Bio

I completed my PhD degree at EPFL, Switzerland focused on the influence of eye physiology and color of daylight on human visual comfort under daylight office spaces. I have a background in Architecture and a Master's in Building Science and Information Technology from India, complemented by a research fellowship at the Lawerence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL). I am currently pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Billington lab (Building for Wellbeing lab) in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at Stanford University. Here, I am working on evaluating the wellbeing of low-income renters living in affordable housing as a result of sustainability retrofits. On another project, I am working on broader aspects of occupant wellbeing in indoor spaces brought by biophilic design interventions.

Honors & Awards

  • Building Energy Efficiency Higher & Advanced Network (BHAVAN) Fellowships, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) (2018)
  • Best paper Award, Asia's Building Performance Simulation Association (2018)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Technical Committee member, International Commission on Illumination (CIE) (2020 - Present)
  • Technical Committee member, International Energy Agency (2022 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Ph.D., EPFL, Switzerland, Civil & Environmental Engineering (2023)
  • M.S., IIIT-Hyderabad, India, Building Science (2018)
  • B.Arch., NIT-Bhopal, India, Architecture (2015)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    snhjain@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

Links

Research Interests

  • Research Methods
  • Technology and Education

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

The overarching goal of my research is to understand the impact of the built environment on human well-being and integrate the complexity and dynamism of human-environment interaction into effective design strategies that promote i) health and well-being, ii) equitability, and iii) sustainability.
Currently, I am working on evaluating the impact of sustainble retrofit solutions on the wellbeing of low-income renters living in affordable housing. I have strong interest to work on quantifying the impact of exposure to daylight on human comfort, sleep patterns, alterness and stress relief.

All Publications

  • Perceived glare from the sun behind tinted glazing: Comparing blue vs. color-neutral tints BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT Jain, S., Wienold, J., Lagier, M., Schueler, A., Andersen, M. 2023; 234

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110146

    View details for Web of Science ID 000965877800001

  • Influence of macular pigment on the sensitivity to discomfort glare from daylight. Scientific reports Jain, S., Wienold, J., Eandi, C., Gisselbaek, S., Kawasaki, A., Andersen, M. 2023; 13 (1): 18551

    Abstract

    Understanding the factors that influence the human perception of glare is necessary to properly address glare risks in buildings and achieve comfortable visual environments, especially in the workplace. Yet large inter-individual variabilities in glare perception remain unexplained and thus uncovered by the current empirical glare models. We hypothesize that this variability has an origin in the human retina, in particular in the density of macular pigments present in its central area, which varies between individuals. Macular pigments are known to absorb blue light and attenuate chromatic aberration, thus reducing light scatter. This study presents the outcomes of the first experiment ever conducted in a daylit office environment, in which glare sensitivity and macular pigment density were measured and compared for 110 young healthy individuals, along with other ocular parameters. The participants were exposed to different glare conditions induced by the sun filtered through either color-neutral or blue-colored glazing. In neutral daylight conditions with sun disc in the near periphery, neither macular pigment nor any other investigated ocular factors have an impact on discomfort glare perception whereas glare perception in conditions with the blue-colored sun disc in the near periphery was found to be correlated with macular pigment optical density.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41598-023-45785-x

    View details for PubMedID 37899478

  • Behind electrochromic glazing: Assessing user's perception of glare from the sun in a controlled environment ENERGY AND BUILDINGS Jain, S., Karmann, C., Wienold, J. 2022; 256

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111738

    View details for Web of Science ID 000769393100010

  • A review of open loop control strategies for shades, blinds and integrated lighting by use of real-time daylight prediction methods BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT Jain, S., Garg, V. 2018; 135: 352-364

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.03.018

    View details for Web of Science ID 000430784300031

  • Comparison of questionnaire items for discomfort glare studies in daylit spaces LIGHTING RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY Quek, G., Jain, S., Karmann, C., Pierson, C., Wienold, J., Andersen, M. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.1177/14771535231203564

    View details for Web of Science ID 001085605000001

  • Transmittance thresholds of electrochromic glazing to achieve annual low-glare work environments Nordic Building Simulation 2022 Wienold, J., Jain, S., Andersen, M. 2022: 8

    View details for DOI 10.1051/e3sconf/202236208001

  • Subjective assessment of visual comfort in a daylit workplace with an electrochromic glazed facade Jain, S., Karmann, C., Wienold, J., Scartezzini, J. L., Smith, B. IOP PUBLISHING LTD. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012179

    View details for Web of Science ID 000724676100179

  • Circadian lighting in a space daylit by a tubular daylight device Jain, S., Fernandes, L., Regnier, C., Garg, V., IOP IOP PUBLISHING LTD. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1088/1755-1315/238/1/012030

    View details for Web of Science ID 000471615700030

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7981-2754