Philip Griffiths has worked at Ulster University since 1994.  He was appointed Professor of Building Physics in 2015. He was Head of the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment 2015-2019. He is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and supervises PhD students.

Philip is a building physicist, a fellow of both the Energy Institute and the Institution of Civil Engineers, and a Chartered Engineer, with a background in energy efficiency in buildings. He was initially employed at Ulster as a postdoc, during which time he researched novel vacuum glazing fabrication techniques using experimental performance testing and computer thermal modelling.  Since 2000 he has been researching novel use of phase change materials in buildings as energy storage and transport phenomena.  He also undertakes research into low energy buildings, building retrofit and associated thermal comfort conditions. Philip has a track record of attracting EU and EPSRC funded research.  He was one of two UK Experts on the EU ESF COST funded network Novel Phase Change Materials for Buildings and Renewable Energy Systems and recenlty was Ulster's lead on the EU H2020 funded INPATH-TES project.  

He was on the scientific committee for Eurotherm '99, held in Lleida in 2019, andserved on the scientific committee for Enerstock, 2021, held in Ljibljana, Slovenia.

He is currently serving on a working group of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee, detailed with determining updates to the thermal regulations for buildings and the enactment of the European Performance of Buildings Directive in Northern Ireland. 

Philip is an active external examiner and is a member of the Energy Institute's Academic Accreditation Panel. He represents the Energy Institute on the Northern Ireland Parliament All-Party Group on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Thermal Comfort in buildings

Energy Storage in buildings and building systems.

Environmental pyschology and the built environment.

Health and Wellbeing in buildings

Indoor Environmental Quality - thermal, acoustics, visual

Building thermal modelling

Building services integration into building - HVAC, electrical, public health

Civil engineering and renewables

Rail transportation