Diana Andrea Brito Picciotto

Dr. Brito’s research focuses on energy-efficient buildings and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) applied to both buildings and materials. Her vision is to advance current LCA methodologies by introducing higher-resolution approaches and gaining a deeper understanding of emissions’ continuous impact on the atmosphere (cumulative effects over time), through dynamic LCA. Additionally, her research interests include establishing Carbon (GHGs) benchmarks through LCA studies at a portfolio level.

Before joining UMass Amherst, Dr. Brito collaborated on several research projects with UMass Amherst faculty and industry partners in Mexico and the New England Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) community. Her work spanned building-integrated renewable energy, low-carbon/high-performance building envelopes, and the use of real buildings (living labs) for data collection and subsequent hygrothermal analysis. She applies advanced data management and visualization techniques to efficiently process and analyze large datasets.

Dr. Brito earned her Ph.D. in Sustainable Building Systems from UMass Amherst. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Chiapas and a Master of Science in Renewable Energy from the Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán. Currently, Dr. Brito is a Lecturer in the Building and Construction Technology (BCT) Program at UMass Amherst, where she teaches and mentors students on topics related to Energy and Carbon in buildings.

• BCT 590STC-Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Buildings
• ECO 692S- Readings in Sustainable Building Systems

•  Brito Picciotto, D. A. BIM-Based LCA Framework for Assessing Embodied Carbon in Brutalist Concrete. Case Study: University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Bromery Center for the Arts, University of Massachusetts Amherst. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/entities/publication/3821c5b0-fa3f-4582-a83f-cf335ab8cfdb (accessed 2026-04-30). 
   
•  Brito Picciotto D. A., Nielson C, Fiocchi LC. Hygrothermal Analysis of Double-Stud Wood Walls in Non-Residential Construction: Case study: R.W. Kern Center (Amherst, MA). Journal of Green Building. 2023 Nov;18(4):17–36. doi:10.3992/jgb.18.4.17  link: HYGROTHERMAL ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE-STUD WOOD WALLS IN NON-RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION in: Journal of Green Building Volume 18: Issue 4 | Journal of Green Building
   
• Williams, R.; Darling, N.; Darvish, A.; Brito Picciotto, D. A.; Fiocchi, C.; Hicks, K. Designing for Embodied Carbon and Operational Carbon Impacts:A Case-Study of a University-Based Design-Build Project. https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AIA.InterMaterialEco.23.20.Download here: Designing for Embodied Carbon and Operational Carbon Impacts:A Case-Study of a University-Based Design-Build Project - Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

Ph.D. (Sustainable Building Systems, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
M.S. (Renewable Energy, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán)