Rachael Aleksic, P.E., LEED AP
Rachael Aleksic, P.E., LEED AP, a project manager and design engineer at Burgess & Niple, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, designs cost-effective, forward-thinking Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems for educational facilities, malls, high-rise buildings, and urban redevelopment programs. The HVAC design she completed for Ohio University’s Integrated Learning and Research Facility extends beyond traditional systems, helping prevent the escape of hazardous chemicals and biological agents from a Biosafety Level 2 Lab into generally populated areas. She also led the mechanical design for Marietta College’s new Learning and Library Resource Center, in which the system precisely controls conditions in the special collections room where rare documents and archived materials are housed. In addition, for municipal wastewater treatment facilities, Aleksic has designed mechanical systems that mitigate noxious gases and withstand the highly corrosive environment.

Aleksic has enjoyed sharing her professional experiences with students through the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers’ Engineer for a Day program, local high school mentorship programs, and during The Ohio State University’s Future Engineers Summer Camp for Girls.
raleksic@burnip.com

Keith Dennis, E.I.T., LEED AP
Keith Dennis, E.I.T., LEED AP, an engineer with Pace Global Energy Services in Fairfax, Virginia, is using his expertise to help tackle the challenges associated with climate change, indoor environmental air quality, and sustainable building design and operation. His primary focus is on promoting and implementing energy efficiency measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Dennis has worked with  school districts, higher education institutions, and local and state governments, as well as the federal government, to implement large-scale energy management programs. Recently, he managed the Southeast Rebuild Collaborative, a joint effort of five southeastern state energy offices that provides energy efficiency support to organizations to help save energy and money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Dennis also has conducted extensive research into energy efficiency policy and economics, which has been published in the Electricity Journal.
Keith.Dennis.03@Alum.Dartmouth.org

Erica Ryherd, Ph.D., E.I.T.
Erica Ryherd, Ph.D., E.I.T., an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is engaged in teaching and research, drawing on her industry experience and professional society involvement to provide students with real-world examples that demonstrate challenging engineering concepts.

A central theme in Ryherd’s research is improving the acoustical environment, ranging from the effects of hospital noise on staff and patients to the impact of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning noise on worker productivity. Currently, she is collaborating with engineering and medical specialists in the U.S. and Sweden to research hospital noise and study how modifications to the hospital sound environment can improve the health of occupants. Her work is gaining worldwide recognition for being an innovative, interdisciplinary approach that will have resonating effects on noise control methods implemented in health care facilities.
erica.ryherd@me.gatech.edu

Wei Jiang, Ph.D., E.I.T., LEED AP
Wei Jiang, Ph.D., E.I.T., LEED AP, a research engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, focuses on analyzing building energy systems to maximize energy savings. She is working with government agencies and the building industry to develop innovative energy efficiency technologies and energy conservation standards for buildings and commercial HVAC equipment.

Dr. Jiang was the chief analyst in developing ASHRAE’s Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Warehouses and Self-Storage Buildings, which achieves 30% energy savings beyond ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999, thus significantly contributing to the net-zero energy buildings goal by 2025. She also has been instrumental in developing federal energy conservation standards that set minimum energy efficiency requirements for commercial refrigeration equipment and packaged terminal air-conditioners and heat pumps. Currently, Dr. Jiang is leading the energy savings assessment for the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Highway Lodging.

Dr. Jiang successfully led the energy savings measures and cost-effectiveness analyses for duct-sealant technology demonstrations at several U.S. Navy bases. She also significantly contributed to the research of an efficient low-lift base load cooling system that uses much less energy and provides better thermal comfort than conventional air-conditioning systems.
wei.jiang@pnl.gov

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