The exchange of global best practices and new energy efficiency strategies brought HVAC&R professionals to Chicago in late January for the 2018 ASHRAE Winter
Conference and AHR Expo. The Winter Conference took place January 20-24 at the Palmer House Hilton with the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo held January 22-24 at
McCormick Place. With more than 3,200 registrants, this year’s Winter Conference was one of the largest in ASHRAE’s history. The AHR Expo attracted more than 70,000 visitors, a six percent increase over last year’s record-breaking event held in Las Vegas. The expo included more than 2,100 vendors, 37 more exhibitors than 2017, in a total exhibit space of 530,000 square feet. At the conference, ASHRAE President Bjarne Olesen provided Society updates and initiatives related to his presidential theme, ‘Extending Our Community.’ He focused on acknowledging interconnectedness worldwide and embracing shared needs and objectives.

The plenary session, drawing more than 1,000 people, provided a forum for the presentation of awards to experienced and emerging leaders in the industry. Keynote speaker Debbie Sterling, Founder, and CEO of GoldieBlox, closed the session with an empowering presentation on closing the gender gap in STEM fields. The 2018 ASHRAE Annual Conference will take place June 23-27 in Houston, with the 2019 Winter Conference January 12-16, and the AHR Expo, January 14-16, in Atlanta.