ISHVAC 2019 (The 11th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) was held at Harbin Institute of Technology from July 12th to 15th.
Professor Nagano, Associate Professor Katsura, Assistant Professor Sakata, and six students participated in the conference.

A Learning Satellite (Special Lecture) program was held at Pusan National University in Korea from July 1st to 4th.
Professor Nagano, Associate Professor Katsura, Assistant Professor Sakata, and 12 students from our laboratory participated in the program.

From June 18 to 21, Professor Anna-Karin Axelsson and Professor Saim Memon from London South Bank University visited us.
On the 21st, a joint seminar was held, in which Professor Anna-Karin Axelsson spoke about application technologies for smart windows using vacuum insulation technology with light transmittance, and Professor Saim Memon spoke about the development of vacuum insulated glass for energy-efficient buildings.
In the evening, they also joined our laboratory’s barbecue party.

A farewell party was held for Visiting Associate Professor Togawa.
We are deeply grateful to Visiting Associate Professor Togawa for his support over the long period of thirteen years.
Using Wakkanai Formation siliceous shale (Wakkanai diatomaceous earth) as the main material, he engaged in multifaceted research, including performance evaluation such as water-vapor adsorption characteristics, the development of desiccant rotors, the invention of a new measurement method for adsorbed water in porous materials, and the development of adsorption heat-pump systems.
We sincerely pray for the health and happiness of Visiting Associate Professor Togawa and his family.

On Wednesday, April 24, we held a welcome party for the fourth-year students assigned to our laboratory in April: Yumin Zeng, Yuma Akiyama, Taichi Kamada, Keisuke Mizutani, and Mitsuki Izawa.

As part of the exchange program between Hokkaido University and the University of British Columbia (UBC), titled ‘Joint Seminar and Collaborative Research on the Study of Regional Decentralized Energy Supply Systems Utilizing AI,’ we invited Professor Naoko Ellis from UBC. She gave a lecture on research related to woody-biomass gasification and on biomass-based energy supply systems at UBC aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, and we also held a discussion on the utilization of renewable energy.

Today was Kurokawa?san’s last working day. We are truly grateful for her involvement in various tasks in our laboratory, including the research and development of desiccant rotors and adsorption heat-pump systems, as well as her secretarial duties. We sincerely pray for the health and happiness of Kurokawa-san and her family.

On Monday, March 25, 2019, the degree conferment ceremony was held.
Congratulations to all of you on your graduation.
We wish you continued success in all your future endeavors.

On March 20, a branch meeting of the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan (SHASE) was held.

On February 6, the Master’s Thesis Presentation was held.


Masahiro Aihara
"Study on Simple Retrofitting Insulation for Existing Building using Vacuum Insulation Panels"

Mayu Inoue
"Numerical Study on Improving Performance of Actual Adsorption Heat Pump Using Natural Mesoporous Material"

Fang He
"Experimental Study on Performance Improvement of AHP Using Natural Meso-porous Material"

Akihide Nakajima
"Study on model predictive HEMS using solar radiation prediction by AI method"

Kazuma Hamano
"Study on application of small CO2 water source heat pump to water heating system for residential purposes"

Takashi Higashitani
"Experimental proof and feasibility study of the heat recovery ground source heat pump system"