Tropical Research on Airflow, Climate and Exposure (TRACE) Lab · NUS Department of the Built Environment
Tracing air, heat and contaminants across scales.
Towards a healthier, low-carbon and resilient built environment in the tropics.
What we study
We study how air connects people, rooms, buildings and their surroundings. By tracing heat and airborne contaminants across these scales, we connect fluid mechanics with human exposure, and turn measurements and models into better ventilation, cooling and pollution-control decisions.
Research Themes
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Multiscale Airflow & Transport
How unsteady airflow carries heat and contaminants between connected spaces.
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Air Quality & Human Exposure
How sources, movement and time shape airborne and thermal exposure.
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Low-Energy Cooling & Climate Resilience
Cooling, ventilation and filtration for comfort, clean air and lower energy demand in the tropics.
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Sensing, Prediction & Adaptive Operation
Reliable sensing and physics-assisted models for ventilation, cooling and air-cleaning decisions.
People
Jiayu Li, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator · Assistant Professor
Department of the Built Environment, NUS
Jiayu’s research connects experimental and computational fluid dynamics with air quality, human exposure and low-energy cooling, from aircraft cabins to tropical buildings, kitchens and semi-outdoor community spaces.
Selected publications
Including work conducted before TRACE Lab was established at NUS.
- 2026 Ten questions concerning low-cost indoor air quality sensors: perspectives from research and practice. Parkinson et al. · Building and Environment
- 2024 Air pollutant exposure concentrations from cooking a meal with a gas or induction cooktop and the effectiveness of two recirculating range hoods with filters. Li et al. · Indoor Environments
- 2024 Comparison of the environmental, energy, and thermal comfort performance of air and radiant cooling systems in a zero-energy office building in Singapore. Li et al. · Energy and Buildings
- 2024 A case-control study of behavioural and built environment determinants of COVID-19 transmission in open-air markets and food centres in Singapore. Li et al. · Building and Environment
- 2022 Diurnal trends of indoor and outdoor fluorescent biological aerosol particles in a tropical urban area. Li et al. · Science of the Total Environment
- 2017 PIV experimental study of the large-scale dynamic airflow structures in an aircraft cabin: Swing and oscillation. Li et al. · Building and Environment
Join us
We welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and visitors.
Backgrounds in fluid mechanics, building science, aerosol and exposure science, thermal environments, sensing or computation are all welcome.
Email jy.li@nus.edu.sg with your CV, a short note on your research interests and your intended start date.
Projects and appointments depend on research fit and available funding. PhD admission and scholarships follow NUS processes; see the CDE application guidance .