After describing Paul Sabatier University and the included PHASE laboratory (Physique de l’Homme Appliquée à Son Environnement – main topic: thermal and acoustical interactions between Physics, Humans, and Environment), I will discuss the measurement and modeling of heat transfer, including: 1. Heat transfer in silica aerogels: this part deals with the difficulty of measuring the thermal properties of silica aerogels and with the question of modeling heat transfer in such nanoporous materials. 2. Heat transfer through building envelopes: this part addresses the thermal optimization of walls using genetic algorithms, including experiments and model of heat transfer in partitioned cavities. 3. Currently in sabbatical as visiting scholar in the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics in CMU, I work on the modeling of natural ventilation in the Intelligent Workplace using COMIS32 coupled with TRNSYS16 and will present the preliminary results. For more information about this seminar, please contact: JoAnne Lambert 510.486.4835, or send e-mail to JMLambert@lbl.gov