Movember

As you might already know, each November, men around the world participate in a month long celebration of the moustache and help to highlight men's issues - specifically prostate cancer. The event, which has come to be known as Movember, is an opportunity to raise awareness for men's health and to raise funds by collecting donations. The UBC ASHRAE Student Chapter will be participating this year, and we will be posting our updates throughout the month.

All of the money raised will go directly to Prostate Cancer Canada, and I encourage all chapter members to join in the upper lip celebration (there's even a chance for females - known as Mo Sistas - to participate). If you would like to join, just go to ca.movember.com and click on Get Involved. Our team can be found under UBC ASHRAE.

If you have any questions about Movember, or if you would like to make a donation, you can contact us at ubcashrae@gmail.com.

Jeff

October ASHRAE BC Chapter Meeting

On October 14, the ASHRAE BC Chapter held their monthly meeting at the Croatian Cultural Centre. A few members of the UBC Chapter were able to attend, and were given a behind the scenes tour of the upgraded HVAC systems for the building, including 2 new boilers and a new heat exchanger. The new equipment will provide a more efficient and sustainable heating and cooling system for the building.

We were also able to meet with Doug LeCran, who is the Regional Vice Chair for Student Activities. Doug came all the way from Alaska to be there, and we were able to discuss with him some issues that are relevant to students, including scholarships and the ASHRAE Design Project.

The next BC Chapter meeting will be Wednesday November 18, and will again take place at the Croatian Cultural Centre. There will be a buffet dinner and a presentation on air-to-air energy recovery systems and equipment. The cost for students is $10, hope to see you there.

Jeff

ASHRAE Scholarships

For those of you who are interested, ASHRAE offers a number of undergraduate scholarships to students. In order to qualify, students must be enrolled full time and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. All of the scholarship information, including the application package, can be found at www.ashrae.org/scholarships.

Applications are due December 1, and they require a personal letter of recommendation from 3 references. Please note that one of these references needs to be our chapter sponsor, Dr. Nima Atabaki.

Jeff

Sustainable Buildings 101 Seminar Series

The UBC Emerging Green Builders are a network of students, scholars, professors, practitioners, and administrators who are concerned with the future of the built environment. They have set up a 5 part seminar series called Sustainable Buildings 101 which will occur throughout the Fall semester. It is primarily meant to be an introduction to sustainable buildings for people who are unaware or have little knowledge about them but are interested in learning more. Each talk will have a different industry professional speaking on a different aspect of green buildings.

The first seminar, Introduction to the Series: Sustainable Buildings 101 by Michael Driedger, B.A. Dip T LEED AP, Sustainability Research Advisor, Busby Perkins & Will will be Thursday October 8 at 5:30 in C.K. Choi room 120.

If you have the time, I definitely recommend you check out this or any of the upcoming seminars.

You can also get some more information from the Emerging Green Builders website at http://tinyurl.com/ubcegb

- Jeff

Club Mech BBQ

Club MECH hosted a BBQ on September 30th and the UBC ASHRAE Student Chapter was there recruiting for new members. We spoke to a lot of students and were pleased with the amount of interest in the club. Thanks to everyone who came out for a burger and thanks again to Club MECH for allowing us to participate.

ASHRAE BC September 2009 Meeting

On September 16, the ASHRAE BC Chapter hosted a tour of the new Vancouver Convention Centre. Ross Alger, Jacob Allen, Dr. Nima Atabaki, and myself were priveliged to take part in this tour as representatives of the UBC Student Chapter.

The evening began with a social mixer, followed by presentations on the building architecture and mechanical systems, and finally a behind the scenes tour. The mechanical systems were designed to improve building efficiency by only heating and cooling the areas that are being used. For example, when we moved from the hallway where the social mixer was being held into the conference room, the system closed the damper in the hallway and opened the damper in the conference room. Although this is a simple concept, the controls behind this operation are relatively complex.

Another key feature of the Convention Centre was the green roof, which was irrigated by treated black water. This green roof is the largest non-industrial living roof in North America, and it helps to reduce the thermal load on the building. Other features we were impressed with were the open loop sea water heating and cooling, and the fish habitat that was built into the foundations. All in all, we were very impressed with the whole event, and I strongly encourage everyone to take part in the next ASHRAE BC meeting which will be held on October 14 at the Croatian Cultural Centre.

Best Regards,

Jeff Snow