**Ala Hasan**

Dr. Ala Hasan is Principal Scientist in the Smart Energy and Built Environment Research Area at VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland. He has been working in the field of energy in buildings since 1982. He joined VTT in 2013. Prior to that, he worked at the Helsinki University of Technology and Aalto University since 1998. He held the position of Research Fellow of the Academy of Finland and has been PI of several Academy of Finland research projects. He was evaluated as University Full Professor (2015). Dr. Hasan has an excellent portfolio in research work, scientific publications, earning research funding, as well as offering service to the international scientific community. He has more than 100 publications in international scientific journals, conferences, book chapters, and reports. He has been listed within the top 2% most cited scientists in the world in his field as published by Elsevier BV and Stanford University in years 2020 and 2021. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the *Buildings* journal MDPI Switzerland and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Low Carbon Technologies–Oxford Journals UK. He acted as advisor and examiner of several Ph.D. and Licentiate degree students in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. He was elected as Fellow of IBPSA (The International Building Performance Simulation Association) 2021. He was the first president of IBPSA-Nordic and was a member of IBPSA-World Board of Directors. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC) programme representing Finland.

#### **Francesco Reda**

Dr. Francesco Reda. Currently he is Research Manager of the Industrial Energy and Hydrogen Research Area at VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland. He has 10-year experience in R&D of renewable energy production system applications, conceiving concept solutions for Net Zero and Positive Energy communities, combining both technical and user-centred solutions. His research activities are devoted to developing socio-technical energy solutions as a trigger of a "renewable revolution"for preserving the fragile interaction between the Earth, as a finite ecosystem, and the human beings, as consumers of resources coming from such a fragile ecosystem. He has been and is involved in several Research and Innovation European and International cooperation projects focusing on smart city and building renewable energy solutions. He is also active in the international energy research and innovation programme in the buildings and communities field. Currently he is the Operating Agent of the IEA-EBC Annex 83 "Positive Energy Districts". He has authored more than 30 scientific publications.
