President's Corner

Efforts of the Society, its members, and its bodies shall be directed at all times to enhancing the public health, safety and welfare.” – ASHRAE Code of Ethics 1.140.001.1.A https://www.ashrae.org/about/governance/code-of-ethics

Dear ASHRAE Cincinnati Chapter Membership,

Dear Members and Friends,

I hope everyone is having a good start to the fall with school back in session getting into your more normal routines!  With all the recent heat and temps projected to break 100 degrees next week, I’ll take a little extended summer while we have it.

As we have the past few years, our first membership chapter meeting of this society year will be in October- currently scheduled for Thursday October 19th.  We will follow up with our November meeting, which will include a visit from ASHRAE Society President Ginger Scoggins, PE. 

Young Engineers of ASHRAE (YEA) Networking Event: Maggie Norbut, Chair

Mark your calendars! Cincinnati chapter Young Engineers in ASHRAE are meeting up Thursday, September 21 at TopGolf. The Dayton chapter and student chapters are also welcome. Please, swing by and connect with others starting their careers in the industry!”

Student Activities Update: Joe Tornes, Chair

Hello everyone!  I’m very excited for another year as your Student Activities Chair.  We were very active last year with our student group at the University of Cincinnati, and there are big plans in place for the 2023-2024 session.  There will be an expanded focus on K-12 activities, with several volunteer opportunities available.  You can expect to see more student members at our chapter meetings this year, so please take the time to talk to the students and make them feel welcome.  If you are interested in being involved with student activities in any capacity please let me know!

CRC 2023 (7/27-7/29)- Akron, OH

The summer Chapter Regional Conference (CRC) in Akron at the end of July was a success and we had three board members in attendance to participate in the Region V chapter reviews, report outs, updates, voting, and trainings. 

As we host the Summer 2024 CRC in Cincinnati, it was also good to debrief with the Akron Chapter on learning and suggestions.  All chapters from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan will decend upon Cincinnati and our chapter is responsible for organization of the activities.  Keep a look out for some CRC sponsorship and volunteer opportunities as we get all the pieces in place.

CRC: Seth Rothey and Anna Sanzere       CRC: Joe Tornes, Seth, and Anna

CRC 2023 Society Awards/Recognition:

Congratulations to John Lowe, Jason Hilton, and David Deger, for receiving the “Chapter Service Award” in 2023 for your cumulative contributions to ASHRAE!  Proud to have you as part of our Cincinnati ASHRAE membership!  I would like to present these in person in October, or contact me to make other arrangements.

Open Roles: we are looking for both a Government Affairs and Research Promotion Committee Chairperson.

The Government Affairs Committee is responsible for organizing ASHRAE members to educate local, state, provincial, and national government bodies and officials in areas of interest to ASHRAE members, and to promote effective cooperation between ASHRAE members and government. The committee works to coordinate government affairs efforts and is responsible for developing the extent and the manner in which ASHRAE implements and pursues actions to influence government affairs and public policy.

The Research Promotion Committee manages and supports both the Society-level fundraising and Chapter-level fundraising of the RP Campaign. Traditionally supporting just research, the RP Campaign was expanded 10 years ago to include support of Education & ALI, Endowed Research through ASHRAE Foundation, YEA programs, ASHRAE Scholarships, and the General/Unrestricted fund. Research, the backbone of ASHRAE, remains the primary fund of the program with over $2 million raised for this program annually.

Please let us know if you’re interested in joining our board. We are always looking for volunteers to serve   on various committees.

ASHRAE Government/Legislative Highlights:

Department of Energy’s Careers in Clean Energy Webinars in September

The U.S. Department of Energy is hosting a series of webinars in September as part of the Careers in Clean Energy Series. This webinar series highlights career opportunities in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and provides participants with a chance to network. The webinars will be presented by EERE leaders, employees, and hiring managers. The September series will include webinars on:

• Business Operations on September 7th

• Sustainable Transportation and Fuels on September 14th

• Renewable Energy on September 21st

• Building and Industry on September 28th

All the webinars are two hours long, and start at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The links to register for each of these events can be found here.

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EPA Releases App for IAQ Assessments in Schools – Recorded Webinar Available

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a mobile app that can help with IAQ assessments at schools to create healthier and more productive learning environments. The tool can assist with implementing an IAQ management plan and tracking progress. To learn more, sign up to view EPA’s pre-recorded webinar on this subject: Power in Your Pocket: Conducting Walkthrough IAQ Assessments Using EPA’s School IAQ Assessment Mobile App.

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U.S. Reports Record Growth in Clean Energy Projects

Since IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed, in part, to spur investment in clean energy and climate-related industries; in this, it has succeeded as reported by the American Clean Power Association. In the year since its signing, there has been over $270 billion invested in U.S. utility-scale clean power projects and manufacturing facilities. The manufacturing sector has seen 83 new or expanded facilities, including 52 solar, 14 battery storage, 11 wind power, and six offshore wind manufacturing facilities totaling more than $22 billion in investments. According to the report authored by the American Clean Power Association, domestic clean energy investments in the U.S. over the last year have exceeded total investments made over the previous eight years. A full copy of the report can be found here.

Sincerely,

Seth Rothey, PE

ashraecincinnati@gmail.com