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ASHRAE Celebrates Outstanding Member Contributions at 2026 Winter Conference

  • 01 Feb 2026
  • Conferences
  • Atlanta

ASHRAE Celebrates Outstanding Member Contributions at 2026 Winter Conference

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         

MEDIA CONTACT:

Karen Buckley Washington
Associate Manager – Public Relations
kbwashington@ashrae.org

ASHRAE Celebrates Outstanding Member Contributions at 2026 Winter Conference

2026 Winter Conference Honors and Awards Recipients

ATLANTA (February 1, 2026) – ASHRAE honored members whose leadership, innovation and service have made a lasting impact on the Society and the built environment during its 2026 Winter Conference, held in Las Vegas. The recognitions highlight the distinct ways ASHRAE members advance building performance, sustainability and the HVAC&R profession worldwide. A list of the awards and recipients are below.

F. Paul Anderson Award
Chandra Sekhar, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, received the F. Paul Anderson Award.
The award is ASHRAE's highest technical achievement given for notable achievement of outstanding services performed in the HVAC&R field. Sekhar is a professor, National University of Singapore, College of Design and Engineering, Department of the Built Environment, Singapore.

ASHRAE Hall of Fame
Ron Jarnagin, Presidential Fellow Life Member ASHRAE (1946-2024) and Kenneth Loudermilk, Life Member ASHRAE (1954-2023) were inducted into the ASHRAE Hall of Fame. The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors deceased members of the Society who have made milestone contributions to the growth of ASHRAE-related technology or the development of ASHRAE as a society.

ASHRAE Distinguished Public Service Award
Darryl Boyce, P.Eng., Presidential Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, received the ASHRAE Distinguished Public Service Award. The award recognizes a member of Society who has performed outstanding public service in their community, and in doing so, has helped to improve the public image of the engineer. Boyce is owner, Boyce Consulting Services, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada.

Fellow ASHRAE
Fellow ASHRAE is a membership grade that recognizes members who have attained distinction and made substantial contributions in HVAC&R and the built environment such as education, research, engineering design and consultation, publications, presentations and mentoring. The Society elevated 24 members to the grade of Fellow:

  • Omar Abdelaziz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.
  • Amanda Bogner, BEMP, Vice President, Catalyst Partners, Omaha, Neb.
  • Lianne Cockerton, P.Eng. Director of Sustainable Development, Martin Roy and Associates, Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, Canada.
  • Lorenzo Cremaschi, Professor & Director Undergraduate Research, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
  • Abdel Kader Darwich, HFDP, Principal, Guttmann and Blaevoet Consulting Engineers, Sacramento, Calif.
  • Steven J. DiFlora, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, Senior Executive Director, MG Engineering, D.P.C., New York, N.Y.
  • Mahroo Eftekhari, Professor, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
  • Kenneth M. Fulk, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, Principal Emeritus, RWB Consulting Engineers, Dallas, Texas
  • Christopher Gray, Ph.D., P.E., CDP, CEO, EcoSmart Solution, Atlanta, Ga.
  • Gregor P. Henze, Ph.D., P.E., Professor of Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colo.
  • Satish N. Iyengar, Proprietor, Services Consultants, Bangalore, India
  • Amir Jokar, Ph.D., P.E., Principal Engineer, Exponent, Inc., Irvine, Calif.
  • Tracey Jumper, Global Director of Data Center Commissioning, Microsoft, Palm Springs, Calif.
  • Michael J. Langton, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, Langton Energy Engineering Services, LLC, Montgomery, Texas.
  • Phil Naughton, Life Member ASHRAE, Principal/Owner, Eco Cleanroom HVAC Consulting, Austin, Texas.
  • Alan Neely, Senior Regional Sales Manager, Owens Corning-FOAMGLAS® Insulation, Texas.
  • Bruce I. Nelson, Life Member ASHRAE, CEO, Bruce V. Nelson Engineering LLC, Colville, Wash.
  • Clay Nesler, Life Member ASHRAE, Founder, The Nesler Group, Fort Myers, Fla.
  • Daniel C. Pettway, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired, Chesapeake, Va.
  • Carsten Rode, Professor, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
  • Richard W. Trent, Life Member ASHRAE, Chairman of the Board, Carolina Heat Pipe Inc., Johns Island, S.C.
  • Thanos Tzempelikos, Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
  • James W. VanGilder, Data Center CFD Senior Expert, Schneider Electric, Andover, Mass.
  • Mack Wallace, Life Member ASHRAE, Global Practice Director-Federal Mechanical, Jacobs, Fort Worth, Texas

YEA Inspirational Leader Award
Alekhya Kaianathbhatta, received the YEA Inspirational Leader Award. The award recognizes a Young Engineer in ASHRAE (YEA) member who has gone above and beyond to make considerable contributions to the industry and community. Kaianathbhatta is an associate, The HIDI Group, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Milton W. Garland Refrigeration Award
Nasser A. Karimzadeh received the Milton W. Garland Refrigeration Award. The award recognizes the designer and owner of a commercial or industrial refrigeration application that demonstrates innovation and advancement in the field. The award may consider innovation and excellence in technology, application, advanced design, project practices and operation. Karimzadeh is Chief Industrial Refrigeration Engineer, VaCom Technology, Oakwood, Ga.

John F. James International Award
John Constantinide received the John F. James International Award. The award recognizes an ASHRAE member who has done the most to enhance the Society's international presence or posture. Constantinide is a Range Mechanical Engineer, U.S. Space Force, Patrick Space Force Base, Fla.

E.K. Campbell Award of Merit
Carey Simonson received the E.K. Campbell Award of Merit. The award honors an individual for outstanding service and achievement in teaching and is presented by the Life Members Club. Simonson is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Award of Engineering Excellence
The Award of Engineering Excellence was created in 1989 to recognize a first-place winner of the Society-level Technology Award competition for an outstanding application of innovative design and effective energy utilization. The recipient of the Award of Engineering Excellence will have demonstrated the best overall compliance with the judging criteria.

  • Kunita Shindo, P.E. and Shun Kawakubo, Dr.Eng., new industrial facilities or process category, OKI Honjo Plant H1 Factory, Saitama, Japan. The building is owned by OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

The ASHRAE Technology Awards
The ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize outstanding achievements by ASHRAE members who have successfully applied innovative building designs. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and indoor air quality and serve to communicate innovative systems design. Winning projects are selected from entries earning regional awards.

  • Barry Lau, EBCx commercial buildings category, Citygate Outlets, Hong Kong. The building is owned by Swire Properties Limited.
  • Eikichi Ono, Takamasa Hasama, Toby Cheung and Yuichi Takemasa, new commercial buildings category, The GEAR, Singapore. The building is owned by Kajima Development.
  • Ben Kleine-Kracht and Jess Farber, existing educational facilities category, Buckley Elementary School, Manchester, Conn. The building is owned by the Town of Manchester.
  • Grayson Woods, Ben Hobbs and Kyle Sprague, new educational facilities category, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Washington, D.C. The building is owned by the Department of General Services.
  • Nolan Amos and Bill Sharp, new institutional category, Centre College Champions Hall, Danville, Ky. The building is owned by Centre College.
  • Jess Farber, Ben Kleine-Kracht, Thom Anderson and Kyle Smith, EBCx health care facilities, Boston Medical Center: Brockton Behavioral Health Center, Boston, Mass. The building is owned by Boston Medical Center.
  • Kevin Sharples, P.Eng., Kurt Monteiro, P.Eng., HFDP, HBDP and Peter Kastelic, P.Eng., new health care facilities, New Western Memorial Regional Hospital, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. The building is owned by the Government of Newfoundland.   
  • Austin Boone, P.E. and Brice Watson, existing public assembly, Stead Park Recreation Center, Washington, D.C. The building is owned by DGS.
  • Spencer Howell, Shruti Borle, BEMP and David W. Griffin, II, BEMP new public assembly, Salt Lake County Daybreak Library, South Jordan, Utah. The building is owned by Salt Lake City County Facilities Management.

Student Design Competition
The Student Design Competition focused on a new medical office building in Manchester, England. The final HVAC system selection and design for the building needed to address energy efficiency, occupant health and safety, occupant comfort, functionality, and future flexibility.

First place in the HVAC Design Calculations category was awarded to Ain Shams University. Team members are Yasmin Tarek Saeed, Yasmin Omar Hanafi, Habiba Khaled Sayed, Rawan Walid Mohmed, Ahd Roshdy Abd-Elkhalek and Fatma Hatem Mohamed.

First place in the HVAC System Selection category was awarded to Ain Shams University. Team members are Abdallah Emad, Mohamed Mohsen, Omar Abdallah, Mohamed Hany, Omar Akram and Youssry Medhat.

First place in the Setty Family Foundation Net Zero Energy Design category was awarded to

New Jersey Institute of Technology. Team members are Jacob Swanson, Austin Chen, Jeongseo Lee, Minkyeong Park and Mingzhe Li.

The Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge
The Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge focused on the development of a specific component – a carbon capture and utilization module—that not only reduces the carbon footprint of HVAC&R systems but also transforms captured CO2 into a valuable resource, aligning with the goals of sustainability and decarbonization.

The first place student team was awarded to Simon Fraser University. Team members are Michael La Grange, Megan Lucille Zelasky, Erin Flood and Jasleen Sandhu.

Building EQ Competition
In the Building EQ Competition students had the opportunity to evaluate and audit building energy consumption for buildings in operation to give the building a Building EQ score. This competition takes theory into practice. It will give students the hands-on experience with operational settings while working collaboratively with building owners.

The first place student team was awarded to University of Washington. Team members are Tyler Kalkwarf, Colin Shea, Carmen Le, Jon Erik Tolo and Carmen Anderson.

About ASHRAE
ASHRAE is an international society of more than 50,000 heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning professionals from over 132 nations dedicated to serving humanity and promoting a sustainable world.

Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is an industry leader in research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE its members are dedicated to promoting a healthy and sustainable built environment for all, through strategic partnerships with organizations in the HVAC&R community and across related industries.

The Society is showcasing integrated building solutions and sustainability in action through the opening of the ASHRAE Global Headquarters building in metro-Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information and to stay up-to-date on ASHRAE, visit ashrae.org, connect on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube or download the ASHRAE 365 app to stay connected on the go.

 

 

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