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Report of the Nomination Committee on Election of new BOD for 2003-2006 End of One Journey As Gnaeus Pompeius, one of the greatest generals and administrators in Roman history said: Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse - to sail is necessary; to live is not necessary. For me personally the past three years have been a journey behind the steering wheel of our Society with the objective of the journey to deliver the Society in a good shape at the end, to the next skipper, for the next journey. But the underlaying objective was, that the journey would be interesting, challenging and would lead to crossing of new horizons. Now we are almost at the end of the journey, and I would like to share with you, the fellow travellers, my personal thoughts as skipper. My official record, as the President of the Society has already been presented as a formal report. I vividly remember my thoughts, as the plane lowered for landing in Helsinki in August 2000, a few days before our team, the new Board of Directors, was to take its office. There were two dominating feelings: of responsibility and of challenge. We were taking into our hands the future of the Society for the next three years, which I thought was a long time, when many new things should or could happen, planned or unplanned. At that time the Society was in a particularly fragile situation: the financial and membership situation was not stable, and it was clear that some major re- arrangements would have to be done to secure stability for the Society in the years to come. I considered this as a big and exciting challenge. Making a constructive change in any organization or an operating structure is a challenge. In a Society like ours, the challenge is even bigger, since a large part of our operation takes place remotely: the Board of Directors is scattered all over the world, and even establishing a time for a conference call, which would be day time for everybody, was usually quite difficult. The challenge and the responsibility were in my mind linked very closely. The weight of responsibility reminded me of the days when I used to take sailing boats for sea cruises as a skipper with the deep personal responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of my colleagues, the crew. Like any parallel, this is one, comparing the leadership of a boat and a Society, is good only to a point. This was obviously not the safety of my Board of Directors colleagues, which was my focus, but the safety of the Society. On that evening in Helsinki when we took over the office, and when everybody was sipping champagne before the concert in the Finlandia Hall, I felt like a skipper when the lights of the harbour disappear in a distance: we were going on a fantastic journey, but for me the objective was to bring the boat back to the harbour in a shiny condition, not battered by storms or any other misfortune during the journey. One aspect, which was not a concern for me was the crew: I knew that with these people, my colleagues, the new Board of Directors members, this was going to be a harmonious and constructive journey. Now, three and a half years later, we are back from the trip, and the lights of the harbour are in sight. How was the trip and what is the condition of the boat? It was a long journey, requiring a lot of work, probably even more work, than I imagined, in what I thought was a realistic assessment of what it would be like. How to describe or summarize this work? Hundreds of e-mails, tens of phone calls, some sleepless nights (particularly after BOD conferences finishing at midnight; but also when dwelling on what decisions to take). A lot of this work and challenge was expected, but there were also unexpected developments, and the need for changing the course to avoid rocks – but the maps were not there. For example, we were only guessing in March this year whether July or December would be a safer choice for the HB2003 conference. Looking back at those past years I must say that we did not really have any major storms. There were times when the e-mail frequency was very high and the views were different, seen from the angles of different professions (a physicist and an architect may see things differently at times), different countries, different experiences or different cultures (for example we learned a lot about each others experiences when discussing what is the appropriate wording of a message from the President sent in December to the members). We have always reached consensus, and the multi-angle input to the discussions enriched their depth, and ensured that the boat was on the right course. Now, when the journey is almost over, and we are preparing for the handover to the new team, I am looking at the boat and assessing its condition. It does not need repairs and stays stable on its course when sailing across the waves: with stable membership, stable financial situation and solid administration provided by the new Secretariat. The next journeys are also mapped out: Lisbon in 2006, before this merger with the IAIAS and new directions, which this will bring, and also pointers for the new team provided by the recent survey of members. I hope that the condition of the boat will enable the new team to sail to new destination with sails fully spread. And there are many destinations, which this team could not reach even though we would have liked to do so. There are for example many places in the world where ISIAQ chapters could be established, and many professions, which should fully join the boat. I hope that the new team will be able to get there. At this point I should add that while until so far I have been referring to the team of the boat as the Board of Directors, in fact this term should be taken much broader, the team is all of you, the members of the Society. There have been many members who supported the Board of Directors with a lot of work and effort, without whom the journey would have been much more difficult. I hope that this help will continue and expand and that more members will contribute to the sailing of the boat in the future. At the end, before disembarking, I would like to extend my sincere thank you to all who have been a part of this journey: in the first instance to the team, the Board of Directors, each one of you and for all the efforts you have made during our term; to the Secretariat, which has been a solid foundation for our operation; to all the members who put special effort through the many tasks conducted, or comments and advice provided; and finally to all the members of the Society, who constitute our boat. Lidia Morawska, PhD
Report of the Nomination Committee on Election of new BOD for 2003-2006 Nadia Boschi, Ph.D., Architect, is an Assistant Professor of Building Construction, College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia. Prof. Boschi has conducted research on building performance assessment for the provision of healthy and safe environments in new and historic buildings as the basis for international recognition in this area. She is currently involved in research that includes the integration of indoor air and energy efficiency principles into the building delivery process. Her exploratory work adopting multimedia tools, using synchronous and a-synchronous delivery, and other information technologies to create virtual learning environments in support of existing programs, lead to major accomplishments in the field of interdisciplinary education and international harmonization of curricula in the field of indoor air sciences, moisture control and energy efficiency (among others Bioclimatic Architecture a System Approach, Education and Training in Indoor Air Sciences). Her research has been supported by a number of private and public entities such as NATO/Science, European Union, US EPA and the Italian Government. She is author of numerous publications, 7 books chapters, 15 peer reviewed papers and editor of 2 books. In 1997, she served on the Executive Committee for the Healthy Buildings/IAQ ’97 Conference and she was a co-editor of the Conference Proceedings. Prof. Boschi has served, as Secretary, on ISIAQ Board of Directors during the 2000-2003 mandate. She is co-chairing the ISIAQ Task force on Education for Healthier Buildings. She is a registered architect in Italy since 1988.
Mr. Donald Weekes has worked as an indoor air quality practitioner for twenty-seven years in a variety of occupational and residential settings as a consultant. He has dedicated his entire career to helping a wide range of organizations in assessing and solving environmental and occupational safety and health problems. Mr. Weekes maintains numerous certifications and memberships that attest to the professionalism, knowledge, experience and dedication he brings to ISIAQ’s Board of Directors as Vice President - Practice. Mr. Weekes holds an M. A. degree in Occupational Safety & Health from New York University located in New York, New York, USA. He holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Ramapo College located in Ramapo, New Jersey, USA. Mr. Weekes is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), a Certified Safety Professional, and a Certified Asbestos Investigator for the City of New York, the State of New York and the State of Connecticut. He is also an Accredited Asbestos Inspector and Management Planner for Schools in the USA, and an accredited Lead Inspector and Risk Assessor in the USA. Mr. Weekes maintains membership in numerous organizations, including ten years as a member of ISIAQ. His other memberships included the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), for which he served as a liaison to Indoor Air 2002 Conference. He has been a member of AIHA’s Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Committee since 1984, and he currently is the Secretary of the IEQ Committee. In addition, he is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Air and Waste Management Association, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the ASTM Committee E-34 on Occupational Safety and Health and the ASTM Committee E-47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate. He also was the co-chairperson of the Toxigenic Molds Workshop sponsored by AIHA in 1998. Mr. Weekes was the Chair of the AIHA Microbial Growth Task Force that published its widely available report in May 2001 on this issue. Mr. Weekes has also been involved with the local and national committees of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) since 1983. Mr. Weekes, when asked about his nomination, wrote, “It is my intent as Vice President for Practice to guide ISIAQ as an organization to work closely with IAQ practitioners on practical applications of the research being conducted worldwide on indoor air quality issues. Many IAQ practitioners are unaware of the impact that the current research may have in the near future on their work practices. I will work to facilitate the distribution of the research findings into the IAQ practitioner community in a timely fashion.”
Pawel Wargocki, Denmark, Vice President, Research My name is Pawel Wargocki. I am Associate Research Professor at the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark. I was born in 1966 in Warsaw, Poland. I graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Sanitary Engineering in Poland in 1990 with a degree of M.Sc. in environmental engineering with specialization in the fields of district heating, heating and ventilation. My M.Sc. thesis was on the efficient use of energy in dwellings. I received my Ph.D. degree at the Technical University of Denmark in 1998 for the study on “Human perception, productivity and symptoms related to indoor air quality” which demonstrated for the first time a significant relationship between air quality and mental performance. I also received training in teaching, measurement and evaluation of indoor climate, and epidemiology. I was affiliated from 1990 to 1993 with the Institute of Heating and Ventilation at the Warsaw University of Technology as an academic teacher. I have been living in Denmark since 1993. I came to Denmark originally on a 4-month scholarship, and it is there I met my wife and there my daughter was born. I have been affiliated since 1993 with the Laboratory of Heating and Air Conditioning (now the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy), Technical University of Denmark. In 1993 I was for a short time a guest researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, and in 1995 I was a guest researcher at the Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan. In 2000-2001, I was a scientific secretary to EUROVEN, the European Multidisciplinary Scientific Network on Indoor Environment and Health which reviewed the association between ventilation and health. Since 1996, I have been a Member of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). From 2001, I have been a secretary of the Task Force Committee in ISIAQ and the scientific secretary to ISIAQ Task Force on the effect of the indoor environment on productivity in offices. My first contact with research was in 1990. As an exchange student at the Technical University of Denmark I performed my first experiment on the impact of fragrances on perceived air quality. It obviously affected my subsequent professional career. I have participated since 1990 in numerous experiments on the impact of indoor environmental factors on man. Through all these years and contacts and discussions with many researchers I have been building up my experience and I have learnt a great deal. I like new challenges. I am usually quite optimistic and enthusiastic about them. I hope this will also be the case this time if I am elected as Vice President – Research. Although I am still young I know that I can manage this new task. As regards the research program, I would like to achieve the followings goals: (1) Attract and involve young researchers in the work of the Task Forces; (2) Secure financial support for the work of Task Forces; (3) Establish new Task Forces or Work Groups to outline future research strategies and indicate gaps in existing knowledge; and (4) Initiate much stronger contacts and collaboration with indoor environmental practice. I leave the evaluation of whether it is too little or too much to do for a 3-year term to my fellow members of ISIAQ. I will be counting on their support in this new and challenging task. Pawel Wargocki John D. Spengler, USA, Vice President, Policy John D. Spengler, Ph.D., is the Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, in the Exposure, Epidemiology and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, at Harvard University's School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Prof. Spengler has conducted research in the areas of personal monitoring, air pollution health effects, aerosol characterization, indoor air pollution and air pollution meteorology. More recently, he has been involved in research that includes the integration of knowledge about indoor and outdoor air pollution as well as other risk factors into the design of housing, buildings and communities. Several new efforts are underway to investigate housing design and its effects on ventilation rates, building materials’ selection, energy consumption, and total environmental quality in homes. The tools of life-cycle analysis and risk assessment and activity-based costing are being used as indicators to measure the sustainable attributes of alternative designs, practices and community development. In addition, to his academic and research activities, Professor Spengler has been active in professional education workshops and short courses on topics that include pollution prevention and indoor environmental quality management for schools, offices and hospitals, and distance learning courses (http://courses.dce.harvard.edu/~environment/). He is co-editor of three books: Indoor Air Quality Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 2001); Particles in Our Air: Concentrations and Health Effects (distributed by Harvard University Press, 1996); and Indoor Air Pollution: A Health Perspective (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991). He is on the editorial board of the journal Indoor Air, and he is the President (2002-2005) of the International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences.
Tunga Salthammer, Germany, Treasurer Tunga Salthammer holds a diploma degree in chemistry (1986) and PhD in Physical Chemistry (1990) from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. In 1989 he conducted research at the Physics Department of Strathclyde University in Glasgow, UK. He joined the Fraunhofer-Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institute (WKI) in 1990, where he currently serves as Head of the Department “Chemical Technology and Environmental Research”. In 2003 he joined the University of Applied Sciences Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel as a Professor for Indoor Hygiene. He is a member of ISIAQ, EPA (European Photochemistry Association), GDCh (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker) and ISEM (International Society for Environmental Medicine). He has been elected to the International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences (IAIAS), and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal "Indoor Air". Dr. Salthammer wrote in his nomination letter, “As an indoor scientist, my special concern is the increase of membership in ISIAQ to improve both the name recognition and the financial situation of the society. However, it is of major importance that ISIAQ keeps its independence and does not support any commercial interests or unilateral mentalities.” Dr. Salthammer is a strong supporter of peer-reviewed scientific publishing and of INDOOR AIR as the official journal of ISIAQ. He states, “The increasing impact factor of this journal indicates its growing importance. As a member of the Editorial Board of INDOOR AIR, I am in support of short papers, fast publishing and reduction of costs.” “ISIAQ task forces are a major figurehead of the society. However, task force reports need a better policy of publishing to make the results available for other researchers.” Dr. Salthammer also wrote in his nomination letter, “Students deserve a deeper insight into the problems and methods of indoor sciences. Therefore, a particular focus of my activities in the BOD would be the acquisition of grants for students to enable exchange between working groups and to participate in conferences. Furthermore, I will try to organize events like Summer Schools on indoor sciences to bring students and teachers closer together for lectures and discussions.” “ISIAQ has a high potential for attracting more active members, but still needs better establishment as a recognized international body and improved link to other organizations. This would help with more involvement in activities of education, research, policy and standardization.”
Richard J. Shaughnessy, USA, Secretary Richard J. Shaughnessy, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa. He has served as Program Director of IAQ Research at the University since 1987. He has taught and conducted research abroad in locations including Singapore, China, Australia, Philippines, and South Africa. He has published extensively on indoor air with respect to his research and studies. Dr. Shaughnessy has worked on U.S. EPA grant projects since 1990 encompassing issues such as training development, course delivery and outreach, schools investigations, and implementation of the Tools for Schools Program. His interests are primarily in particulate research, air cleaner evaluation, indoor chemistry, school studies, flooring studies, asthma/housing research, and studies related to resolution and remediation of bioaerosol-related problems. He is a standing member of the ACGIH Bioaerosols Committee and contributed to the writing of the 1999 ACGIH Bioaerosols Assessment and Control Document. Dr. Shaughnessy, when asked about his nomination, wrote: "My primary interest in working with ISIAQ is to explore meaningful methods for interpreting and disseminating current IAQ research to the practitioners that need it most. Scientific gains have little or no bearing if not effectively translated into practical terms which are applicable to the field practitioner and the general public. Whether it be by conferences, short courses, newsletters, individual chapters in various countries, etc, ISIAQ can play an important role in facilitating this message."
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