ATLANTA – Chicago, with one of the most recognizable skylines in the world, has long-standing status as a livable urban center. That the city has stood the test of time makes it the perfect backdrop for ASHRAE’s 2009 Winter Conference. The theme will be “Sustainable Urban Design: Engineering Tomorrow…Today.” With a focus that resources must be conserved and environments respected even in urban settings, the ASHRAE Conference takes place January 24 to 28 at the Palmer House Hilton. Held in conjunction with the meeting is the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo, January 26 to 28 at McCormick Place.
Meeting highlights include availability of more than 200 Professional Development Hour credits available through the technical program, and ASHRAE Learning Institute courses. Seeking to create additional value for expo and conference attendees, ASHRAE is launching “Wednesday Welcome,” at which all ASHRAE program sessions on Jan. 28 will take place at McCormick Place. Hands-on, applications-type programs are offered in the morning, leaving the afternoon open to tour the expo.
ASHRAE’s free public session will also focus on Sustainability in the Urban Development, sharing how the industry is building on its efforts to increase energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality of buildings by furthering the sustainability of entire communities. It will be held at 3 p.m. January 26 at McCormick Place.
Also featured in the technical program is the technical plenary speaker, Adrian Bejan, Ph.D., J.A., Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Bejan developed the constructal theory, which he says can predict how everything flows through time and space. The session will take place from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. on January 25 at Palmer House. Overall, the tech program will feature more than 100 sessions with presentations of 68 papers.
Keynote Focus on Sustainable Urbanization
Opening the meeting on January 24 at the plenary session will be keynote speaker, Chris Luebkeman, who runs the Global Foresight and Innovation initiative at Arup, a global design and engineering firm. His presentation will echo the meeting theme with a focus on sustainable urbanization, looking at some of the current global efforts to both design new cities and adapt existing cities to the new era of dwindling resources.
Sustainability will be highlighted in the technical tours of facilities, including the ASHRAE Technology Award winning Chicago Center for Green Technology, the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, the Intercontinental Chicago, which is the first Energy Star-rated hotel in the city, and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, designed on the concepts of tikkun olan (meaning repairing the world) and bal tashchit (do not waste).
The ASHRAE Learning Institute will offer five Professional Development Seminars and 12 short courses at the Palmer House and McCormick. New sessions include Low Temperature Radiant Heating and High Temperature Radiant Cooling Systems, Chilled Beam Technology for Excellent Indoor Climate in an Energy-Efficient Manner, Installation of Residential Ventilation Systems (Standard 62.2), and Business Management and Operations for Engineers.
ASHRAE will also launch its latest certification program, Operations and Maintenance Management Professional Certification, during the meeting. For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/certification.
