Dr. Jeffrey Siegel, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, has received two research awards to fund studies on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Siegel received the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, an unrestricted research award from the 3M Contributions Program, and the New Investigator Award, also a research award, from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
He will use the funds to develop models and conduct field experiments on HVAC systems, which are important to human health because they can both improve and degrade indoor air quality. For example, Siegel will study how ozone reacts with the particles on HVAC filters and produces byproducts that could be harmful to a person’s health. He will also study the negative consequences of filter bypass, the unintentional leakage of air around filters, which can degrade filter performance. Siegel will use funds from the two awards to also study other aspects of HVAC systems.
The 3M award, for $15,000, supports the work of faculty members whose research is of interest to the company. An employee of 3M nominated Siegel, and he was selected for the award for the “quality and pertinence” of his research. 3M is a global company that produces many different types of products, including office supplies, electronics, industrial supplies, and filtration products similar to the object of Siegel’s research.
The ASHRAE New Investigator Award supports the research activities and educational efforts of recent Ph.D. recipients who in the last five years became tenure-track faculty members researching questions related to the organization’s field of interest. ASHRAE seeks to be a leader in the sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, and promotes education and professional development in those fields.
The New Investigator Award is reserved for an engineer with a proven ability in research, competence as an engineer, potential for growth in the field, and potential to develop as an educator and academic leader. The award will provide Siegel with $15,000, and the organization is matching the 3M award for another $15,000. In addition, Siegel will have the option of renewing the funds next year for another $15,000.
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