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I knew that I wanted to be a mechanical engineer before I started going to City College; however, I did not know which branch I would be interested in since this field was so broad. One day, during my freshmen year, I started looking around the hall on the second floor of Steinman Hall as I walked to class. I paused and saw a door with a sign that said "ASHRAE". I wondered what type of engineering it could be so I continued reading, "American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers". Suddenly I pictured a group of engineers designing or improving the design of heaters, refrigerators and air conditioners and I thought to myself that I was not interested in that branch of mechanical engineering, little did I know that it was more than that. I proceed to go to class without thinking anymore about it. During my junior year, I decided that I wanted to somehow help stop global warming and help the environment. My friend told me I should go into Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). After some research, I realized that this branch promoted sustainability. Sustainability, in HVAC terms, means maximizing energy efficiency (more energy used and less wasted) while minimizing energy use to reduce impacts on health and the environment. During my senior year, I took the course named Environmental Control which we called HVAC. In this class, we learned how to analyze a building's heating and cooling load and use that as a basis for determining the size of the HVAC system the building needs to have. We also learned to determine which HVAC systems on the market are suitable for the load and are most efficient. This meant having a system that would be better for the environment. We also learned how to design the duct system in buildings. I decided to join the ASHRAE chapter during this semester. The ASHRAE club had various events that I attended. The events included having a speaker from the HVAC industry inform students of what his/her tasks as a mechanical engineer were. Matthew Flannery was one of the speakers that came to talk about his experience with chilled water systems. He was very informative about what they were and how they worked. I became the secretary of the ASHRAE club short afterwards. As of now, we are planning to organize a career fair with companies that specialize in HVAC for April 30th 2009. We also decided to get involved in the ASHRAE 2009 Design Competition. This competition involves calculating the heating and cooling loads and designing an HVAC system of a three-story building. A duct design and a cost analysis of the HVAC systems are also required. I am sure that at the end of this competition I will gain valuable experience that will help my future career goals.
Author: Kelly Li – ASHRAE CCNY Secretary. ASHARE CCNY Student Club is a chapter of ASHRAE - an international organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of the HVAC industry.
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