The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has named CPP Principal and Vice President Dr. Ron Petersen as an ASHRAE Fellow. This honor recognizes Dr. Petersen’s more than 45 years of contributions to atmospheric dispersion modeling, air quality, and meteorology. CPP congratulates Dr. Petersen on this accomplishment.

ASHRAE is one of the world’s oldest and most distinguished professional engineering societies. With influence that reaches well beyond North America, ASHRAE’s more than 50,000 members worldwide improve building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration, and sustainability. While the organization’s members are widely renowned for conducting cutting-edge research and for teaching and certifying continuing education programs, ASHRAE is perhaps best known for its ASHRAE Handbook, a multivolume reference manual for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) engineers. The Society also publishes standards that are referenced by building codes around the globe.

The rank of Fellow is reserved for ASHRAE members who have attained distinction and improved the built environment through substantial contributions to knowledge and practice in the HVAC&R field. ASHRAE Fellows demonstrate exemplary service to their fields through dedication to education, research, design, consultation, publication, and mentoring.

Ron is one of CPP’s co-founders and has served as a Vice President of the company since 1985. For 28 years, he led the Air Quality Services group and pioneered many physical modeling methods and analysis techniques related to building exhaust behavior, vehicle emissions, and industrial emissions, including the Equivalent Building Dimensions (EBD) method, which improves inputs to AERMOD for permitting in EPA-regulated facility design and planning. Now, Ron focuses primarily on these latter areas as CPP’s Vice President of Environmental Services. He also provides expert testimony and consultation for legal cases that can benefit from his extensive technical knowledge.

Among the accomplishments highlighted in Dr. Petersen’s candidacy for the degree of ASHRAE Fellow are his evaluation of sulfur dioxide concentrations at the Rhinelander Mill power plant in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and his leadership in developing “Laboratories for the 21st Century: Best Practices Guide,” a set of guidelines that designers rely upon to develop clean laboratories.

When he’s not tackling technical challenges, Ron enjoys playing the piano and a lively game of tennis. We are also told that he was, at one time, quite the rocker, but Ron has yet to confirm these rumors with a live public performance  (We have the smoke machines ready, Ron!).