ASHRAE Tech Hour

Professional Bio

Dr. Stephanie Taylor received her MD from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and subsequently practiced pediatric oncology and did research in cellular growth mechanisms. Alarmed by the high number of patients acquiring infections during their in-patient treatment, she became determined to better understand the role of the built environment in patient outcomes.

To learn about the design and management of buildings, she obtained her Master’s in Architecture at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. Dr. Taylor now works as an international consultant and research leader in designing and operating hospitals and other commercial buildings. Her unique approach is to use health data of building occupants to determine which indoor air and design characteristics support or harm human health. She has published in Nature, Science and other peer reviewed journals, is a Distinguished Lecturer for ASHRAE, and a regular contributor to Engineered Systems magazine.

Professional Bio

Richard H. Rooley (FREng FASHRAE, Presidential Member ASHRAE) is a Consulting Engineer in London, UK. He has designed HVAC systems and developed operation and maintenance procedures for commercial, health, defense, public buildings and housing. He has project managed complex engineering and building projects and has worked with universities in research on indoor air quality and the process of building design, construction and use. He acts as an expert in litigation, and as an arbitrator and mediator in disputes. In seeking solutions to problems in buildings, he has used teams of professionals, from inside and outside the HVAC industry.

His extensive experience in the investigation of failed buildings because of cost, time, indoor air quality, failure to meet the brief and misrepresentation of intentions provide a strong basis for his work. Mr. Rooley founded the Teambuild competition in 1990.

Mr. Rooley has been a member of ASHRAE since 1976 and has served as Chairman or member of many Councils, standing and technical committees. He served as ASHRAE President (2003–2004), he is a Fellow of ASHRAE, received the Paul Anderson Award, the Exceptional Service Award, the Award of Merit and the International Activities Award. He is also a Life Member.

Outside America, Mr. Rooley is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers. He has degrees from Trinity College, University of Dublin, in Civil Engineering and in Law and Management and post graduate studies at London South Bank University.