Alpha Yacob Arsano, a PhD candidate in architecture and building technology, is an Ethiopian architect focused on maximizing passive building strategies in different climatic conditions. She studies the potential of natural ventilation in buildings, thermal comfort of occupants, and the effect of climate change in regions around the globe. Previously an academic fellow at Transsolar Energietechnik, a climate engineering consultancy in Stuttgart, Germany, Arsano also interned at the architectural firm Allmann Sattler Wappner in Munich. She developed a digital design tool, ClimaPlus, to promote building design that uses less air-conditioning and consumes less energy in pursuit of a more sustainable and healthier environment. The tool can be used by builders and architects in the early stages of design. Arsano earned a BS in architecture from the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development, and she earned an SM from the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.

2017 SMARCHS Thesis: CLIMA +: An Early Design Natural Ventilation Prediction Method