John Straube, PEng

John Straube is an Associate Professor joint-appointed to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. He researches and teaches building science, building materials, and engineering design with a focus on high-performance low-energy sustainable buildings. A registered professional engineer he is also a Principal at RDH Building Science Inc., where he leads forensic investigations, hygrothermal measurement and analysis research projects, and design projects in the areas of low energy building design, highly durable building enclosures, new building materials and systems, and extreme climate buildings
Professor Straube authored “High Performance Enclosures” and co-authored “Building Science for Building Enclosures” with Eric Burnett. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education from the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers (NCHRC).
Professor Straube is a member of the CSA A371 Masonry Construction Standards Committee, the CAN/ULC S741-08 Standard for Air Barrier Materials, the American Society of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Canada among others.

• engineering design
• building physics
• building science
• building performance
• building envelop
• building enclosure
• moisture
• durability
• construction
• sustainable building
• energy efficiency
• material
• Indoor Air Quality
• Heat air and moisture transport

Dr Straube's research focuses on durable, energy efficient, healthy buildings and building enclosures through the use full-scale field measurements, computer modeling, and laboratory testing. He is involved in the CSA A371 Masonry Construction standards committee, and has been involved in the development of the LEED standard.

Dr Straube has been involved in the forensic analysis of moisture- and energy-related building failures as well as aiding the design of high performance (energy, durability, health) buildings. He rountinely works as part of design teams on a wide-range of building types in climate zones from the Northern Arctic, to the Gulf of Mexico, New Zealnd to Europe. He has also worked with product manufacturers to develop new building products, and government agencies such as DOE, EPA, CMHC, NRCan, etc to create new knowledge and assist technology transfer. Significant ndustrial partners have include Johns Manville Dupont Weatherization Rockwool Dow US Greenfiber, builders such as Monarch Homes and David Weekley, and owner groups included Harvard University, Darmouth College US Government Services Agency. Professional education has been provided to dozens of Building Enclosure Councils, the Ontario Architects Association, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC, and many many deisgner and builders groups.

• 1998, Doctorate Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada
• 1993, Master's Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada
• 1991, Bachelor's Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

• 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education
• 2002 ASHRAE Journal Best Paper Award
• 2005 President's Award: Ontario Building Envelope Council
• 2010 Fellow of the Ontario Building Envelope Council

• AE 100 - Concepts Studio
  • Taught in 2020, 2021
• AE 225 - Environmental Building Systems Studio
  • Taught in 2022
• AE 300 - Architectural Engineering Studio
  • Taught in 2021, 2023
• AE 301 - Building Enclosure Systems
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• CIVE 507 - Building Science and Technology
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.