Incr eased Awar eness and Deepened Under st andi ng of IAQ Issues of Fut ur e HVAC Engi neer s t hr ough Some Ini t i at i ves in t he Academe Aut hor s Manuel C. Bel i no, Dean ( SMME), Mapua Inst i t ut e of Technol ogy Ef r en G. Del a Cr uz, Vi ce- Dean ( COE), De La Salle University Mani l a mcbel i no@mapua. edu. ph
1. Introduction 2. Initiatives Outline of Presentation 2.1 Curricular Reform 2.2 Syllabus Design 2.3 Establishment of a Laboratory 2.4 Undertaking IAQ Research 2.5 Collaboration with Professional Societies 2.5.1 Establishment of Student Branches 2.5.2 Attendance to Seminars, Conferences, etc. 3. Summary
1. Introduction For many years the importance of air quality or purity in the teaching of air-conditioning principles and design in engineering schools was not emphasized or tackled at all. The other factors to be controlled in air-conditioning such as temperature, humidity, and velocity or movement were the primary considerations. The authors are inclined to think that the Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) practitioners/engineers are ahead in pushing the idea of good indoor air quality (IAQ) than the academics, at least, in the Philippines.
Furthermore, the old textbooks used in teaching an air-conditioning course do not have a discussion on IAQ at all. With the HVAC industry and professional societies like the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Philippines Society of Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (PSVARE) commitment to promote a safe and healthy indoor environment, engineering schools are expected to exert a similar effort.
In this paper, the authors will discuss some of the initiatives undertaken by their respective educational institutions, Mapua Institute of Technology (Mapua) and De La Salle University (DLSU), to promote increased awareness and deepened the understanding of IAQ issues in the training and education of future HVAC engineers. Such initiatives include building an IAQ laboratory, curricular reforms to introduce IAQ as an elective course, revised syllabus of the air-conditioning course, exposure of the students on the current trends on IAQ research and practice, active membership and involvement in professional activities, and undertaking research projects on IAQ and related topics.
2. Initiatives The following initiatives are undertaken by the institutions of the authors to promote instruction and research in IAQ. 2.1 Curricular Reform The Mapua Institute of Technology Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.) program has four tracks from which senior students could choose for their electives. One of them is Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).
2.2 Syllabus Design Since HVAC/R is one of the tracks in the B.S.M.E. program of Mapua and one of the courses is IAQ, some of the topics covered are: sick building syndrome, chemical and biological contaminants, assessment and walkthrough, sampling and mitigation.
2.3 Establishment of a Laboratory To support the HVAC/R track in the curriculum a dedicated laboratory is established to support the lectures in HVAC/R particularly on IAQ. Through an ASHRAE student grant the Indoor Environment Quality Measurement laboratory was put up. Likewise, the Mechanical Engineering Department of DLSU has a dedicated HVAC/R laboratory for instruction and research. A research project titled Development of an Efficient Intelligent Indoor Air Treatment System was undertaken in this laboratory.
2.4 Undertaking IAQ Research Several undergraduate theses have been written about IAQ in the undergraduate program both in DLSU and Mapua. Among these are IAQ assessment of air-conditioned urban buses, ship cabins, taxicabs, Light Railway Transit, libraries, shopping malls, grade school classrooms, hospitals, and offices. Some of these theses are also research projects undertaken by the faculty advisers. Some of the on-going theses include IAQ assessment and improvement of some small-scale industries such as T-shirt printing and tarpaulin printing shops. A proposed one is the improvement of the IAQ of a casino.
2.5 Collaboration with Professional Societies In collaboration with a local and international professional societies such as the Philippine Society of Ventilating and Air-conditioning Engineers (PSVARE) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), both students and faculty are benefited with seminars, trainings and plant visits.
3. Summary The increase in the number of thesis projects dealing with indoor air quality is one of the signs of an increasing students awareness of air quality issues and concerns. With the other initiatives undertaken in the academe to increase the students awareness and deepen their understanding of IAQ issues, it is hoped that they, as future HVAC engineers, would be more concerned about the safety and health of the building occupants as they design and build a comfortable built environment. After all, the promotion of safety and health is the engineers foremost ethical responsibility.
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