Seminars

Joint ME/IE 8773-8774 Seminar

Shifting the HVAC Paradigm from Comfort to Health, Safety and Security

by

James E. Woods
PhD., P.E., Executive Director
The Building Diagnostics Research Institute, Inc.
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-4455

Wednesday, September 29, 2004
3:30-5:00 pm
1130 Mechanical Engineering
Coffee and Cookies will be available before and following the lecture

Abstract:

For the last century, developments in the arts and sciences of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) have significantly affected occupant health, comfort and performance, and the productivity of building occupants. More recently, energy, environmental and security issues have resulted in additional performance requirements for these systems. Consequently, a higher level of accountability is evolving for design and operations of buildings and their systems. This paradigm shift must be addressed in the education and training of those responsible for building performance, as well as those who set and implement policy. This seminar will focus on two fundamental needs: 1) a commitment to “Continuous Accountability;” and 2) diagnostic procedures that can be used to objectively define, measure, and evaluate building performance for “normal conditions” (e.g., IAQ, comfort, energy efficiency, sustainability, and productivity) and “extraordinary conditions” such as natural disasters (e.g., winds, floods, earthquakes), accidental incidents (e.g., fires, internal floods, chemical spills), and intentional disruptions (e.g., criminal and terrorist activities).

Bio: James E. Woods, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, is the Executive Director of The Building Diagnostics Research Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He retired as the William E. Jamerson Professor of Building Construction at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1997. Previously, he served as Senior Engineering Manager and Senior Staff Scientist at Honeywell, and was Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Architecture at Iowa State University. He has practiced, taught, and conducted research in subjects related to indoor environmental quality, human responses, energy utilization, and productivity in office buildings, public assembly and monumental buildings, hospitals, schools, residences, laboratories, and commercial aircraft. Results from these studies have been reported in more than 150 technical papers, seven books and two patents. In ASHRAE, he is a member of the Environmental Health and Standards Committees, the Presidential Ad Hoc Committee on Building Health and Safety under Extraordinary Incidents, and the volunteer representative to The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) Steering Committee.

Informal Faculty Luncheon: Wednesday, September 29, 2004, 12:00 noon. Meet in 1100 ME and walk to lunch with other faculty. Dr. James E. Woods will be able to attend.