During the conference, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers signed letters of understanding with several groups, including the United Nations Development Programme, the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and Association of German Engineers. The society also announced a strategic partnership agreement with the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Associations.

“Partnering with allied organizations and associations better allows us to harness and adapt to new technologies, which we can all use in working toward a more sustainable environment,” said ASHRAE President Tim Wentz. “By working together, we can create a worldwide best practices databank of innovative and successful technologies that can serve the built-environment community.”

ASHRAE introduced a technology portal at www.ashrae.org/technologyportal, designed to be an easy way to let members see what’s new with society research. More than 1,700 ASHRAE Journal issues dating back 20 years are available, as are 600 research reports.

Wentz, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said he was especially excited about the online internship portal at http://jobs.ashrae.org.

“I am big supporter of internship programs in that they are the easiest and most effective way to show students the importance of our work and why we are so passionate about what we do,” he said. “Check it out and start looking for the next generation of engineers for your firm.”