Kate Simonen
Kate Simonen
FAIA, SE, FIstructE (Hon)
Kathrina (Kate) Simonen is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington, founder and board chair of the nonprofit Carbon Leadership Forum and leader of the Life Cycle Lab. Licensed as an architect and structural engineer, she connects significant professional experience in high performance building design and technical expertise in environmental life cycle assessment working to accelerate the transformation of the building sector to radically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to materials (also known as embodied carbon) used in buildings and infrastructure.
She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an honorary fellow of the UK’s Institution of Structural Engineers and was named Engineering News Record Top 25 Newsmaker in 2020 for her impact rallying industry to reduce embodied carbon. Taking an entrepreneurial approach to academic work she helped launch two successful nonprofits, CLF and Building Transparency; spurred the formation of two embodied carbon commitment programs, SE2050 and MEP 2040; and develops and sustains networks of individuals and organizations working together to harmonize and optimize embodied carbon actions.
UW’s Life Cycle Lab is focused on supporting the next generation of researchers and pursuing critical research to advance life cycle assessment (LCA) data, methods and approaches. The research that we pursue aims to fill challenging knowledge gaps in order to inform impactful policies that support the integration of life cycle thinking, LCA findings and decarbonization strategies to implement into practice today.
Publications
2024
Ashtiani, M, Lewis, M., Waldman, B., Simonen, K. (2024) Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Roadway Infrastructure. Carbon Leadership Forum. View Publication
Ashtiani, M., Palmeri, J., and Simonen, K. (2024). End of Life Modeling and Data in North American Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Tools. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. View Publication
Ashtiani, M. Z., Huang, M., Lewis, M. C., Palmeri, J., & Simonen, K. (2024). Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory from Roadway Construction: Case Study for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Transportation Research Record, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241233278 View Publication
Kalsman, M., Lambert, M., Lewis, M., & Simonen, K. (2024). Northeast U.S. & Canada Embodied Carbon Policy Case Studies. Carbon Leadership Forum. https://doi.org/10.6069/Q8K9-ED23 View Publication
2023
Waldman, B., Hyatt, A., Carlisle, S., Palmeri, J., and Simonen, K. (2023). 2023 Carbon Leadership Forum North American Material Baselines (version 2). Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. August 2023. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/49965 View Publication
Lewis, M., Waldman, B., Carlisle, S., Benke, B., and Simonen, K. (2023). Advancing the LCA Ecosystem: A Policy-Focused Roadmap for Reducing Embodied Carbon. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. View Publication
Kalsman, M., Lewis, M., Simonen, K. (2023). Pacific Coast Collaborative: Embodied Carbon Policy Case Studies. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. https://hdl.handle.net/1773/49771. View Publication
2022
Huang, M., Lewis, M., Escarcega, P., Escarcega, E., Torres, M., Waterstrat, H., Kinder-Pyle, I., Simonen, K. (2022). Buy Clean Buy Fair Washington Project: Final Report. Carbon Leadership Forum and Washington State Department of Commerce. View Publication
Carlisle, S., Waldman, B., DeRousseau, M., Miller, L., Ciavola, B., Lewis, M., and Simonen, K. (2022). Buy Clean California Limits: A Proposed Methodology for Setting Industry-Average GWP Limits for Steel, Mineral Wool, and Flat Glass. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. https://hdl.handle.net/1773/48600. View Publication
Benke, B., Lewis, M., Carlisle, S., Huang, M., and Simonen, K. (2022). Developing an Embodied Carbon Policy Reduction Calculator. Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. https://hdl.handle.net/1773/48566 View Publication
2021
Carlisle, S., Waldman, B., Lewis, M., and Simonen, K. (2021). 2021 Carbon Leadership Forum Material Baseline Report, (version 2). Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington. Seattle, WA. July 2021. University of Washington ResearchWorks Archive. View Publication
Lewis, M., Huang, M., Carlisle, S. Simonen, K. (2021), AIA-CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects, Carbon Leadership Forum and AIA National. View Publication
Lewis, M., Huang, M., Simonen, K. (2021), “Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Building Owners”. Carbon Leadership Forum. View Publication
Kriegh, J., Magwood, C., Srubar, W., Lewis, M., Simonen, K. (2021). Transformative Carbon-Storing Materials: Accelerating an Ecosystem Report. https://hdl.handle.net/1773/48126 View Publication
2020
Huang, M.; Simonen, K. (2020). Comparative Environmental Analysis Of Seismic Damage In Buildings. Journal Of Structural Engineering, 146(2). View Publication
Adhikari, Pramodit; Mahmoud, Hussam; Xie, Aiwen; Simonen, Kathrina; Ellingwood, Bruce. (2020). Life-cycle Cost And Carbon Footprint Analysis For Light-framed Residential Buildings Subjected To Tornado Hazard. Journal Of Building Engineering, 32. View Publication
Rodriguez, Barbara X.; Huang, Monica; Lee, Hyun Woo; Simonen, Kathrina; Ditto, Jim. (2020). Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing And Tenant Improvements Over The Building Lifetime: Estimating Material Quantities And Embodied Carbon For Climate Change Mitigation. Energy And Buildings, 226. View Publication
Ianchenko, Alex; Simonen, Kathrina; Barnes, Clayton. (2020). Residential Building Lifespan And Community Turnover. Journal Of Architectural Engineering, 26(3). View Publication
2019
Rodriguez, Barbara X.; Simonen, Kathrina; Huang, Monica; De Wolf, Catherine. (2019). A Taxonomy For Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (wblca). Smart And Sustainable Built Environment, 8(3), 190 - 205. View Publication
Pierobon, Francesca; Huang, Monica; Simonen, Kathrina; Ganguly, Indroneil. (2019). Environmental Benefits Of Using Hybrid Clt Structure In Midrise Non-residential Construction: An Lca Based Comparative Case Study In The U.s. Pacific Northwest. Journal Of Building Engineering, 26. View Publication
2018
Simonen, K.; Huang, M.; Aicher, C.; Morris, P. (2018). Embodied Carbon As A Proxy For The Environmental Impact Of Earthquake Damage Repair. Energy And Buildings, 164, 131 - 139. View Publication
