ASHRAE wraps up first hybrid Winter Conference

ATLANTA, Georgia, 4 February 2022: More than 2,800 HVACR industry professionals, building systems engineers, architects, contractors and students gathered in Las Vegas and virtually from January 29 to February 2 for the 2022 ASHRAE Winter Conference, ASHRAE said through a Press release. Registered conference attendees received entry to the co-sponsored AHR Expo, held from January 31 to February 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, ASHRAE added.

“This year’s Conference and Expo marked the first time that the Society has been together for our Winter Conference in two years and the return to the AHR Expo after last year’s cancellation,” said Mick Schwedler, 2021-22 ASHRAE President. “While the numbers are expectedly lower than past conferences, in-person attendance still exceeded our expectations, and our virtual attendees added a welcomed dynamic to our sessions. We are grateful to everyone involved in establishing a comprehensive health and safety plan for our attendees, which included guidance provided by the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.”

According to ASHRAE, the Winter Conference featured over 50 technical sessions, updates from Society leaders, tours, social events and livestreamed sessions for virtual attendees. Top sessions included Introduction of Building Decarbonization, HVAC Design, Control and Operation of Hospitals After COVID-19 Fiasco and CPS 21: Refining ASHRAE COVID Guidelines and Standard 100, ASHRAE said.

According to ASHRAE, the AHR Expo offered a total of 1,573 exhibitors, with 281 international exhibitors, occupying 443,769 square feet of exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Center. More than 43,000 people pre-registered to attend the show, including 130 media representatives, ASHRAE said.

At the Winter Conference, Schwedler provided updates related to the Society’s current theme, “Personal Growth. Global Impact. Feed the Roots”, ASHRAE said. He focused on personal development and how the Society’s extraordinary global growth and impact to the built environment has nourished the roots of the global HVACR industry, ASHRAE added.

“When we concentrate on our mission and vision and talk about our impacts – we make the world more sustainable and resilient to future changes,” Schwedler said. “We reduce both energy utilization intensity and environmental emissions. We helped mitigate a global pandemic by keeping vaccines cold – and their efficacy high – 40% of the world’s food spoils between the field and consumption. We reduce that. And most importantly, we keep students and staff in schools, and occupants of the built environment safe and healthy.”

During the plenary session of the Conference, Jeff Littleton, Executive Vice President and Secretary, ASHRAE, reported on the Society’s current initiatives, as well as the dedication of ASHRAE volunteers during the pandemic. “A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board subcommittee is focused on proactively driving diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the Society,” Littleton said. “Task groups have been formed to drive Society strategies on decarbonization and on international standards. We’ve released 14 new and 24 revised publications and standards.

Examples of new publications include the ASHRAE Design Guide for Natural Ventilation and the ASHRAE Guide for HVAC in Hazardous Spaces. We’ve even released the children’s book, Lucy’s Engineering Adventure. The commitment of ASHRAE’s entire global membership to the Society’s work has never wavered during the pandemic. I find that truly remarkable. When so much of our professional and personal lives has been disrupted, some 7,000 ASHRAE volunteers at the society, regional and chapter levels continue to drive ASHRAE forward.”

ASHRAE said an honors and awards ceremony, tied to the Conference, was an occasion for recognizing experienced and emerging leaders in the industry. Record-breaking polar explorer, Ann Daniels, closed the plenary session with an inspiring presentation on good leadership, teamwork and self-belief.

The ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) offered 17 courses. According to ASHRAE, new courses were as follows: Advanced High-Performance Building Designs: Key Concepts for Lifelong Building Sustainability; V in HVAC – What, Why, Where, How, and How Much (includes Basic Requirements of Standard 62.1-2019); Best Practices for Installing DDC Systems; Save 40% by Complying with Standard 90.1-2019; Principles of Building Commissioning: ASHRAE Guideline 0 and Standard 202; Guideline 36: Best in Class HVAC Control Sequences; Changing Environments and Loads for Data Centers (High Density, Liquid Cooling, Edge Computing); and Health Impacts of Indoor Air Extraction, Ventilation, and Filtration – Same or Different.

ASHRAE said all registered attendees, both in-person and virtual, would have access to the virtual conference environment for 12 months, post-conference. Registration, the Society said, is still open for access to the virtual conference until January 2023 at ashrae.org/2022winter.

ASHRAE said the 2022 ASHRAE Annual Conference will take place from June 25 to June 29 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 2023 Winter Conference will take place from February 4 to 8, and the AHR Expo, from February 6 to 8, in Atlanta, Georgia.  

ASHRAE recognizes outstanding achievements of members

ATLANTA, Georgia, 30 January 2022: ASHRAE recognized the outstanding achievements and contributions of members to the Society and the built-environment industry during its 2022 Winter Conference in Las Vegas. It made the announcement through a Press release.

“Congratulations to all of ASHRAE’s Honors and Awards recipients,” said 2021-22 ASHRAE President Mick Schwedler. “Your service to the global built-environment and our Society is appreciated.”

Fellow ASHRAE

According to ASHRAE, the Fellow ASHRAE category is a membership grade that recognizes members who have attained distinction and made substantial contributions in HVACR and the built-environment, such as education, research, engineering design and consultation, publications, presentations and mentoring. The Society elevated 25 members to the grade of Fellow:

• Edward A. Arens, Ph.D., Life Member ASHRAE, director, Center for the Built Environment, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California
• Robert Bean, President, Indoor Climate Consultants Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Don Brandt, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired from Trane Co., in Phoenix, Arizona
• James F. Butler, CTO, Cimetrics Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
• Pieter De Wilde, Professor, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
• Titu R. Doctor, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired, Marietta, Georgia
• W. Stuart Dols, Mechanical Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Brian A. Fricke, Ph.D., Group Leader, Building Equipment Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
• Shih-Cheng Hu, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Energy, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning, and Director, Center for Clean Technology Research, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
• Joe Huang, BEMP, Owner, White Box Technologies, Inc., Moraga, California
• Luke C. H. Leung, P.E., P.Eng., BEMP, Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago, Illinois
• Igor Y. Maevski, Ph.D., P.E., Manager of Engineering, Global Tunnel Fire & Life Safety Lead, Jacobs Engineering, New York, New York
• Hugh Magande, Technical Principal, Research, Southface Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
• Tim McGinn, P.Eng., HBDP, Principal, McGinn Technical Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Janice K. Means, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, Professor Emerita, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan
• Amy V. Musser, Ph.D., P.E., BEMP, Partner, Vandemusser Design, Asheville, North Carolina
• Zheng O’Neill, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• Ryozo Ooka, Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
• Chun-cheng Piao, Ph.D., President, Daikin Open Innovation Lab Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, California
• Lee Riback, Life Member ASHRAE, Project Director – Commissioning, McKinstry Co – South Region, Dallas, Texas
• Charles Roos, CPEng, Senior Technical Director, Beca Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand.
• William A. Ryan, Ph.D., P.E., Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Energy Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
• Roger R. Schmidt, Ph.D., Traugott Distinguished Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
• Celso Cardoso Simões Alexandre, P.Eng., Life Member ASHRAE, President, TROX Americas Extended Board, and Member, TROX GROUP Extended Board, TROX GmbH, São Paulo, Brazil
• Filza H. Walters, Professor of the Practice in Architectural Engineering, Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Presidential Certificate of Honor 

According to ASHRAE, the Presidential Certificate of Honor is presented as a special honor by the ASHRAE President to recognize a member who has made a unique contribution to the growth and well-being of the Society. ASHRAE recognized the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force in the category. The members of the Task Force are:

• Bill Bahnfleth, Ph.D., P.E., Presidential Fellow Member ASHRAE, Professor of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, Principal, Whole Building Systems, LLC, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
• Walid Chakroun, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow Member ASHRAE, Professor, Kuwait University, Kuwait
• Brad C. Cochran, P.E., Senior Principal, CPP Wind Engineering, Windsor, Colorado
• Wade H. Conlan, P.E., BCxP, Commissioning and Energy Discipline Manager, Hanson Professional Services, Inc., Maitland, Florida
• Jason DeGraw, Ph.D., R&D Staff Member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Traci Hanegan, P.E., HFDP, Fellow Member ASHRAE, Principal Mechanical Engineer, Coffman Engineers, Inc., Spokane, Washington.
• Richard D. Hermans, P.E., HFDP, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired Mechanical Department Manager, AECOM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Luke Leung, P.E., P.Eng, BEMP, Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, Chicago, Illinois
• Stephen B. Martin, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Senior Research Engineer, Respiratory Health Division, Field Studies Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Morgantown, West Virginia
• John L. McKernan, Sc.D., Chief, Emerging Contaminants and Technologies Branch, US EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Corey B. Metzger, P.E., Principal, Resource Consulting Engineers, LLC, Ames, Iowa
• Jim Ridenhour, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired, Greer, South Carolina
• Max H. Sherman, Ph.D., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, Retired Senior Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
• Stephanie Taylor, M.D., President and Founder, Building 4 Health, Inc., Keswick, Virginia
• Pawel Wargocki, Ph.D., Associate Professor, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

ASHRAE Technology Awards

According to ASHRAE, the ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize outstanding achievements by ASHRAE members who have successfully applied innovative building designs. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and serve to communicate innovative systems design. Winning projects are selected from entries earning regional awards. According to ASHRAE, first-place recipients for the ASHRAE Technology Award are:

• Hermes Silva Flores, existing commercial buildings category, Hotel Mandarin Oriental, Santiago, Chile. The building is owned by Hotel Mandarin Oriental Santiago.
• Donald R. Hartdegen, Jr., P.E., Asfandyar Khan, P.E., HBDP and Sudesh Saraf, P.E., new educational facilities category, Adlai E. Stevenson High School East Building, Lincolnshire, Illinois. The building is owned by Adlai Stevenson High School District 125.
• Jason Volz, P.E., Matt Branham, P.E., Brian Duvall, P.E. and Braydi McPherson-Hathaway, EBCx educational facilities category, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Louisville, Kentucky. The building is owned by Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
• Lincoln Pearce, P.E., BEAP, existing educational facilities category, Marston Hall Renovation, Ames, Iowa.
• Nicholas Rogers, P.E., Tracy Steward and David Mayer, new heath care facilities category, Norton Novak Center for Children’s Health, Louisville, Kentucky. The building is owned by Norton Healthcare.
• Shana Scheiber, P.E. and Rick Flock, P.E., new industrial facilities or processes category, Exact Sciences Lab, Madison, Wisconsin. The building is owned by Exact Sciences.
• Leighton W. Deer, P.E., HBDP and Brad Grubb, P.E., new public assembly category, Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The building is owned by the City of St. Louis Park.
• Dennis C. McKale, P.E., Bradley Herbeck and Ryan Cowan, existing industrial facilities or processes category, Stellantis – Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Sterling Heights, Michigan. The building is owned by Stellantis.
• Dustin Langille, BEMP, HBDP and Donald McLauchlan, residential facilities category, 3833 North Broadway, Chicago, Illinois. The building is owned by 3817-45 N. Broadway Inc.

First Place and Award of Engineering Excellence

According to ASHRAE, the Award of Engineering Excellence was created in 1989 to recognize a first-place winner of the Society-level Technology Award competition for an outstanding application of innovative design and effective energy utilization. The recipient of the Award of Engineering Excellence will have demonstrated the best overall compliance with the judging criteria.

According to ASHRAE, first-place and recipients of the Award of Engineering Excellence are:

• Shiro Tsukami, P.E., Kitaro Mizuide, Ph.D., P.E. and Hirotaka Kubo, P.E., new commercial buildings category, DaiyaGate Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. The building is owned by Seibu Properties Inc.

Student Design Competition

According to ASHRAE, the 2021 Student Design Competition focused on a new 50,000-square-foot building on a higher education campus in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. The building included a two-story cafeteria, associated office, and commercial kitchen and storage space. The teams were tasked with providing safe and healthy storage of food materials on the lower level in a manner that prevents spoiling and the growth of bacteria, while providing enough kitchen/serving space and permanent seating to serve a peak occupancy of 720 students and a total of 3,000 students per day.

First place in the HVAC System Selection category was awarded to Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan. Team members are Evan Eldred, Brian Van Schepen, Nick Schramski, Cole Quinlan, Cole Weber and Jordanny T. Williams.

According to ASHRAE, first place in the HVAC Design Calculations category was awarded to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Team members are Brandon Jung, Arin Lee, Lukengo Miguel, Kyle Vanderhorst and Taewoong (Jeff) Yoon.

According to ASHRAE, first place in the Integrated Sustainable Building Design category was awarded to Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa. Team members are Andre Cosini, Xinyan Liu, Christopher Maitski, Andrew McGrail, Roumany C. Phan and Christopher Unis.

The Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge requires students to plan, develop and enact solutions to sustainability issues in their local or regional areas. In the 2021 Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge, students were challenged to design an indoor farming system to meet the needs of a local community with regard to single or multi-family residential construction.

According to ASHRAE, the California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, California, placed first. Team members are Adam Bessey, Matthew Malonzo and Ryan Salazar.

E.K. Campbell Award of Merit

According to ASHRAE, Thomas M. Lawrence, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow Member ASHRAE, received the E.K. Campbell Award of Merit. The award honors an individual for outstanding service and achievement in teaching and is presented by the Life Members Club. Lawrence is professor of practice, mechanical engineering program lead, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

John F. James International Award

According to ASHRAE, Karine Leblanc, received the John F. James International Award. The award recognizes a member who has done the most to enhance the Society’s international presence. Lelanc is sales engineer, US Air Conditioning Distributors, City of Industry, California.

YEA Inspirational Leader Award

According to ASHRAE, Badri Patel, BEAP, received the YEA Inspirational Leader Award. The award recognizes a Young Engineer in ASHRAE (YEA) member who has gone above and beyond to make considerable contributions to the industry and community. Patel is commercial market account executive, Johnson Controls Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Public Service

According to ASHRAE, Steven J. Williams received the ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Public Service. The award recognizes members who have performed outstanding public service in their community and, in doing so, have helped to improve the public image of the engineer. Williams is mechanical project manager, James Posey Associates, Owings Mills, Maryland.

Honorary Member

According to ASHRAE, William “Bill” Nye, known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, was elected as an Honorary Member of ASHRAE. Honorary Members, elected by the Board of Directors, are defined as notable persons of preeminent professional distinction. Nye is CEO, The Planetary Society, Pasadena, California.

ASHRAE Hall of Fame

According to ASHRAE, Raymond G. Alvine, P.E., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE (1926-2005) and Alwin B. Newton, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE (1907-1985), were inducted into the ASHRAE Hall of Fame. The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors deceased members of the Society who have made milestone contributions to the growth of ASHRAE-related technology or the development of ASHRAE as a society.

Paul Anderson Award

According to ASHRAE, James E. Braun, Ph.D., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, received the F. Paul Anderson Award. The award, ASHRAE’s highest honor, for technical achievement, is named in memory of Presidential Member F. Paul Anderson, who was a pioneer in the study of environmental conditions for comfort.