, Hayes N, Hun DE. Automatic segmentation of point cloud data for building envelopes using machine learning. US Provisional patent application 63/531406.
Hayes N, Maldonado B, Hun DE. Flat and Level Analysis Tool (FLAT). Invention Disclosure 202305305.
Rendall J, Shrestha S, Shen Z, Hun DE, et al. Thermal energy storage fin and tube heat exchanger for low conductivity PCMs. Invention Disclosure 202305369.
Salonvaara M, Wang P, Vaughan J, Atkins C, Maldonado B, Hun DE, et al. Robotically and Autonomously Installed Wall Interior Spray Foam. Invention Disclosure 202205217.
Demchuk Z, Saito T, Park B, Shrestha S, Hun DE et al. Low-carbon, Recyclable, Biobased Foam Insulation. US Provisional patent application 63/461,646.
Rendall J, Shrestha S, Shen Z, Hun DE, et al. Modification of a heat flux meter apparatus to determine the thermal contact resistance of PCM materials that undergo large density change as a method to create models to determine the state of charge of PCM in the field. Invention Disclosure 202205102.
Boudreaux PR, Killough S, Hun DE. Non-intrusive microwave reflection-based moisture detector for durable building envelope retrofits. Invention Disclosure 202004758.
Hun DE, Boudreaux PR, Killough S, Post BK, Wang P, Vaughan J. Real-Time Evaluator to Optimize Prefab Retrofit Panel Installation. US Provisional patent application 63/425823.
Feng T, Shrestha S, Howard D, Hun DE. Calculation Tool for Porous Thermal Insulation Materials. Invention Disclosure 202104780.
Hun DE, Cao P, Saito T. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Preinstalled Sealant for Prefab Components. Invention Disclosure 201904420.
Aytug T, Li K, Lamm M, Hun DE, Biswas K. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Coated and Evacuated Insulation Spheres. US Provisional patent application 63/056,252.
Hun DE, Vaidya U., Sheriff S, Hiremath N, Hayes N, Ma Z. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Non-corroding stripping lifting inserts. US Patent 11,661,741 B2.
Hun DE, Vaidya U., Sheriff S, Talley D. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Non-corroding erection lifting inserts. US Non-provisional patent application 17/187,209.
Hun DE, Cao P, Saito T, Li B, Ghezawi N, Zhang Z. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Primer-less self-healing sealant. US Non-provisional patent application 17/117,827.
Shrestha S, Hun DE, Atchley A, Biswas K. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Thermally Anisotropic Composites for Thermal Management in Building Envelopes. US Non-provisional patent application 16/849,070.
Hun DE, Mattus C, Owino J, Onyango M. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. High Performance Concrete Mix for 1.5”-Thick Wythes. US Patent 10,836,678.
Hun DE, Smith BA, Lewis LA. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Fluorescent Air Leakage Detection System for Building Enclosures. US Patent 10,571,356 B2.