The student activities branch for Southern Alberta has been focussing on both supporting a capstone design project at the University of Calgary for mechanical engineering students and building new connections to get involved in K-12 outreach work. The student activities co-chairs have attended regular student meetings either virtually or in person with the capstone group to help them with deliverables for the project of designing and fabricating a model greenhouse for chickpea production with a focus on the HVAC systems. They will be presenting their project at the ASHRAE dinner meeting on ASHRAE Student Night. Sarah has been in touch with the new Alberta Online School Ignite Centre for eLearning (https://ignitecentre.ca/), and presented on Passive House HVAC concepts and geo-exchange systems for district heating for the grade 8 class who are working on a month long tiny house project on sustainable communities. There will be ongoing opportunities for outreach with Ignite, starting with an invitation to judge their Junior High science fair in early February.

Jack Sreekmar, Chad Draymond, and Sarah Toogood - Student Activities Chair and Co-Chairs

Student Activities at the Southern Alberta Chapter for the upcoming 2022-2023 year is off to a great start with some exciting new faces who bring their wealth of knowledge and creative ideas. Sarah Toogood and Chad Dymond join Student Activites at ASHRAE for the first time. Sarah and Chad are project managers and are helping guide the students of University of Calgary, SAIT and K-12 on their journey towards a sustainable future.

University of Calgary 4th year capstone project is underway as a group of students tackle the challenge of designing a low energy green house and the associated heating, cooling and humidification system associated to grow crops year round. SAIT Capstone projects will kick off in January 2023. Keep an eye out for potential K-12 events as they are being planned for the upcoming year. If you have a student or a teacher that would be interested in an event, please do reach out as opportunities are plentiful.

Finally, we look forward to have students come out to an upcoming YEA/ Student event in the near future. Stay tuned as we return to a bustling year at Student Activities at SAC ASHRAE!

Jack Sreekmar, Chad Draymond, and Sarah Toogood - Student Activities Chair and Co-Chairs

A tour of MacKimmie Tower was organised by the University for Calgary ASHRAE student branch on December 9th for students to learn about the mechanical system in this unique building. MacKimmie Tower is one of most energy efficient buildings on a Canadian post secondary campus. It is a net-zero carbon building, with mechanical and electrical systems that have been optimised to reduce energy use and carbon footprint. On-site photovoltaics and rainwater harvesting contribute to the building’s environmental targets.

Zak Yousef and Malcom Chorel - Student Activities Co-Chairs