ASHRAE President Visit and Chapter Inauguration

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ophelia on Tuesday 17^th October, we had the honour to welcome ASHRAE President Prof. Bjarne Olesen and ASHRAE Europe Director Dr. Costas Balaras in Ireland.

In the morning our guests visited DIT where a new ASHRAE student branch has been formed with the support of DAIKIN Ireland. Prof. Olesen delivered a technical seminar to Building Services Engineering students. A follow-up discussion with academics and students on how ASHRAE can support students, proven to be insightful on the different mechanisms that ASHRAE uses to empower students and help them in their studies and their career development.

In the afternoon we moved to UCD where we met with academics, PhD students and Energy Systems Engineering students. A round table discussion with academics and ASHRAE Ireland members on the present and future of energy engineering education was followed by a technical presentation from Prof. Olesen that generated a lot of interest and interaction with the students. In UCD there is also a newly founded ASHRAE student branch backed by DAIKIN Ireland.

 

In the evening we were hosted by Engineers Ireland. Kevin Kelly, Vice President of CIBSE, and Paul Martin, Chairman of CIBSE Ireland, presented the ongoing collaboration of ASHRAE and CIBSE, both globally and specifically in Ireland. John Kane from Engineers Ireland Energy & Environment Division talked about how Engineers Ireland operates and supports affiliate professional associations in Ireland. Costas Balaras followed up with the presentation of the ASHRAE Europe Region and the ongoing activities of ASHRAE in this part of the world.

The main talk of the day by Prof. Olesen was based on the theme “Extending our (ASHRAE) Community,” focusing on three directives: extend our global community; extend our technological horizons; and extend our value to ASHRAE members. The audience engaged with his talk and Prof. Olesen was happy to address questions and inquiries for the next half hour.

A recording of Prof. Olesens Presidential Address can seen below (Recorded earlier this year at ICIEE Seminar 2017):

The last segment of the evening included the formal inauguration of the ASHRAE Ireland chapter. Costas Balaras as the ASHRAE Europe Director presented the officers of the chapter and Prof. Olesen as ASHRAE president offered them the chapter banner and chapter charter along with the ceremonial gavel.

 

We feel overwhelmingly honoured and thankful by the presence of both Prof. Olesen and Dr. Balaras. We do hope that they have enjoyed their stay in Dublin which according to the tradition included the late night black staff. We want also to thank Engineers Ireland for their hospitality and support and CIBSE Ireland for their collaboration. From our part we are committed in supporting and advancing the building engineering professions in Ireland and we can promise that with the help and collaboration of our members and our partners we will do our best to promote a better and more sustainable built environment in Ireland.