AIRAH Awards

The AIRAH Awards 2021 were handed out on Thursday, February 17, 2022 in Sydney. Thank you to all our sponsors, nominees, supporters and attendees for making it the biggest AIRAH Awards ceremony so far.

Nominations for the AIRAH Awards 2021 commenced earlier in 2021 and were reviewed by our panel of judges. Thank you to everyone that put forth a nomination. Below, find the full list of selected finalists in their respective categories and the winners.



BEST HVAC RETROFIT OR UPGRADE

2021 finalists
  • ESBS – ACT Schools HVAC Upgrades
  • Woolworths Group – HVAC Optimisation Stage 2
  • HDR – The Hayesbery
  • NDY – The University of Queensland AIBN Heat Pump Retrofit
2021 winner: ESBS – ACT Schools HVAC Upgrades

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EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

 2021 winner
  • TAFE NSW – Refrigeration Teaching Section Ultimo College

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EXCELLENCE IN HVAC&R RESEARCH

2021 winner
  • Keivan Bamdad Masouleh – Model Predictive Control (MPC) to Improve HVAC Operation

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EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION

Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric
2021 finalists
  • A.G. Coombs and Aurecon – 25 King Street 
  • Glaciem Cooling Technologies – Advancing Renewable Energy with Thermal Energy Storage
  • Exergenics – Queensland Children's Hospital – exOptima Digital Twin 
2021 winner: Glaciem Cooling Technologies – Advancing Renewable Energy with Thermal Energy Storage

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EXCELLENCE IN REFRIGERATION

2021 finalists
  • Glaciem Cooling Technologies – ARENA-WF Montague
  • Scantec Refrigeration Technologies – Fernhurst
2021 winner: Glaciem Cooling Technologies – ARENA-WF Montague and Scantec Refrigeration Technologies – Fernhurst (joint winners)

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EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABILITY

Sponsored by Superior Training Centre

2021 finalists
  • NDY – 12 Creek Street – The Annex
  • A.G. Coombs and Aurecon – 25 King Street
  • PDF Engineering – Armadale Aquatic Centre
2021 winner: Aurecon and A.G. Coombs – 25 King Street

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FUTURE LEADER

Sponsored by A.G. Coombs
2021 finalists
  • Malik Muhammad Awais, Affil.AIRAH
  • Iain Stewart, Affil.AIRAH
  • Alyce Wilson, Affil.AIRAH
2021 winner: Iain Stewart, Affil.AIRAH

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JAMES HARRISON MEDAL

The James Harrison Medal is the highest honour AIRAH can bestow upon an individual. Named after Australian refrigeration pioneer James Harrison, it recognises the highest levels of individual achievement in the Australian refrigeration and air conditioning industry. For more information and to view previous recipients, please click here.

The James Harrison Medal recipient is selected by the AIRAH Board, and must be an AIRAH member. It is not awarded every year.

The winner of the 2021 James Harrison Medal is Paul Bannister, L.AIRAH.



INNOVATIVE USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN HVAC&R

2021 finalists
  • Glaciem Cooling Technologies – Advancing Renewable Energy with Thermal Energy Storage
  • University of Wollongong – Advancing Solar Energy and Thermal Storage
2021 winner: Glaciem Cooling Technologies – Advancing Renewable Energy with Thermal Energy Storage

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PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by HVAC&R Search
2021 finalists
  • San-air – Air Purifier V3R Bio-clean Gel
  • Camfil – Kaire Unit
  • medihood – The McMonty
  • ActronAir – NEO
  • CIM – PEAK Platform
2021 winner: Camfil – Kaire Unit

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STUDENT OF THE YEAR – HIGHER EDUCATION OR RESEARCH

2021 finalists
  • Ashfaque Chowdhury, Affil.AIRAH – Central Queensland University
  • Soha Matour, Stud.AIRAH – Queensland University of Technology
  • Craig Pickup, Stud.AIRAH – University of Wollongong
2021 winner: Ashfaque Chowdhury, Affil.AIRAH – Central Queensland University
 
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STUDENT OF THE YEAR – TRADE

Sponsored by LG
2021 finalists
  • James Errington, Stud.AIRAH – Copper Coast Refrigeration / TAFE SA
  • Jason Evangiledis, Stud.AIRAH – CFM Air Conditioning / Box Hill TAFE
  • Jessica Lonsdale, Stud.AIRAH – BHP Nickel West / South Metropolitan TAFE
2021 winner: Jessica Lonsdale, Stud.AIRAH – BHP Nickel West/South Metropolitan TAFE

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WR AHERN AWARD

Sponsored by Ecolibrium

This award goes to the best technical paper by an AIRAH member published in Ecolibrium over the previous year.
2021 finalists
  • “Change in carpark ventilation” 
    Rob Lord, M.AIRAH and Emily Smith, February Ecolibrium, 2020
  • “Assessing the performance of fire sprinkler systems with fast-response heads” 
    Firas Shawash, M.AIRAH, May Ecolibrium 2020.
  • “Effective integration of polymer plate heat exchangers – A simulation study for evaluating their use in tall commercial office buildings” 
    Dr Chris Menictas, M.AIRAH; Arjun Adhikari, M.AIRAH; Professor Guan H. Yeoh; and Dr Victoria Timchenko, June/July Ecolibrium, 2020.
2021 winner: “Effective integration of polymer plate heat exchangers – A simulation study for evaluating their use in tall commercial office buildings”
– Dr Chris Menictas, M.AIRAH; Arjun Adhikari, M.AIRAH; Professor Guan H. Yeoh; and Dr Victoria Timchenko (Ecolibrium June/July, 2020)


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