ASHRAE is pleased to host industry professionals and experts at its upcoming Annual Conference from Jun. 24-28. The five-day event boasts eight conference tracks, tours, social events and a keynote message from Derreck Kayongo, CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Additionally, 2017-18 ASHRAE President Bjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE, Life Member, will unveil his presidential theme during the President’s Luncheon on Monday, June 25.
Registration is now open (http://bit.ly/2n3e23y) for the event, which will take place in Long Beach, Calif. at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. Committee meetings will be held at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach and the Renaissance Long Beach.
“ASHRAE’s Annual Conference brings together thousands of professionals who strive daily to innovate sustainable technology for the built environment,” says 2016-17 ASHRAE president Tim Wentz, Fellow ASHRAE, HBDP. “This conference provides unequalled networking opportunities and showcases top-notch programming that will help those professionals continue shaping the industry for a sustainable future.”
Among the conference’s most anticipated elements, this year’s Technical Program features several new tracks, including one on net zero energy – a topic that has been at the forefront of the building industry recently, especially in California.
The Technical Program will address the benefits of NZE, how to achieve construction goals in the design and operation of buildings, how Title 24 of the Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings will require all commercial buildings to be NZE by 2030, and more.
In other ASHRAE action, the group recently bestowed its 2017 Undergraduate Program Equipment Grants – which encompasses a group of 26 undergraduate projects led by students from around the world who are poised to continue ASHRAE’s commitment of shaping tomorrow’s built environment today. The awarded grants total more than $118,000 and will help the winning students complete their undergraduate projects.
The Undergraduate Program Equipment Grants is an ASHRAE program that provides grants to engineering, technical and architectural schools worldwide. Its goal is to increase student knowledge, learning and awareness of the HVAC&R industry through the design and construction of senior projects. Grants are used to fund equipment and supplies for senior projects and two-year technical school projects that focus on ASHRAE-related topics.
The top two projects will be presented during the Student Program at ASHRAE’s 2018 Winter Conference, which will take place January 20-24, 2018 in Chicago. Those projects are “Design and Prototyping of a Carbon-Dioxide-based Heat Pump Integrated Energy System,” Ryerson University and “A Hot-Gas Bypass Load Stand to Demonstrate Compressor Performance,” Oklahoma State University.