HCAD Students attend ASHRAE Winter Conference Two Years in a Row

The Spring semester got off to a quick and chilly start for six Hillier College of Architecture & Design (HCAD) students and Associate Professor Dr. Hyojin Kim (NJIT ASHRAE Advisor), who were in Chicago the third weekend of January to attend the 2024 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Winter Conference. ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. Chicago marked the second time attending the conference for some who had the opportunity to go to the 2023 conference in Atlanta. “The conference offers us a chance to hear and see what we’ve had learned through the literature and in class, and to think about the research trends, limitations, and future directions in building decarbonization and zero-carbon buildings,” said Minkyeong Park, a Ph.D. Student in Urban Systems.

With the support of a Travel Scholarship from the ASHRAE New Jersey Chapter, for the second year in a row student members were able to make the most of a whirl-wind weekend trip. During the conference, students attended a variety of activities, including dedicated student programs and the opening plenary session. They also enjoyed perusing the winning projects of the Student Design Competition, sitting in on technical paper sessions, attending the AHR Expo, and listening to various career panels with individuals involved in ASHRAE and related fields. Jeongseo Lee, Ph.D. Student, Urban Systems, especially valued the technical sessions, noting, “It was amazing to be able to talk to [paper] authors directly during the Q&A session and learn about all the latest studies in my field.” Silvester Eduardo (B. Arch. ‘25), attending his second conference, observed that, “The keynote speaker Chris Turner made an interesting point that although our current climate emission practices aren't enough to completely avoid climate crisis, both passive and active design strategies are being adopted and developed much faster than expected.”

In 2024, the Air conditioning Heating and Refrigeration (AHR) Expo was the most memorable event of the trip, where they were able to converse with HVAC industry representatives and collect some exclusive Expo souvenirs. Austin Chen (B.Arch. ‘26) saw the Expo as an insight into how expansive the HVAC field is, including companies like Google, HOBO, and LG. Caroline Vierheilig (B.Arch. ‘26), appreciated seeing the latest pieces of technology and equipment in person while having it explained by professionals.

In 2023 the highlight of the conference was the tour of the Kendeda Building for Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech where NJIT ASHRAE Students were able to experience the pioneering building in person the day after hearing about it from Georgia Tech senior engineer Greg Spiro and Building Director Shan Arora at the Student Welcome. Jacob Swanson (B.Arch. ‘23), who also attended the Chicago conference, said, “It was very instructive to see how the systems needed for net-zero buildings are integrated in a real-life project and how they affect the form and materiality of the building.”

Overall, students agreed with Elizabeth Kowalchuk’s (B. Arch. ‘23) assessment of the 2023 experience as “such an incredible experience for [NJIT ASHRAE] members to connect with other students from all over the world and watch presentations by professionals.”