ATLANTA - A Florida mechanical engineer has been named as a Washington Congressional Fellow hosted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Michael Erbesfeld, TLC Engineering for Architecture – Deerfield Beach Division, will serve a one-year fellowship in Washington, D.C., which allows him to work on Capitol Hill in a technical advisory role. He has been assigned to the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Erbesfeld recently completed the annual fellows orientation sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“What’s so exciting about this fellowship is that it offers an opportunity to help policymakers shape the future of our built environment by making responsible design the standard as opposed to the exception,” Erbesfeld said.

Doug Read, ASHRAE program director of government affairs, noted that Erbesfeld’s assignment would be beneficial to both groups given Feinstein’s service on the Appropriations Committee, including chairing the Interior, Environment, and related agencies subcommittees.

“Michael’s assignment to Sen. Feinstein’s office is critical for ASHRAE and USGBC because of her service on the Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over the funding for federal agencies that impact future research and development in building sciences and regulation of buildings related issues,” he said.

The fellowship runs through August 2009.

Publication date: 11/17/2008