ISIAQ Healthy Buildings 2023
Brett Stinson

I cannot thank ISIAQ enough for their generosity in getting me to Aachen, Germany for Healthy Buildings 2023. As a recipient of their student travel award, I was afforded a unique opportunity to present my research in an unfamiliar setting.
 
The welcome reception was a great opportunity to orient myself to the beautiful city of Aachen, become acquainted with researchers from my field, and of course, enjoy delicious food and beverages. Monday and Tuesday morning kicked off with fascinating keynote addresses, which helped set the tone of the day’s proceedings. Experts in their respective fields explored topics ranging from acoustics to daylighting to climate change; this variety of research focuses served to emphasize the ultimate goal of the conference: to push attendees outside of their comfort zones, beyond disciplinary boundaries.
 
I attended countless presentations both within and outside the scope of my research area, some that inspired ideas that could be incorporated into my own work and some that exposed me to entirely new concepts. Timely topics such as the improvement of indoor air quality through ventilation and air cleaning paired with the clever, practical application of computational fluid dynamics modeling motivated me to rethink an ongoing wildfire smoke exposure project. Topics such as the implementation of sensors to manage natural ventilation and shading systems made me reconsider the future of occupant comfort optimization in unexpected ways. Each oral and poster presentation challenged me to think about building science as a multidisciplinary field with limitless opportunities to collaborate.
 
It was apparent to me that every conference participant was united by a mission to improve the wellbeing of others. Witnessing academics and professionals from all over the world come together to exchange ideas and collectively push this mission forward was inspiring, to say the least. Supporting student attendance at conferences such as Healthy Buildings 2023 is invaluable, as it encourages a new generation of building scientists to be active in a growing community of like-minded researchers. ISIAQ values student engagement, continually demonstrating their commitment to expanding our community beyond disciplinary boundaries.