Adventures in Heat and Cold

Abstract

The ASHRAE Historical Committee proposed compiling biographical information on men and women who had made substantive contributions to the art and science of the industry ASHRAE serves.

The project, part of the celebration of ASHRAE’s 125th anniversary, received many suggestions as to the coverage, format, and possible author.

I volunteered to write this book because, although other biographical works already existed, they did not go much beyond a brief description of the individual and their contribution.

During my 53 years of researching the history of HVAC&R, the interesting backgrounds of industry pioneers struck me.

Often their contributions were infl uenced by the events of their personal lives as well as the socioeconomic and political situations of their time.

So, why not combine the background with the achievement?

I began by proposing that the list of pioneers did not have to be restricted to those who were well known but would be limited to those who were deceased for at least fi ve years and to those who have suffi cient and accurate biographical and visual material available in order to develop an interesting or unusual story that will grab the reader