LBNL's Dariush Arasteh passes away

Dariush Arasteh, a leading researcher in energy efficient window technologies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, passed away February 3 after an eight-year bout with cancer. Active in the formation of the National Fenestration Rating Council and its earliest window rating methods, Arasteh served as a staff scientist, principal investigator and deputy group leader in LBNL’s Building Technologies department.

Friends at the government research lab have created a website in his honor. According to the site, he joined LBNL in 1982 and was involved in all aspects of research on energy efficient windows, with a focus on the development and experimental analysis of highly insulating “superwindows,” creating a suite of computer tools to analyze window heat transfer and leading the industry to develop a rating system for the thermal performance of windows. The windows research led to other innovations such as the development, patenting and licensing of gas-filled panel insulation. He initiated collaborative projects with campus, industry and international research teams and authored more than 100 papers and articles in the field of energy efficiency in buildings.

Steve Selkowitz, who originally hired Arasteh at LBNL, describes him as “close to the ideal fit for what I would call the ‘challenging EETD paradigm’--one who not only does ‘good science,’ but is also understood, respected and has a major impact in the business world.” Selkowitz also says that “Dariush was a friendly, generous and helpful mentor to junior staff, and a thoughtful and dependable colleague and collaborator with the department leadership. And his actions were almost always accompanied by softspoken humor, wit and a disarming smile.”

The website includes a guestbook where visitors can add memories and thoughts for Arasteh's family and read the comments from his friends, family and colleagues.