IAQ Radio

Eugenia Mirica, PhD - Franco Seif, PE - Joe Spurgeon, PhD - Sampling Surface Char in Residential Properties Impacted by Wildfire Smoke

This week on IAQ Radio+ we welcome Eugenia Mirica PhD, Franco Seif PE and Joe Spurgeon PhD for a discussion on Sampling Surface Char in Residential Properties Impacted by Wildfire Smoke. There is a gathering interest in research, standards and guidelines related to wildfire smoke assessment, exposure and cleaning. This is a topic that would have been even more in the news if it was not for the COVID pandemic. Check out this week’s articles and links for several new studies being announced etc. and join us today at noon to learn more on the best methods for evaluating the impact of wildfire smoke in the built environment.
 
Eugenia Mirica, PhD is the Laboratory Director of the Materials Science Laboratory at EMSL Analytical in Cinnaminson, NJ. She earned her doctoral degree in Materials Science from Stevens Institute of Technology. Her expertise involves the use of complex analytical methodologies for the identification and comprehensive morphological and chemical characterization of a large array of materials and the ability to correlate the resulting information to materials properties and their performance. 
 
Franco Seif, PE is President and Chief Executive Officer of Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC). He is also a co-founder of CSC. Franco been a leader in the environmental and engineering industry for over 3 decades. He started his environmental and engineering consulting career at Camp Dresser & McKee, Boston, MA, in 1985. In 1987 he worked as a consultant for EPI, Center, a small industrial hygiene company, Santa Monica, CA. In 1990, Mr. Seif started an environmental consulting firm, Californian Environmental Consultants, that provided asbestos, indoor air quality, and Phase I & phase II environmental site assessment services to a small group of clients. In 1996, Mr. Seif joined forces with Brian Clark and Robert Clark to form CSC. Mr. Seif is also active in the community. He sits on the board of directors of St. Anne’s, a non-profit organization that provides care to abused young pregnant, mothers and their babies. Mr. Seif also sits on the advisory committee of the American Council of Accreditation and Certification (ACAC), a certifying body for the indoor air quality professional. Mr. Seif hold a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University, Boston, Ma, and a master’s of science degree in engineering management from Drexler University, Philadelphia, PA. He holds a professional engineering registration in the State of California, and he is an asbestos consultant with the California Occupational, Safety and Health Administration.
 
Joe Spurgeon, PhD has a multidisciplinary doctorate degree in Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Health from the University of Pittsburgh; and was a Certified Industrial Hygienist from 1993 – 2013. His career has included working as a research chemist on the NBS Lead-Paint Poisoning Program, directing the FAA’s Combustion Toxicology Laboratory, performing Health Assessments for CDC/ATSDR, implementing US EPA’s Laboratory Exposure Assessment Project, and working as a consultant specializing in microbial indoor air quality for US PHS. He has performed over 4,000 residential and commercial investigations involving water intrusions and microbial contaminants; has taught courses on mold investigations, sampling, and data interpretation methods; and has served as an expert witness in numerous mold cases. Articles from Dr. Spurgeon are available at www.bi-air.com. His books are available at http://expertonmold.com/

Patrick McCarty - FIRST ONSITE: Director of Client Solutions - Interesting and Unusual Restoration Projects

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Patrick McCarty Director of Client Solutions at First Onsite Restoration to discuss some interesting and unusual projects he has been part of over the past almost 20 years. LEARN MORE about how to manage difficult projects and work with large teams to help customers get back to normal.
Patrick began as a field Project Manager for the National Response Team at Interstate Restoration Group in Jan of 2004. He ran numerous large projects both domestically and internationally over a span of about 5 years before being promoted to Operations Manager for the Restoration Division. He served in that capacity for about 8 years and was then promoted to Director of Operations in 2017. Over the course of his career, he’s contributed to the growth of Interstate, now First Onsite Restoration, and helped it to become the company it is today.
Patrick holds a Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Business with emphasis in Engineering Technology from Tarleton State University in Texas and has over 12 industry certifications. He has led on some of the largest and most complicated projects the company has been involved with. His hyper focus on First Onsite’s clients’ needs has been a hallmark of his leadership style.

Richard Corsi, PhD, PE - University of California Davis - COVID accelerated IAQ Research to Practice: What have we learned?

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Dr. Richard Corsi Dean of the College of Engineering at University of California Davis. Many will remember Dr. Corsi for his time at the University of Texas and Portland State. We look forward to having him back to discuss his current endeavors and how COVID has accelerated IAQ Research to Practice.
 
Dr. Richard Corsi recently joined UC Davis as Dean of the College of Engineering. Prior to that he was Dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University and for over 24 years he worked at The University of Texas, Austin where he taught numerous courses related to fluid mechanics, air pollution, and indoor air quality. Dr. Corsi served as Director of a highly-interdisciplinary group that spawned a generation of faculty engaged in research related to indoor air quality. He continues to conduct research on indoor air quality, with foci on physical and chemical processes that affect the fate and control of, and human exposure to, indoor pollutants of both outdoor and indoor origin. Dr. Corsi and his team have published nearly 270 peer-reviewed papers, and he has supervised over 120 students.
 
Dr. Corsi has been engaged in national discussions related to layered risk reduction to reduce transmission of COVID-19 by aerosol particles. He has been a guest on webinars hosted by the National Academies, USEPA, National Tribal Air Association, and more. In addition, he has done over 100 print, television, and podcast interviews. From early in the pandemic his efforts have focused on lowering inhalation dose of virus-laden aerosol particles indoors. Dr. Corsi led an effort to develop an educational tool for assessing parallel interventions for lowering inhalation dose for aerosols and risk of infection in buildings. His concept of a low-cost and effective do-it-yourself air cleaner to combat virus-laden aerosol particles and wildfire smoke has become known worldwide as the Corsi-Rosenthal Box.
 
LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio+.

Sarah Haines, PhD - Assistant Professor - University of Toronto - The Puzzle of Buildings & Health; Research to Practice

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Dr. Sarah Haines of the University of Toronto Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering. Dr. Haines came to our attention when she was part of a group with Karen Dannemiller, PhD at the Healthy Buildings Summit 2019. It was refreshing to have a group of young academics join us to share interests in healthy buildings research to practice. She has since taken a position at the University of Toronto with Jeff Siegel, PhD another HBS Keynoter and research to practice enthusiast. This week we look forward to learning more about how Sarah and other academics see the puzzle of buildings and health. 
 
Professor Sarah Haines interdisciplinary research integrates building science, engineering, and microbiology to analyze the impact built environment has on human health. She uses cutting-edge microbiology techniques such as next-generation sequencing, metatranscriptonomics, and bioinformatics to understand the impact of weatherization and extreme weather events on indoor air quality, particularly in low income communities who may be at higher risk for asthma. Her work aids in understanding indoor exposures from microorganisms and chemicals providing for a cleaner and sustainable indoor environment. Her PhD is in Environmental Science from Ohio State University. 

Kevin R. Hart - CEO | HAVEN IAQ - Linking HVAC & IAQ with Sensor Technology

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Kevin Hart, Haven IAQ CEO to continue our discussion on HVAC and IAQ. This week we focus on using sensor technology to optimize HVAC affects on IAQ. Kevin is the founder of Haven IAQ and is doing some interesting work linking HVAC and IAQ.  Nate “The House Whisperer” Adams  brought Kevin and Haven to our attention during our last show with him.
 
Kevin founded HAVEN IAQ (TZOA) at the age of 23, after experiencing high levels of carcinogenic crystalline silica dust on industrial worksites. He conceptualized a wearable air quality monitor for global citizens that could crowdsource outdoor pollution data from thousands of devices onto city-wide maps in real-time, a product that won 'best inventions of 2015' awards from Time Magazine and Popular Science. Their product line HAVEN has been granted multiple patents and patents pending on its in-duct sensing and IoT controls, and are pursuing the mission of transforming millions of homes into safe havens.

Robert Bean, FASHRAE - The Edifice Complex, IAQ, HVAC, Building Science & COVID

This week we welcome back Robert Bean a retired engineering technology professional having practiced in building construction engineering technology and mechanical engineering for decades. This will be a thought provoking interview on IAQ, HVAC, Building Science and COVID. Mr. Bean specialized in the design of indoor environments and high-performance building systems. He is a third term ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, recipient of the Lou Flagg Award, and Distinguished Service Award. He has authored numerous papers, articles, and course curriculums and serves on several technical committees related to indoor environmental quality, building, and thermal energy systems. Robert also continues to maintain the healthyheating.com website where you can get his FREE book “Thermal Comfort Principles and Practical Applications for Residential Buildings”. If that’s not enough he is also the co-host of the Edifice Complex Podcast which is designed to blow apart how buildings are designed, fabricated, commissioned and operated.

John Mulhausen, PhD, CIH, CSP - AIHA President and Larry Sloan, MBA, FASAE, CAE - AIHA CEO - Accelerating Advancement in Industrial Hygiene Science and Practice

This week we welcome Dr. John Mulhausen AIHA President and Larry Sloan, AIHA CEO for a discussion on how to accelerate your advancement in the world of industrial hygiene. We will look at how those in the health and safety world can advance and prosper in today’s unique environment.
 
John Mulhausen Ph.D., CIH, CSP, is currently President of AIHA. He retired in 2018 from 3M where he worked for 31 years in a variety of global health and safety risk management roles, most recently as Director of Corporate Safety and Industrial Hygiene. He has authored / co-authored over 100 presentations, publications or professional development courses in forums throughout the world and contributed advice and expertise on various working committees sponsored by NIOSH, AIHA, ACGIH, and the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. John is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, a Fellow of the AIHA, recipient of ABIH’s Lifetime Achievement Award and AIHA’s Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award and Henry F. Smyth Award.
 
Mr. Sloan stepped into the role of CEO at the AIHA in October 2016.Prior to this, he served as President/CEO for seven years at the Society of Chemical Manufactures and Affiliates (SOCMA), a trade association representing the US specialty chemical industry. Larry entered the non-profit sector in 2001 by serving first as a director with a subsequent promotion to president at the Adhesive and Sealant Council. Larry began his career as a chemical engineer at Air Products and later worked for Nalco Chemical Company in marketing, manufacturing and sales capacities. Larry graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Chemical Engineering. Later he returned to Northwestern University where he earned his MBA. In 2006, Larry received his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation through the American Society of Association Executives.  

Chris Howells - Aprilaire Senior Product Manager Ventilation and Purification Systems - HVAC & IAQ: What Works!

This week we welcome Chris Howells, Aprilaire Senior Product Manager Ventilation and Purification Systems, to talk HVAC & IAQ: What Works!. We have very recently had some excellent building science shows with Joe Lstiburek and Nate Adams. It seems like a good time to see what a major manufacturers’ Product Manager for Ventilation and Purification can tell us what he sees out in the field. 
 
Chris grew up working in the HVAC industry with his grandfather in North Texas. That experience has led to over 25 years in the trade. He spent most of his career thus far in the field as a service technician, installer, comfort advisor and owner of a business. After his time in the field, he served as a Technical Service Manager and trainer for a distributor of a major equipment line.
 
He started his career with Aprilaire in 2015 and has filled multiple roles as a District Sales Manager and Regional Manager. Now as the Senior Product Manager of ventilation and purification, Chris continues to express his passion for the Building Science and HVAC to all in the industry. Serving others by providing the knowledge of all the attributes that create a more comfortable and healthier environment for the occupants while offering the home the protection it needs to facilitate a healthy home is what drives Chris’ unmatched passion for the Indoor Air Quality industry.
 
Chris has trained thousands of people on the importance of IAQ within the industry including HVAC contractors, distributors, engineers, new home sales teams, raters and inspectors. Aprilaire believes everyone deserves healthy air, especially in their own homes! That starts with knowledge of what makes up the quality of the air in our homes and buildings. Chris and Aprilaire are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this event today.

Michelle Blevins - Cleaning and Restoration Industry Update

This week we welcome Michelle Blevins owner and publisher of C&R Magazine. A lot is happening in the industry and Michelle has her finger on the pulse join us as we dig in and learn more about some of the big changes in the cleaning and restoration industry. LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio+.
 
Michelle Blevins is a content creator, marketing consultant, and entrepreneur whose career has been centered on education and fostering relationships within the industry she serves. A journalist by trade, Michelle is passionate about running a publication rooted in integrity and valuable education. She views her role as owner and publisher of C&R Magazine as a bridge between industry experts and restoration and cleaning contractors.
 
Since joining the restoration industry, Michelle has made it her business to stay on top of the latest industry trends. She has become a go-to resource for anyone looking to learn more about what’s happening within today’s restoration industry. This has earned her a spot on many industry stages facilitating panels and helpful discussion with industry experts on the biggest topics facing restorers and cleaners in the current market.

Nate Adams - HVAC 2.0, IAQ and The Art of the Possible

This week we welcome back Nate “The House Whisperer” Adams for a lesson on HVAC and IAQ. We did not get to discuss HVAC as much as we wanted with Dr. Joe Lstiburek so we asked Nate to join us and continue the discussion. We will talk about his "electrify everything" mantra, the HVAC 2.0 program and BAD ASS HVAC. Nate and his partners are trying to shake things up but also keep in mind “the art of the possible”. The focus of the discussion will primarily be on existing housing, HVAC and IAQ.
 
Nate “The House Whisperer” Adams is the author of The Home Comfort Book and has helped numerous clients make their homes healthier, more comfortable, and able to run on clean electricity. He and his partners have adapted that upgrade process into the HVAC 2.0 program which gives HVAC contractors a business model to deliver the same results for their clients while enjoying their work more and being more profitable.
 
His focus on residential electrification retrofits earned him the moniker “The Father of Electrify Everything” from Panama Bartolomy, CEO of the Building Decarbonization Coalition. He splits his time between living on the Cuyahoga River in Hiram Ohio and in a former West Virginia coal mining village with his wife and young daughter.
 
LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio+.