Resume

Robert Beach

Software Developer & Systems Specialist | Simulation Engines, Data Pipelines, Building Science & Hardware R&D

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Profile

Systems specialist working at the intersection of building physics, simulation software, and product development. I build calculation engines, data pipelines, and control logic that make physical HVAC systems predictable, verifiable, and efficient across design, field, and manufacturing workflows.

Highlights

Verified roughly 25,000 homes through Rheia software systems

Named inventor on 2 US patents for residential HVAC distribution systems

Published DOE-backed research on plug-and-play duct systems and junction box performance

15+ years across HVAC simulation, building science, computational design, and fabrication

Selected Technical Work

Duct System Simulation Engine

Built Rheia's calculation engine in Python/TypeScript, converting Manual J heating/cooling loads into airflow, pressure drop, and acoustic simulations.

Home Verification Systems

Built and maintained verification software used to model and validate over 25,000 residential HVAC duct designs across national homebuilders.

Field Performance Analytics Pipeline

Created automated Python pipelines to process installer logs, pressure signatures, and field telemetry at scale for quality control.

Automated Balancing & HVAC Controls

Developed dynamic damper control logic that translates duct pressure physics into live room-by-room airflow balancing.

Embedded IoT Telemetry & Hardware Logging

Built custom Python + Raspberry Pi + LabJack T4 ADC data-logging systems to capture high-precision environmental and pressure telemetries.

Parametric Sculpture & Topography Modeling

Created Rhino/Grasshopper and Processing (.pde) generative scripts at Situ Studio for museum retrospectives, artist installations, and CNC fabrication.

Experience

R&D Systems Architect

RHEIA, LLC

Phoenix, Arizona

2017 - Present

Lead modeling, simulation, and system architecture for Rheia's physical-digital HVAC platform across 25,000+ home builds.
Co-developed foundational plug-and-play HVAC system evaluations with Andrew Poerschke at IBACOS, merging systems engineering with simple space conditioning under DOE Building America funding.
Executed 3D CFD airflow modeling on early splitter box junction studies under Rich Lange, establishing fluid dynamics principles that shaped Rheia's patented manifold and ferrule hardware designs.
Redesigned the core HVAC modeling engine into a domain-driven, graph-capable architecture spanning loads, rooms, duct topology, zoning, and controls.
Developed next-generation controls architecture with system-state modeling, topology-aware adjustments, and design-to-runtime pathways.
Created the rheia-data pipeline for analyzing design instances, field performance, installation consistency, and HVAC system behavior at scale.
Co-inventor on 2 US Utility Patents (US 12,298,028 B2 & US 10,962,241 B2) covering flexible duct connection fittings, ferrule assemblies, and modular manifolds.
Established typed interfaces and Pydantic validation to reduce technical debt and improve maintainability across modeling workflows.
Translated building physics, airflow behavior, product constraints, and installation realities into digital models used by engineering, product, and field teams.

Principal Building Science & Systems Analyst

IBACOS

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Sep 2010 - Dec 2019

Modeled airflow, HVAC performance, and building physics for national builder programs and R&D initiatives.
Analyzed load behavior, duct performance, system imbalance, and installation sensitivity across hundreds of homes.
Led research on junction boxes and distribution geometries that revealed systemic airflow issues and informed early Rheia concepts.
Developed modeling frameworks to evaluate energy performance and real-world HVAC system variability.
Designed field data-collection protocols and reconciled simulation outputs with installed system performance.
Produced builder guidance and technical documentation for engineers, utilities, and building-performance organizations.

Instructor

TechShop, Inc.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mar 2013 - 2016

Taught ShopBot SBU, Adobe Illustrator for CNC, Trotec Laser Cutter, and VCarvePro/Cut3D courses.

Computational Design & Fabrication Engineer

Situ Studio

Brooklyn, New York

Jun 2007 - Aug 2010

Developed computational design, digital fabrication, and architectural prototyping workflows across museum retrospectives and fine art installations.
Executed 3D digital reconstructions, micro 3D-printed building models, and custom 2-sided CNC foam tree milling for the Guggenheim Museum's 50th-anniversary Frank Lloyd Wright retrospective ('From Within Outward').
Co-produced surface projection mapping animations with Brad Samuels projected onto physical Taliesin topography models.
Built custom Processing (.pde) generative pattern engines to model deconstructing road networks and terrain swatches with Brad Samuels and Basar Girit.
Reconstructed 3D digital models from serial grinding scans of pre-Marinoan metazoan sponge fossils, co-authoring research published in Nature Geoscience (2010).
Developed Rhino and Grasshopper software for Alyson Shotz's Transitional Objects, structuring sculptural surfaces for CNC fabrication and iteration.
Collaborated with architects, artists, engineers, and fabricators to align computational logic with material behavior and installation constraints.

Skills

Modeling & Simulation

HVAC simulationBuilding physicsAirflow modelingSystem pressure dynamicsControls logicManual J load integration

Software & Data

PythonPandas / Data PipelinesTypeScript / AstroPydantic data validationSQL & IngestionGit & Web Tooling

Product & Hardware R&D

Physical product design3D printing & prototypingInjection molding designLab pressure testingTechnical documentation

3D & Fabrication

Rhino 3DGrasshopper (Parametric)Digital fabricationCNC machining workflowsGeometric modeling

Education

Pratt Institute

MArch I, Architecture

2006 - 2008

Ball State University

BS, Architecture

Virginia B. Ball Center Design Research Fellow: interdisciplinary studio focused on integrated design, environmental systems, material exploration, and collaborative research outcomes.
CapAsia IV: field research across Asian cities studying cultural patterns, spatial systems, climate adaptation, building typologies, and material logic.

2002 - 2006

Publications

A Plug-and-Play Duct System Evaluation

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy · Jul 2017

Evaluated a home-run style residential air distribution system with uniform small-diameter ducts, central manifold distribution, installation reliability, leakage reduction, and code-accepted material alternatives.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Flexible Duct Junction Box Design

DOE Building Technologies Office · Dec 2013

Assessed airflow behavior and performance sensitivity of residential HVAC junction boxes using measured and simulated data to guide builder programs and product innovation.

Possible animal-body fossils in pre-Marinoan limestones from South Australia

Nature Geoscience · Aug 2010

Co-authored research describing possible sponge-grade metazoan fossils from the Trezona Formation, using serial grinding, scanning, and three-dimensional digital modeling to reconstruct fossil morphology.