Mr. Thomas Kenney

Vice President of Engineering and Research
NAHB Research Center

Is vice president of the NAHB Research Center, an engineering and consulting firm that is also a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders.  As vice president, Mr. Kenney helps to bring the Research Center’s many assets – including its state-of-the-art laboratory and market research facility; its numerous third-party testing and certification credentials; and its depth of staff expertise – together to help accomplish the mission of improving the quality, affordability, and durability of housing.

Mr. Kenney is the NAHB Research Center’s most senior engineer with over 25 years of service at the Research Center. His broad range of managerial and technical experience has allowed him to touch and influence virtually every technical capability within the company. His extensive experience with a wide range of engineering disciplines and housing product and system issues give him a depth of knowledge and a practical perspective that is unmatched in the home building research industry. He has lead research projects ranging from the integration of high-tech materials such as electrochromic window glazing and photovoltaic panels into housing, to research on more traditional housing systems and cutting-edge issues such as green building, moisture management, indoor air quality, renewable energy and energy conservation, wastewater treatment, low impact land development, and a variety of structural engineering projects.

Prior to his current position, Kenney served as the Research Center’s Director of Laboratory Services for six years where he managed certification programs for building products and quality systems for trade contractors. Kenney also heads up work that the Research Center conducts in the consensus standards development arena, and is active in several professional societies on standards, including:

·         ANSI – American National Standards Institute

·         ANSI Z765 square footage standard for residential buildings

·         ICC 700 National Green Building Standard

·         ASME  - Plumbing Fixtures

Kenney holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pratt Institute, and is a registered professional engineer in Maryland and Florida.