William Bahnfleth Credit: Penn State
William Bahnfleth honored with international society service award
June 26, 2023
By Ashley WennersHerron
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering, received the Andrew T. Boggs Service Award from ASHRAE, formerly the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, on June 24 at the society’s annual conference in Tampa, Florida.
This award, named after the former ASHRAE executive vice president, recognizes past recipients of the society’s Exceptional Service Award for “continuing, unselfish, dedicated and distinguished service,” according to the society’s website.
Bahnfleth, whose research focuses on controlling indoor air quality and its impact on energy use, chaired the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force. He now chairs the ASHRAE committee currently finalizing the industry standard for design, operation and maintenance of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems control of infectious aerosols. He is an ASHRAE fellow and presidential member, and his ASHRAE honors include the Exceptional Service Award, the Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award, the E.K. Campbell Award of Merit for teaching and the F. Paul Anderson Award — the society’s highest individual award. He also served as the president of ASHRAE from 2012-13.
Bahnfleth was nominated by Bill McQuade, who earned his bachelor and master of science degrees in mechanical engineering and a master of business administration at Penn State. McQuade is the current treasurer for ASHRAE, a past president of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of ASHRAE and the vice president of regulatory affairs at the Baltimore Aircoil Company.
“[Dr. Bahnfleth’s] service to the society, our industry and to humanity has been extraordinary,” McQuade said in his nomination letter. Among several examples of Bahnfleth’s contributions, McQuade highlighted his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Bahnfleth has been the face of ASHRAE. He has given over two hundred presentations… and 150 interviews on the subject since March 2020. These presentations and interviews have served not only to educate a wide variety of professional and public audiences, but also to greatly enhance awareness of ASHRAE and create opportunities for it to engage in public service.”
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