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By Jodi Scott - Ashrae. ATLANTA – St. Louis served as the gateway to the future of HVAC&R as host to the ASHRAE 2016 Annual Conference, held there June 25-29. Nearly 1,800 people attended.
Installed as ASHRAE president at the Conference was 2016-17 president Timothy G. Wentz, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, HBDP, associate professor, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. As president, Wentz chairs the Society’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. His theme, Adapt Today to Shape Tomorrow, is based on the goal in the Society’s Strategic Plan to adapt. Wentz relates this goal to his personal history of moving from a slide rule in his early college days to a hand calculator and now a computer or smartphone as an example of the challenges and opportunities inherent in adapting to new technology. His speech can be read at www.ashrae.org/wentz.
“When it comes to change, we tend to ‘hang on’ to what feels safe as long as possible,” Wentz said. “When we can’t see the future we don’t know how far we will fall. That can be frightening. We must work to shape tomorrow so we feel empowered to ‘let go.’”
In other news, it was announced that ASHRAE’s 2015-16 RP campaign reached a new high of $2.57 million donated by members, chapters and companies. ASHRAE RP Campaign funds are used to support ongoing research projects, ASHRAE Learning Institute, Young Engineers in ASHRAE (YEA) Leadership activities and scholarships.
Some 100 sessions with 400 speakers were offered as part of the Conference Technical Program. Trending at the event were sessions related to the philosophy and ethics of different building industry professionals, which examined how buildings are created by “constructive confrontation,” via teams team of building industry professionals people drawn together with different education, training, method of working, communication skills and membership of professional bodies.
A seminar was the ASHRAE Fellows Debate: Productivity is the Measure of Indoor Air Quality, in which two teams debated whether productivity can be measured. A seminar on Energy Management for Multi-Building Portfolios from the Owner-Operator and the Consultant Perspectives provided insights into successful energy management through the experiences of both consultants and owner-operators.
The Conference featured two full-day professional development seminars and eight half-day short courses from the ASHRAE Learning Institute. Popular courses were focused on variable refrigerant flow, troubleshooting humidity control and 90.1-2013 HVAC/Mechanical.
The ASHRAE 2017 Winter Conference takes place in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2017. Held in conjunction with the Winter Conference is the ASHRAE co-sponsored International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 55,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.
