Systems Engineer
Systems Engineer

Biography

Kieren McCord is a research scientist with the Building Systems group, where she conducts research on acoustics in the built environment, as well as indoor environmental quality and building lifecycle assessment and modeling. She has a PhD from Arizona State University where she researched augmented and virtual reality technologies for teaching and training within the architecture, engineering, and construction disciplines, receiving the dean’s dissertation award for her work. She received an MS in architectural engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied the relationships between indoor environment parameters and K-12 student achievement and received the Leo and Gabriella Beranek Scholarship through the Acoustical Society of America for her work. For her undergraduate degree, she studied music (audio engineering) with minors in physics and math at Brigham Young University, where she researched student musician noise exposure in spaces with varying acoustic parameters. Prior to coming to PNNL, she taught construction technologies at Arizona State University and worked on research exploring virtual reality for construction safety training. 

Research Interests

  • Life Cycle Analysis
  • Whole-Building Life Cycle Analysis
  • Acoustics
  • Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Mixed Reality
  • Augmented Reality
  • Virtual Reality
  • Human Health
  • Environmental Product Declarations
  • Noise
  • Soundscapes
  • Perception
  • Data Center Acoustics
  • Low Temp Geothermal

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Construction Mgmt, Arizona State University
  • Master of Science in Architectural Engineering, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
  • Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music, Brigham Young University

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2022–current
  • Member, Student Council Member and Chair (2017–2021), Acoustical Society of America (ASA) 2016–current 
  • Member, American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, 2024–current 

Awards and Recognitions

  • Dean’s Dissertation Award, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University, 2021
  • Del E. Webb Foundation Fellowship, Arizona State University, 2021
  • Fulton Schools Graduate Fellowship, Arizona State University, 2021
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Past Presidents Scholarship, Arizona State University, 2019
  • The Leo and Gabriella Beranek Scholarship, Acoustical Society of America, 2018
  • Milton Mohr Graduate Fellowship, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018
  • Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) Grant Recipient, Brigham Young University, 2016

Publications

2025

  • Fuentes, T., K. McCord, M. Martell, and C. Antonopoulos. 2025. A dataset for understanding self-reported patterns influencing residential energy decisions. Scientific Data 12(1). doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05335-8
  • Patil, K., S. Ayer, K. McCord, L. Perry, W. Wu, J. London, and A. Kline. 2025. Characteristics of Authentic Construction Learning Experiences to Enable Accurate Consideration of Cost-Effective Alternatives. Buildings 15(14), 2446. doi:10.3390/buildings15142446
  • Holman, C., K. McCord, A. Hu, H. Dillon, and C. Antonopoulos. 2025. Future grid mix impacts on whole-building life cycle assessment. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability 5(1), 015025. doi:10.1088/2634-4505/adc154

2024

  • 2024. Computing in AEC Education: Hindsight, Insight, and Foresight. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering. doi:10.1061/jccee5.cpeng-5646
  • 2024. Strategies for connecting whole-building LCA to the low-carbon design process. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. doi:10.1088/2634-4505/ad17ce
  • 2024. Decisions and decision-makers: Mapping the sociotechnical cognition behind home energy upgrades in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2024.103411
  • 2024. Regional assessment of household energy decision-making and technology adoption in the United States. Energy Policy. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113940

2022

  • McCord, K., S. Ayer, K. Patil, W. Wu, J. London, and L. Perry. 2022. Full Scale Augmented Reality to Support Construction Sequencing Education Case Study. Construction Research Congress 2022, 21-30. doi:10.1061/9780784483985.003
  • McCord, K., S. Ayer, L. Perry, K. Patil, J. London, V. Khoury, and W. Wu. 2022. Student Approaches and Performance in Element Sequencing Tasks Using 2D and Augmented Reality Formats. Education Sciences 12(4), 247. doi:10.3390/educsci12040247

2021

  • McCord, K., S. Ayer, A. Lamanna, M. Eicher, J. London, and W. Wu. 2021. Construction Education Needs Derived from Industry Evaluations of Students and Academic Research Publications. International Journal of Construction Education and Research 19(1), 77-98. doi:10.1080/15578771.2021.1974985
  • McCord, K. and S. Ayer. 2021. Student Responses to Faculty Innovation in Virtual Construction Education. EPiC Series in Built Environment: ASC 2021. 57th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference 2, 568-557. doi:10.29007/p995
  • Chalhoub, J., S. Ayer, and K. McCord. 2021. Augmented Reality to Enable Users to Identify Deviations for Model Reconciliation. Buildings 11(2), 77. doi:10.3390/buildings11020077
  • Varghese, H. 2021. How Are ASA Students Being Impacted by the Pandemic?. Acoustics Today 17(2), 75. doi:10.1121/at.2021.17.2.02

2020

  • Perry, L., J. London, W. Wu, S. Ayer, K. Smith, and K. Patil. 2020. Leveraging Mixed Reality and the Three Apprenticeships Model to Facilitate & Assess Authentic Learning Experiences for Civil Engineering Students. 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 1-4. doi:10.1109/fie44824.2020.9274289
  • Wu, W., A. Sandoval, V. Gunji, S. Ayer, J. London, L. Perry, K. Patil, and K. Smith. 2020. Comparing Traditional and Mixed Reality-Facilitated Apprenticeship Learning in a Wood-Frame Construction Lab. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 146(12). doi:10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0001945

2019

  • 2019. Relating design features, room characteristics, and occupancy to noise levels in restaurants. International Symposium on Room Acoustics.
  • Smith, K., T. Neilsen, and J. Grimshaw. 2019. University student musician noise-dosage study measuring both ensemble and full-day noise exposure. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 145(6), EL494-EL500. doi:10.1121/1.5110238
  • Underwood, S., K. Smith, and L. Wang. 2019. Adaptive reuse of unconventional spaces for performance: Music in a museum and opera in a warehouse. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 145(3_Supplement), 1806-1806. doi:10.1121/1.5101614
  • Smith, K., V. Anderson, and L. Wang. 2019. Characterization of restaurant soundscapes based on logged sound levels and occupancy measurements. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 145(3_Supplement), 1918-1918. doi:10.1121/1.5101967
  • Anderson, V., K. Smith, and L. Wang. 2019. Distributions of reverberation time measurements from restaurants of different Layouts. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 145(3_Supplement), 1918-1918. doi:10.1121/1.5101966
  • 2019. Exploring the effect of ventilation type on the acoustics of primary and secondary school classrooms. Proceedings of the ICA 2019 and EAA Euroregio : 23rd International Congress on Acoustics. doi:10.18154/RWTH-CONV-239823

2018

  • Smith, K., A. Arthur, J. Bovaird, and L. Wang. 2018. Effects of measured acoustic and other indoor environment factors on student achievement in K-12 classrooms. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 144(3_Supplement), 1894-1894. doi:10.1121/1.5068302
  • Smith, K. and L. Wang. 2018. Exploring relationships between measured acoustic, lighting, and indoor air quality metrics logged in K-12 classrooms. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 143(3_Supplement), 1894-1894. doi:10.1121/1.5036162
  • 2018. Building a Sound Future for Students. Acoustics Today.

2017

  • Smith, K., T. Neilsen, and J. Grimshaw. 2017. A day in the noisy life of a student musician. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 141(5_Supplement), 3800-3800. doi:10.1121/1.4988384
  • Smith, K., T. Neilsen, and J. Grimshaw. 2017. Full-day noise exposure for student musicians at Brigham Young University. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 035002. doi:10.1121/2.0000568

2016

  • Smith, K., T. Neilsen, M. Denison, and J. Grimshaw. 2016. Characterization of ensemble rehearsal experiences at Brigham Young University. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 139(4_Supplement), 2201-2201. doi:10.1121/1.4950558
  • Smith, K., J. Grimshaw, and T. Neilsen. 2016. Characterization of ensemble rehearsal rooms and musician experiences at Brigham Young University. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 015002. doi:10.1121/2.0000292