Syracuse University to host international indoor air quality and building energy conservation conference Aug. 15-18

On Aug. 15, Syracuse will again welcome international visitors gathering to discuss indoor air quality, healthy buildings and energy efficiency. Continuing the success of Healthy Buildings 2009, hosted by the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE), Syracuse University will host the 7th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings (IAQVEC). The conference will be held Aug. 15-18 on the SU campus and will highlight Syracuse’s commitment to supporting research and exploration in the field of green building technologies.

IAQVEC is a premier international conference series, held once every three years. Previously, it has been held in Montreal, Canada (1992, 1995); Lyon, France (1998); Changsha, China (2001); Toronto, Canada (2004); and Sendai, Japan (2007).

IAQVEC 2010’s technical program, with a theme of “Innovation and Integration,” will include eight keynote lectures to be delivered by prominent scientists, researchers and architects from Asia, Europe and North America, and feature more than 150 oral and poster presentations.

“Syracuse University is proud to welcome more than 200 participants from 26 countries from around the world for this prestigious conference,” says SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina. “Syracuse–through research done at SU, the Syracuse CoE and in the community–has been firmly established as a world-class leader in indoor environments, building technologies and sustainability. Therefore, it is very fitting that the world’s top researchers will gather here to further advance research and innovations in these critical areas. It also provides us the opportunity to showcase the entire Central New York region and the work done here to improve safety, productivity and comfort in built environments around the globe.”

In addition to SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS), conference co-hosts include SyracuseCoE, the National Research Council of Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The conference will cover a wide range of key research areas with the goal of simultaneously improving buildings’ indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency and enhancing occupants’ well-being and productivity. IAQVEC 2010 will provide a forum for presentations of original research work and findings, demonstration and displays of innovative technologies, and discussions of future challenges and opportunities.

“I am very excited about this conference and very pleased with the final conference program. All of the technical papers were peer reviewed and are of very high quality,” says Jensen Zhang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in LCS, director of the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory and chairman of IAQVEC 2010. “We are very fortunate to have several prominent figures in the field to deliver keynote lectures. Syracuse University and the SyracuseCoE will also host technical tours to showcase innovative research and green building technologies.”

Among the notable speakers is current American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) president Lynn G. Bellenger, P.E., partner with Pathfinder Engineers and Architects LLP, in Rochester. On Aug. 15, Bellenger, the first female president of ASHRAE, will speak about “Modeling a Sustainable World,” noting the powerful modeling tools that enable refining the vision of a building: its appearance, systems, operation and performance. The subject is also her presidential theme this year for ASHRAE.

Following Bellenger, Josh Uhl of Toshiko Mori Architect will speak about “Balance and Challenges of Integrated Practice.” Toshiko Mori Architect was the design architect for the Syracuse CoE headquarters building.

Other speakers throughout the week include Andrew K Persily, leader of the Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation Group, Building Environment Division, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who will speak about “Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency: Getting to Netzero Without Stinkin’ up the Joint”; William J. Fisk Sr., scientist and head of the indoor environment department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), who will speak about “Benefits of Improved IEQ: Better Health and Improved Work and School Performance”; Derek J. Clements-Croome, professor of construction engineering at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and director and founder of the university’s M.Sc Intelligent Buildings Programme and Intelligent Buildings Research Group, speaking on “Sustainable Intelligent Buildings for People”; Patrice Blondeau, associate professor at LEPTIAB, University of La Rochelle, France, who will speak about “Pollutant Transport Through Building Materials: Physical Analysis, Modeling and Applications”; Shinsuke Kato, professor and director of the Center for Development of Instrumentation Technology in the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan, speaking about “Urban Wind Environment and its Impact on Indoor Environment: Acceptable Wind Features of Void Space Surrounding Buildings”; and Xudong Yang, Chang-Jiang Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Built Environment and Equipment Engineering in the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University in China, discussing “Energy and IAQ in Chinese Rural Housing: Sustainable Strategies and Demonstration Projects.”

The conference will focus on topics such as how to effectively measure the impacts of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on human health, comfort, productivity and creativity, and how it can be improved in an energy-efficient and cost-effective manner. Included is a focus on the outdoor environment and urban setting impact IEQ, as well as energy efficiency of buildings and cities. An additional focus is on the solution to the major IEQ and energy problems in rural areas of developing countries.

A major concern that will be addressed is how to measure, model and control the multi-scale heat, air, moisture and pollutant transport and storage processes in buildings and how to make buildings intelligent, utilizing renewable energy sources, operating at low costs and responding to occupants’ needs. Fundamentally, the conference will explore how to integrate green technologies in design practices and how to model and build a sustainable world.

The social program of IAQVEC 2010 includes several receptions combined with technical tours, as well as a conference dinner and entertainment by local artists such as the The Rick Montalbano Trio, The Oak Hollow Woodwind Quintet, vocalist Gina Fortunato, DANCER’s Derek Corbett and Rachel Cooper, and pianist Philippe Lewalle.