UGA engineering students place third in international design competition

A team of students from the University of Georgia College of Engineering finished among the best in the world in the 2019 ASHRAE Design Competition and Applied Engineering Challenge. Sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the competition recognizes outstanding student design projects and encourages students to become involved in the design of energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

The annual ASHRAE Student Design Competition allows teams to participate in up to three categories: HVAC Design Calculations, HVAC System Selection, and Integrated Sustainable Building Design.

Keshav Bhat, Ike Emedosi, Rashaan Fowles, Hank Rittiner, Ryan Ruff and Morgan Sutter from the UGA College of Engineering placed third in the Integrated Sustainable Building Design category.

“I am extremely proud of the students and their achievement in this international competition,” said Thomas Lawrence, a professor of practice in the College of Engineering and the ASHRAE student chapter’s faculty advisor. “This is a lot of work to undertake and requires coordination from many different disciplines and perspectives. This is the fourth year that a UGA team has placed in the top three in this competition and it says a lot about the diverse and well-rounded training the students are getting at UGA.”

The 2019 student competition focused on a new small hospital in Budapest, Hungary. The final HVAC system selection and the design for the proposed building required students to address five major design goals: low life cycle cost, low environmental impact, comfort and health, creative high-performance green design, and synergy with the building’s architecture.

The UGA team’s design included a wide range of sustainability features including methods to control stormwater runoff and for collecting rainwater for use on-site. The students also designed a green roof and cool roof to reduce the impact on the urban heat island, identified and specified high efficiency water and energy consuming fixtures and equipment, and designed an HVAC system that maximizes indoor environmental quality.

The UGA team’s project, along with other award winners, will be shared during the 2020 ASHRAE Winter Conference, Feb. 1 – 5 in Orlando.

By Mike Wooten


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