Illinois Tech Students Sweep Annual ASHRAE Illinois Chapter Scholarships

Students from Illinois Institute of Technology were awarded all five of the 2023 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Illinois Chapter Scholarships.

Illinois Tech students have a high success rate of receiving the annual scholarships awarded by the ASHRAE Illinois Chapter. This year, for the first time, Illinois Tech students have received all available scholarships, an accomplishment no other university except for University of Illinois Chicago has managed since the scholarship program began in 2009.

“I’m so impressed with and proud of our students winning these scholarships, not just for sweeping the program and winning all five scholarships, but for what it demonstrates in terms of their contributions to the profession,” says Brent Stephens, Arthur W. Hill Endowed Chair in Sustainability and chair of the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering. “ASHRAE is the premier professional society devoted to advancing building services engineering, and these scholarships are a great recognition of both the subject matter that our students learn and the service they give back to their profession. We are especially grateful to Associate Professor Mohammad Heidarinejad for his service as our ASHRAE student branch adviser and academic adviser or co-adviser to each student who won.”

The student winners are:

Saeed Farhoodi (Ph.D. Architectural Engineering Student)

Farhoodi’s research focuses on indoor air quality, particularly analyzing field measurement data related to particulate matter and building resiliency. He also has experience in conducting computational fluid dynamics studies across diverse fields, including bio-fluid mechanics and indoor thermal comfort. 

“I have attended ASHRAE conferences as both speaker and participant in Chicago and Indianapolis and am scheduled to present my work on a hot ongoing topic, ventilation effectiveness, at the upcoming conference in Orlando,” says Farhoodi.

Saman Haratian (Ph.D. Architectural Engineering Student)

Haratian has been a member of the executive board of the ASHRAE Illinois Tech student branch since March 2024 and has been involved with ASHRAE Technical Committee on indoor environmental modeling since February 2024.

“My research focuses on improving indoor air quality using field experiments and computational modeling,” says Haratian.

Jongki Lee (Ph.D. Architectural Engineering Candidate)

Lee has been involved with ASHRAE since 2019, starting as soon as he began his Ph.D. degree, and has served as an executive board member, vice president, and senior student member in the ASHRAE Illinois Tech branch. In addition to receiving the ASHRAE Illinois Chapter Scholarship, he was awarded the ASHRAE College of Fellows Travel Award in June 2024, which supports travel grants for two ASHRAE conferences. He actively participates in the ASHRAE society by attending and volunteering at ASHRAE conferences, being involved in technical committees, and reviewing ASHRAE conference papers.

“I am leading two research projects: one focused on HVAC energy savings with automated insulating shades in the Willis Tower, and the other on developing smart devices for steam radiators,” says Lee.

Samantha Muller (B.S. Architectural Engineering 3rd Year)

Muller is involved with the Illinois Tech chapter of ASHRAE as the current vice president and was previously the chapter’s public relations chair. She says the Illinois Tech chapter has been a great place to learn from peers who have experience in a variety of research projects. It also allowed her to get to know Assistant Professor Mohammad Heidarinejad, the chapter’s faculty adviser, who she worked with on an Armour R&D project in 2023.

“I really enjoy getting involved with the professional chapter, especially at the Women in ASHRAE Happy Hours, to grow my professional network as it allowed me to meet people at SmithGroup where I am currently interning. I am especially proud to be a part of this organization considering it is only 9 percent female on a national level, and I hope to continue my involvement into my professional life,” says Muller. 

Aditya Singh (M.Eng. Materials Engineering ’20, Ph.D. Environmental Engineering Candidate)

Singh conducts research focused on air quality. As president of the ASHRAE student chapter of Illinois Tech, he has organized multiple events on and off campus that have helped students secure internships or jobs and that have provided educational content and valuable resources that have helped them in their careers. He is part of the local ASHRAE Chicago chapter and enjoys volunteering and attending their events.

“Through my research, I have developed a low-cost solution to improve indoor air quality for low-income homeowners in San Joaquin Valley, California, specifically during wildfire events but not limited to it,” says Singh.

Image: (Top row from left to right) Saeed Farhoodi, Saman Haratian, Jongki Lee (Bottom row from left to right) Samantha Muller, Aditya Singh