A team of students from the ar- chitectural engineering program at K-State earned first place in the American Society of Heating, Refrig- erating and Air Conditioning Engi- neers student design competition.

This is the second consecutive year that a K-State team has finished in first place, and it is also the uni- versity's third first-place finish in four years at the international com- petition.

The K-State team took first place in the heating, ventilation and air- conditioning systems selection cat- egory, which requires students to perform an engineering analysis to select a system that optimizes per- formance while maintaining low life-cycle costs.

The teams were judged on cri- teria such as comfort, health, how the system fit into the architectural design and environmental impact. The team was comprised of veteran students, including four students who graduated in the 2010 spring semester and two students who are currently seniors.

K-State graduates Joel Wheeler, Matt Kolins, Nicole Vogt and Zac Buckmiller, as well as seniors in ar- chitectural engineering Todd Kuno and Jarad Palan, represented K- State in the student competition.

The student team was advised by Julia Keen, associate professor of architectural engineering and construction science, as well as Fred Hasler, assistant professor of archi- tectural engineering and construc- tion science.

"We are very proud of our stu- dent team and their continuing of the tradition of a top finish by K-State in this international com- petition," Keen said. "They worked very hard to have a first-place finish and this is wonderful recognition of their effort."

Winning the design competition is not only a prestigious honor for the students competing, but also for the university and the architectural engineering program.

"Winning the ASHRAE Design Competition brings international visibility and credibility to the Col- lege of Engineering and the Archi- tectural Engineering program at Kansas State University," said Dave Fritchen, head of the Department of Architectural Engineering. "Our student chapter of ASHRAE is one of the leading student chapters in the nation and it provides our stu- dents an early exposure to this im- portant international professional organization that they will likely belong to as they start their engi- neering careers after graduation."

In addition to winning first place, the team will also be awarded a $2,000 monetary award and receive funding for one team member to travel to the 2011 ASHRAE con- vention in Las Vegas to present the team's solution.

The Kansas City chapter of ASHRAE offered to sponsor travel expenses for the remaining mem- bers of the team.

"The team's success reflects the quality of education the students receive here at KSU and speaks well for their preparation for the profes- sional workforce," Keen said.