Debrudra Mitra

Contact Information

Engineering Bldg.
428 S Shaw Ln
Room: 3563
East Lansing , MI 48824

(517) 355-5107

mitradeb@msu.edu

Postdoctoral Scholar

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Biography

Dr. Debrudra Mitra is a Postdoctoral Scholar and Lead Field Manager for the Industrial Training and Assessment Center Expansion Program. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (2014) and Master of Engineering in Energy Science and Technology (2016) from Jadavpur University in India. His master's thesis focused on evaluating various types of sustainable building envelope systems. He subsequently completed a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University in 2019.

Dr. Mitra's research interests center on sustainable building energy systems, with a particular focus on occupant behavior, occupant-centered control strategies, and their impact on building energy performance. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University in 2022. Following the completion of his doctoral studies, he worked for several years at TRC before joining Michigan State University in his current role.
 

Education

  • Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering; Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
  • Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering; Iowa State University, Ames, IA
  • Master of Technology in Energy Science and Technology; Jadavpur University, India
  • Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering; Jadavpur University, India

Selected Publications

  1. Mitra, D., and Cetin, K. (2026). Working from home: Post-pandemic trends, influential factors, and impacts on occupancy patterns in residential buildings. Energy and Buildings (Accepted)
  2. Dong, H., Srivastava, A., Cetin, K. and Mitra, D., (2024). Socioeconomic factors influencing residential occupancy trends during and post COVID pandemic. Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 30(9), pp.1070-1084. DOI: 10.1080/23744731.2024.
  3. Chu, Y., Guillante, P., Mitra, D., Mahmud, R. and Cetin, K., (2023). Typical academic building energy model development and energy saving evaluation using occupant-based control. Journal of Building Engineering, 79, p.107818. DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2023.1
  4. Kula, B., Mitra, D., Chu, Y., Cetin, K., Gallagher, R. and Banerji, S., (2023). Laboratory testing methods to evaluate the reliability of occupancy sensors for commercial building applications. Building and Environment, 240, p.110457. DOI: 10.1016/j.bu
  5. Mitra, D., Chu, Y. and Cetin, K., (2022). COVID-19 impacts on residential occupancy schedules and activities in US Homes in 2020 using ATUS. Applied Energy, 324, p.119765. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119765
  6. Chu, Y., Mitra, D., Cetin, K., Lajnef, N., Altay, F. and Velipasalar, S., (2022). Development and testing of a performance evaluation methodology to assess the reliability of occupancy sensor systems in residential buildings. Energy and Buildings, 268,
  7. Chu, Y., Mitra, D., O’neill, Z. and Cetin, K., (2022). Influential variables impacting the reliability of building occupancy sensor systems: A systematic review and expert survey. Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 28(2), pp.200-220. DOI
  8. Mitra, D., Chu, Y., Cetin, K., Wang, Y. and Chen, C.F., (2021). Variation in residential occupancy profiles in the United States by household income level and characteristics. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 14(6), pp.692-711. DOI: 10.1080/
  9. Cetin, B., Cetin, K., Edil, T.B. and Mitra, D., (2021). Environmental Impacts on the Performance of Pavement Foundation Layers (No. NRRA202108). Minnesota. Department of Transportation.
  10. Mitra, D., Chu, Y. and Cetin, K., (2021). Cluster analysis of occupancy schedules in residential buildings in the United States. Energy and Buildings, 236, p.110791. DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.110791
  11. Cetin, B., Cetin, K., Edil, T.B. and Mitra, D., (2021). Environmental Impacts on the Performance of Pavement Foundation Layers (No. NRRA202108). Minnesota. Department of Transportation.
  12. Pradhan, D., Mitra, D. and Neogi, S., (2016). Thermal performance of a heat pipe embedded evacuated tube collector in a compound parabolic concentrator. Energy Procedia, 90, pp.217-226. DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.188
  13. Basak, C.K., Mitra, D., Ghosh, A., Sarkar, G. and Neogi, S., (2016). Performance evaluation of a guarded hot box test facility using fuzzy logic controller for different building material samples. Energy Procedia, 90, pp.185-190. DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro
  14. Bose, A., Jana, K., Mitra, D. and De, S., (2015). Co-production of power and urea from coal with CO 2 capture: performance assessment. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 17, pp.1271-1280. DOI: 10.1007/s10098-015-0960-7