Indoor air quality pioneer P. Ole Fanger named University Professor

Indoor air quality pioneer P. Ole Fanger named University ProfessorMarch 29, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

P. Ole Fanger H’05, the world’s leading expert on the effect of the indoor environment on human comfort, health and productivity, has been appointed a University Professor at Syracuse University. Fanger will support the University’s environmental systems initiative that is embodied in the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (CoE) and its associated STAR Center for Environmental Quality Systems.

Fanger is a senior professor at the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy at the Technical University of Denmark. For more than three decades, he has conducted interdisciplinary research that has contributed to identifying the prime importance of the indoor environment for human comfort, health and productivity. His pioneering work on thermal comfort and indoor air quality provides the scientific foundation for international and national standards all over the world.

Fanger received an honorary doctor of science degree from SU in May 2005 and was the keynote speaker at the 2nd annual Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems in 2002. In accepting appointment at Syracuse University’s highest academic rank, Fanger will be the 10th University Professor in SU’s 135-year history.

“Ole Fanger is a giant in the field of indoor environmental quality,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Deborah A. Freund. “The strong relationship that the College of Engineering and Computer Science has built with Ole to date has been a key factor in the University’s development of a first-class research center in environmental quality systems. His deeper engagement with our students, faculty and partners as a University Professor will accelerate our maturation into a world-class center. In particular, Ole’s expertise will be beneficial as more than $30 million of unique experimental facilities are being built at Syracuse to fuel innovation in built environmental systems.”

Says Greg Powers, vice president of engineering at Carrier, “Carrier has a long established relationship with Ole Fanger and the world-class initiatives he put in place at the Technical University of Denmark in the field of IAQ and human performance. Syracuse University and its students will benefit greatly from Ole’s deep knowledge and understanding in furthering the study of IAQ and human performance.”

Fanger will continue to reside in Denmark and will make weeklong visits to campus throughout the year. He will advise faculty and graduate students on current research projects, help to plot future research directions, give lectures on indoor environmental quality, and engage in collaborative workshops with corporate and academic partners. Fanger will also support the University’s activities during his time in Denmark, including hosting SU faculty and doctoral students at the Centre at the Technical University of Denmark.

“I am flattered and deeply honored by being appointed to this rare and highly distinguished position at SU,” says Fanger. “I am very impressed by the work at the Syracuse CoE in Environmental and Energy Systems and the large investment in new, world-class experimental facilities. SU has all the prerequisites for becoming an international leader within this area. It is my privilege to contribute to international cooperation in a field of great economical importance for society and for the quality of human life.”

In 1998, Fanger received a 10-year Danish government grant to establish the Centre and became its first director, recruiting several world-class researchers to form a unique multidisciplinary team covering not only classic engineering disciplines but also medicine, chemistry and psychology.

Fanger developed a comfort model for indoor quality, predicting perceived air quality in the indoor environment and required ventilation in buildings. He showed, through extensive field studies, that pollution from building materials, electronic devices and HVAC systems is often a major reason for poor indoor air quality. He and his associates at the Centre documented for the first time that poor indoor air quality in homes increases the risk of asthma/allergy among children and that mediocre indoor air quality in offices decreases productivity. They showed that indoor air quality can be improved many times by using new technology while saving energy, with huge benefits for national economy and for the quality of human life.

Fanger has been recognized with 75 scientific awards in 28 countries, including 12 honorary doctorates during the last five years, 18 medals, and honorary memberships in 16 professional societies. He is a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and an international member of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom.