UNC Charlotte engineering student wins 2026 international competition

Niner Engineer Felix Fiifi Ekuful has been selected as the winner of a 2026 international student paper competition organized by ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. This organization recognizes outstanding student research in the field of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. 

Last semester, graduate student Ekuful submitted his master’s thesis, “A Comparative Study of Occupancy-Based Dynamic Ventilation Reset Strategies for Variable-Air-Volume Systems.” The research examined how ventilation can be adjusted based on real-time building occupancy to improve both energy efficiency and indoor air quality. For this work, Ekuful won the competition, which was announced in January.