Obtuse Angle

PAT LEHANE

Congratulations Conor

Congratulations to Conor Deane who was awarded second place in this year’s CIBSE ASHRAE (YEAs) Graduate of the Year Awards. The ceremony, which was held in RIBA’s headquarters in London, saw each of the eight shortlisted finalists deliver a 5-minute presentation.

In his paper entitled, “Engineers are the Chief Mountaineers”, Conor used the analogy of mountain-climbing to demonstrate the significant role of engineers in the drive towards decarbonisation.

He is pictured here with CIBSE President Kevin Mitchell.

CIBSE NI Chair

Congratulations also to Paul McGreevy, Associate Director, IN2 Belfast, who has been elected Chair of CIBSE NI Region. Paul is a chartered electrical engineer who, apart from extensive industry experience, has been a key member of CIBSE NI for many years, having earlier served as CIBSE YEN NI Chair.

Treacy tree-planting initiative

Hats off to Andrew Treacy and the team at Versatile who have planted 1200 indigenous Ash, Elder, Birch, Oak and Scots pine trees on a tract of land beside Andrew’s home. Sustainability is a critical element and core value at Versatile and this initiative complements its business philosophy.

The trees chosen for planting were selected based on their ability to provide shelter for birds and animals, as well as food for bees and other insects. Right: Andrew Treacy pictured with his sons William and Andrew among the newly-planted trees.

Damned if you do and …

It seems quite incredible that a German wind farm is being dismantled to allow the expansion of the Garzweiller II lignite mine located close to Cologne. While local activists are up in arms, the company responsible says that the eight wind turbines – built in 2001 – are nearing their end of life, and that the intention was always to extend the area of the open-cast mine.

Added to that is Germany’s pressing need for energy, from any source, given the impact on energy supplies caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Whatever the rights and wrongs, this is another illustration of just how complicated the whole energy/carbon issue is.

Ethos double

Well done to all at Ethos Engineering who picked up two awards during the recent Irish Building & Design Awards 2022.

Ethos retained the “Engineering Practice of the Year Award” that it won last time out in 2019, while it also won the much-coveted “Best Organisation to Work For Award”.

Christmas wishes

As this very challenging year draws to a close, I wish all our readers a very happy, peaceful and relaxing Christmas break.

Looking to 2023, it’s inevitable that energy and carbon reduction will continue be the primary focus However, hopefully the measures implemented this year will begin to deliver the desired results.