Dingkun Hu
Dingkun Hu is a Ph.D. student and aerial diagnostics researcher in the High Performance Building Lab (HPBL) at Georgia Tech, advised by Professor Tarek Rakha. He leverages Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to advance analytical applications in the built environment. His current research focuses on Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) and urban digital twin technologies, informing electrification design decisions to eliminate energy cost burdens, enhance regional energy resilience, and guide innovations addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on urban communities.
Dingkun's broader research interests extend to urban simulation, extended reality (VR/AR/MR), adaptive reuse, heritage preservation, and smart cities. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he was a researcher at Cornell University’s Just Places Lab, focusing on sustainable deconstruction practices and urban simulation using 3D modeling and gaming engines. Dingkun holds a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University (2024) and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2022).