chapters

In the knows history, there have been ASHRAE members from Sri Lanka, since the late 1960’s a first attempt made to form an ASHRAE Sri Lanka Chapter in 1990 by these few members had not been successful.

However, with the communication initiated by Pandukabhaya Amarasinghe in April 2001, with Sameer Traboulsi, the Chairman Sub Region A of RAL, the proposal to establish a Chapter was successful. As a result, three ASHRAE members from Sri Lanka, consisting of Pandukabhaya Amarasinghe, Wasantha Kumara and JDK Jayatilleke. were invited to participate in the Taiwan CRC, as observers, in September 2001. Thereafter, with die efforts of Pandukabhaya Amarasinghe and Chandana Dalugoda, more than 50 active members were gathered, and when Sameer TrabouIsi made his visit on the 18th of October 2001. the chapter was unofficially formed. Late Mr. Yaseen Mankkar: one of the senior members, was elected as the President. Subsequently, the Official Chartering ceremony was held on die 5th February 2002 with the Society President William J. Coad officiating the chartering process. while Sameer Traboulsi was the guest of honor who was instrumental in forming the chapter

The ASHRAE Pakistan Chapter was petitioned at the 1st RAL CRC in Reading UK. Mr. Farooq Mehboob travelled to the UK and handed the petition to President Don Colliver.
The Chartering Ceremony was held at the Avari Towers, Karachi, in September, 2003. Members of the
Pakistan HVACR Society alongwith leading personalities from the HVACR Industry were present.
Mr. Ainul Abedin was inducted as the founder President of the ASHRAE Pakistan Chapter. The other
members of the Board were: Mr. Farooq Mehboob, Mr. Fahim Siddiqui, Mr. Muhammad Abbas Sajid, Mr.
Lawrence Harrison, Mr. Fahim Khan and Mr. Farhan Mehboob.
A media campaign on Print and Electronic Media was launched to promote ASHRAE and the Pakistan Chapter in Pakistan. Mr. Richard Rooley, the then President of ASHRAE, and his wife Ruth, had come to Karachi for the Chartering of the Pakistan Chapter of ASHRAE. Such was the celebrity status of the Rooleys that the Chapter accepted substantial contribution from people who wanted to have their pictures taken with them. Mr. Sameer Traboulsi the then DRC of RAL had also accompanied the ASHRAE President to this ceremony. After the formal Chartering and Oath Taking of the ASHRAE Pakistan Chapter a grand dinner was hosted followed by a Variety program featuring some leading artists of Pakistan showing off the rich culture of the land.
The Pakistan Chapter members have served ASHRAE in many positions including RVC, SRC, ARC,
DRC etc. The Chapter collaborates with the Pakistan HVACR Society for holding conferences alongside the Annual Expo of the PHVACR Society.

In the known history of this region, we have had Professional Engineers who joined ASHRAE membership since 1975. However, this region did not have any formal chapter in those days as the region was not developed and much of it remained as empty sand dunes. Later in the years when Oil started bringing money to the region, the construction industry started to pick up. This movement generated the requirement of professionals in the field of HVAC as Cooling is an inevitable part of any building design in the region. In the year 2003, some of the engineering professionals who were members of ASHRAE decided to take the lead and establish a local chapter to provide support to HVAC engineers in the region. As the region was still in the early developing stage, this chapter was formed to provide technical and professional support to Mechanical Engineers in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The Founding members of the chapter are Mr. Basam Al Elassad, Mr. Vijay Kumar, Mr. Bassel Anbari, Mr. Girish Hira and Mr. Mohsen Abu Naga. The chapter was inaugurated on December 7th, 2003 by Mr. Samir Traboulsi, the then RAL DRC who supported the whole idea. The chapter was named “Emirates Falcon Chapter”.
We are all familiar with the rest of the history; the gulf regions drew unprecedented growth in wealth and construction activity and eventually Qatar and Bahrain developed their own local Chapters and Emirates Falcon Chapter became ASHRAE Falcon Chapter to serve engineering professionals in UAE. Falcon Chapter still supports engineering professionals in Oman as Oman does not have a local chapter yet. Falcon Chapter became a very important player in the field of HVAC, Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency. ASHRAE Falcon Chapter is currently involved with various Ministries, ESMA, MOEW, UNEP, UNIDO and other International
Bodies. ASHRAE Falcon Chapter plays an integral part in assisting these bodies in organizing International Conferences in UAE.

Mr. Mubesher Ahmad, currently President of the Pakistan HVACR Society was the driving force behind the creation of the ASHRAE Northern Chapter in Pakistan.
In early 2005, he approached Mr. Farooq Mehboob to commence activities leading to the creation of the Northern Pakistan Chapter. Mr. Farooq Mehboob set up a Steering Committee comprising of Engr. Fahim A. Khan, Chairman, Mr. Lawrence Harrison, Vice Chairman, Mr. Azim Ashraf, Secretary, Mr. Arshad S. Sheikh, Treasurer, Mr. M. Ashraf, Member and Mr. Mubesher Ahmad, Member. On June 14, 2005, Mubesher Ahmed handed over to Farooq Mehboob a petition signed by 52 members for forwarding to Society.
The ASHRAE Board of Directors approved the Charter in the Annual Summer Meeting in June 2005. ASHRAE President, Mr. Richard Rooley, chartered the Chapter on March 15, 2006 with a grand event held at the Serena Hotel Islamabad.
On July 18, 2005 the first meeting of the Steering Committee was held at Islamabad, where a Nominating Committee was formed. The Committee also reviewed and adopted the Chapter bylaws as per ASHRAE Pakistan Chapter. The 1st Chapter meeting was held on 1st September 2005, at the Islamabad Hotel, chaired by Mr. Arshad S. Sheikh and 24 members participated. The 1st Officers installation ceremony was held at the Serena Hotel, Islamabad on December 16th, 2006 where Mr. Mubesher Ahmad was elected Chapter President for 2006-2007.
The Chapter has a long record hosting hugely successful family get togethers and training programs. The ASHRAE Northern Pakistan Chapter collaborate with the Pakistan HVACR Society for holding an Annual Conference alongside the Annual expo of the Society.

Before the formation of ASHRAE Bahrain Chapter, the ASHRAE members in Bahrain were facilitated by the Falcon Chapter, Dubai. Their emails related to seminars and other activities were a constant source of inspiration to establish a Chapter in Bahrain.
For this purpose, in March 2006, Mr. Tariq Malik traveled to Dubai to attend a seminar and to discuss with Mr. Bassel Anbari, then Falcon Chapter President, the possibility of forming an ASHRAE Chapter in Bahrain.
Mr. Bassel Anbari was pleased and encouraged the idea. He arranged a meeting with Mr. Ayman Altonany, Program Officer UNEP Bahrain, where initiating members met and formed a steering committee. The members of the steering committee were Mr. Tariq Malik, Mr. Ayman Altonany, Mr. Bader Salmein, Mr. Alan Millin and Mr. Gareth Brown.
The steering worked hard under the guidance of Samir Traboulsi – then Director and Regional Chair, Region-at-Large; Dr. Walid Chakroun – then Sub-Region-A Chair; Bassel Anbari – then President ASHRAE Falcon Chapter; Jeanie Kirksey – Regional Activities Coordinator at ASHRAE headquarters and the support of fellow engineers in Bahrain to make this dream come true.

The Qatar Oryx Chapter saw the light in late 2007. It is soon to celebrate a decade of its existence. The Chapter received its name and first BOG on December 10, 2007 after the initiative of Mr. Imad Mobayed and Mr. David
Brown, Mr. Hassan Sultan, Mr. Hani Hawamdeh, Mr. Kamal Taj, and Mr. Subrata Kar.
The first BOG team members were not only the founders of the Chapter, but have proven to be mentors
and visionaries, essential to the Chapter’s guidance towards its own subsistence.
The Chapter has developed to become an innovative and adaptive group that interacts with the local Qatari Engineering Community and organizations. It is also constantly adapting to a changing Expat Engineering Community ensuring that every incoming member is welcomed and introduced to the local community, and keeps his ties after he leaves. This is achieved by extensive personal communication, backed by the creation of the website launched in 2011, www.ashraeqatar.org. The website makes available information related to technical seminars, a newsletter, social events, technical support and job information.
In 2016, the Chapter began to develop its own Oryx Application where chats between ASHRAE members are made available, and notifications of seminars and new papers on the website reach all members instantaneously.
The Chapter has been socially active throughout, combining the ASHRAE’s bylaws as main guidelines and the cultural nature of its people.
The Oryx Chapter has been consistent in organizing regular monthly innovative Technical Seminars, with local and international speakers. This has enabled them to maintain connections with the engineering community and local suppliers of major HVAC and Refrigeration companies, ensuring their innovations are properly and technically introduced to the local engineering companies.

On the 23rd of March, 2010, history was made as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Airconditioning Engineers, ASHRAE, Nigeria Chapter was officially inaugurated. ASHRAE Nigeria, with 124 professionals, had the singular honour of being chartered by Dr. Walid Chakrun via Skype and this remains a major signpost in the annals of the Society.
In line with the objectives of the founding fathers of ASHRAE, over a 100 years ago, the Nigerian chapter is driven by the desire to raise the standards of HVAC industry locally through continuous education and learning via e-learning, seminars, technical workshops and journals. Our members are drawn from different parts of Nigeria.
The work of the steering committee which received the Society Nominating Committee’s approval on the 17th of October, 2009 and its subsequent formation in 2010, remains a testimony to the visionary leadership of the President of the Charter Committee, Engineer Babatunde A. Badru and the other distinguished members of the committee.
The history of ASHRAE Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the President of the Steering Committee, Babatunde A. Badru and other distinguished members of the Steering committee, local and international.
Badru has to his credit, the approval of the formation of the ASHRAE Nigeria by the Society Nominating Committee. Subsequently, after the inauguration he emerged as the Charter President in 2010. The first set of executives was made up of the following members: Babatunde A. Badru, President, Kehinde O. O.,President-elect, Daramola O. Sesan, vice President, Devendra Munot, Secretary, E. O. Olabiran, Member BOG and Olufemi Olatunji, Member BOG.

The ASHRAE Central Pakistan chapter was chartered on the 28th June 2010, by Presidential Member, Mr. Richard H. Rooley. The event took place at the 18th Annual Pakistan HVACR Expo in City of Gardens, Lahore, Pakistan. 
Members of the Central Pakistan chapter were earlier part of ASHRAE Northern Pakistan Chapter, that was operating primarily in Islamabad city, the Capital of Pakistan. It was due to the untiring efforts of senior members that the petition for the formation of Central Pakistan Chapter was formally sent to ASHRAE & was subsequently approved.
This Chapter is one among the three Chapters operating in Pakistan as of today. Most of the members of Central Pakistan Chapter are from the historical city of Lahore and Faisalabad and their nearby cities. Considering the interests of the Faisalabad members, a petition for the formation of a Faisalabad Section was sent to ASHRAE, which was approved in the year 2014-15.
The Founding BOG members were a blend of very senior & young members of the Pakistan HVACR Industry. Mr. Arshad S. Sheikh was elected as the First President of the chapter; other BOG members included Mr. Amer Abbass, Mr. Syed Shehzad Raza, Mr. Safdar Ali Mughal, Mr. Tahir Raza, Mr. Azeem Ashraf, Mr. Lawrence Harrison & Mr. Sajid Mehmood. Since ASHRAE focuses a lot on Student Activities, the Chapter started developing interest among the students of leading Universities & Colleges of the city. As a result, the Chapter has three Student Branches to date. Technical lectures & Industrial tours are organized regularly for the Student Branches to familiarize them with the industry trends & advancements.
The chapter has been holding regular member monthly meetings in addition to the ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer Events, member’s night & Chapter installation ceremonies. There has been regular participation in the Annual Chapter Regional Conferences & ASHRAE conferences from chapter members.

During the ASHRAE Winter Conference held in Dallas, January 26-30, 2013, ASHRAE members from Turkey, applied to the Members Council expressing their interest in establishing a Turkish Section. On January 29, 2013, the application was approved and the “ASHRAE Turkish Section” was formed with 25 members. Thereafter, the ASHRAE Turkish Chapter was approved on 21st January 2014, at the ASHRAE Winter Conference in New York. Some of the key members who founded the chapter are, Dr. Mehmet Baris, Mehmet Kenan Dokumaci, Soner Bicer, Bahadirhan Tari, Prof. Atilla Biyikoglu and Dr. Ayhan Onat.
As a result of the HVACR sectoral accomplishments done by the ASHRAE Turkish Chapter, the chapter was admitted to the HVACR Sectoral Assembly of TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) that brings together all the associations and foundations actively working in HVACR industry. The ASHRAE Turkish Chapter representative for the Assembly is currently Chapter President Bahadirhan Tari.

The Chartering of the ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter was done on the 1st of March 2016 al the Le Meridian Hotel in Dhaka.

The ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter became the latest addition to the ASHRAE RAL family making the total number of chapters within the RAL to become 25.

The Chartering of the ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter was done on the 1st of March 2016 at the Le Meridian Hotel in Dhaka. The ceremony was well organized and attended by all the leading professional and engineers of the Bangladesh HVAC Industry. ASHRAE President David Underwood and his wife Jane Underwood had especially come to Dhaka to perform the Chartering of the ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter. Mr. Farooq Mehboob, Director and Regional Chair RAL, and Mr. Muhammad Abbas Sajid Sub-Regional Chair C RAL unfortunately could not attend the program due to visa issues but joined the ceremony and delivered speeches over Skype. Mr. Farooq Mehboob had requested Mr. Pankaj Dharkar from India to travel to Dhaka to attend the program and manage the Ceremony.

In his remarks, the ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter President Mr. Minash Mitra thanked all the participants of the ceremony for gracing the occasion and briefed them about the benefits of the ASHRAE Chapter and how it is immensely going to benefit the construction Industry of Bangladesh. Terming the formation of the Chapter a historic event he hoped all the members of the Chapter would come forward and participate in the Chapter programs to get maximum benefit from the huge resources that ASHRAE provides to its Chapters and its members.

Mr. Joseph Ulysses and Mr. Brig Gen. Mofizur Rehman also spoke on the occasion and specially thanked the Sub Regional Chair Mr. Muhammad Abbas Sajid who had travelled twice to Bangladesh and had motivated the senior members of the Bangladesh HVACR community to form and ASHRAE Chapter in Bangladesh. The guest of honour at the ceremony was the former Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Mr. Musharrif Hussain Khan congratulated the Officers and members of the new ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter and spoke about the general construction industry and its requirements and how ASHRAE Bangladesh Chapter will benefit the Bangladesh Industry In the end there was a lavish dinner organized by the Chap ter showing off the local cuisine of Bangladesh