ASHRAE Journal - March 2009 - 5

ASHRAE 19 50 59–2009 YE A R S JOURNAL COMMENTARY The ‘R’ in ASHRAE “It is far better,” someone said, “to light one little candle than to sit and curse the dark.” Just such constructive objectivity has quite apparently led to a heart-warming unity of purposes and plans for the new American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning En gineers. D issenters have joined with merger proponents in impressive array. We con. dently predict a bright future for this newest of American engineering soc ieties—one in which all groups and factions will join in further perpetuating efforts toward the better accomplishment of our objectives. Thus begins Journal editor Edward R. Searles’ editorial in the Mar ch 1959 is sue o f ASHRAE Journal. Searles was writ about the merger of ing the American Society of R efrigerating Engineers (ASRE) and t he American Socie ty of He ating and Air-Conditioning E ngineers (A SHAE) that occurred on Jan. 29. The merger, Searles noted, made much sens e as bo th s ocieties shar ed common engineering phenomena—the transfer of heat and the circulation or maintenance of the transfer medium. “All else was so much icing on the cake,” he said. The merger also united two publications, ASRE’s Refrigerating Engineering Including Air Conditioning and ASHAE Journal. Both publications started in 1914, under slightly different names. WHILE FOUR-PAGE ASHRAE Journals had been published in January and February, March 1959 was the first edition of ASHRAE Journal as a magazine. It was an impressive 148-page edition with more than 90 pages of advertising. It also included eight technical features, news briefs and reports from ASHAE’s 65th annual meeting. One news brief covered engineering salaries, which it said were increasing 6.5% a year. The median salary in 1958, it reported, ranged from $6,125 for engineers with one year of experience to $11,000 for those with 20 years of experience. Despite the recession, it said 1958 graduates had numerous job offers, and starting salaries were higher than in 1957. The a nnual mee ting’s t echnical program was covere d in detail. It was described as “a distinguished affair, noteworthy for the spirit of the occasion as re.ected in the demonstrated interest and activities of those present, (and) for the depth and character of the technical and symposium sessions.” The magazine’s technical features covered topics such as chimney performance, noise and vibration, insulating media and odor absorption. One of the features, Five Defrost Methods for Comme rcial R efrigeration, wa s writ ten by J.H. (Julius) Rainwater, who joined ASRE soon after he graduated from Georgia Tech in 1949. His article is republished in this editio n. Other articles from ASHRAE Journal’s first 50 years will be published in successive editions, through March 2010. RAINWATER now lives in Conyers, Ga., where he is wr iting a book about the Rainwater family. Dur ing the 1950s and 1960s he was chief engineer and later vice president of engineering of what became Kysor/W arren Refrigeration company. He then helped found companies that evo lved into Hill PHOE NIX refrigeration. He also served th rough the 1960s as the U.S. representative on the Inter national S tandards O rganization (ISO) committee on refrigeration. While he was awarded several patents and chaired programs at ASHRAE meetings over the years, he thinks the article in the 1959 edition is the only article he published. As for the merger, he says it was a good thing. “Refrigeration and air conditioning are so interrelated they should be together. It also made for a stronger organization, and brought strength to both sides.” A SHRAE ® Journal | 1791 Tullie Circle NE | Atlanta, GA 30329-2305 | Phone: 404-636-8400 | Fax: 404-321-5478 | A SHRAE Online: www.ashrae.org Publisher W. Stephen Comstock Editor Fred Turner | fturner@ashrae.org Managing Editor Sarah Foster | sfoster@ashrae.org Associate Editors Rebecca Matyasovski | rmatyasovski@ashrae.org Charlotte Tubbs | ctubbs@ashrae.org Christopher Weems | cweems@ashrae.org Copy Editor Jeri Eader | jeader@ashrae.org Publishing Services Manager David Soltis Production Jayne Jackson Tracy Becker Advertising Sales Manager Greg Martin | gmartin@ashrae.org Advertising Production Coordinator Vanessa Johnson | vjohnson@ashrae.org Circulation Specialist David Soltis | dsoltis@ashrae.org ASHRAE OFFICERS President William A. Harrison President-Elect Gordon V.R. Holness, P .E. Treasurer Lynn G. Bellenger, P .E. Vice Presidents Jim Fields Andrew Persily, Ph.D. Vincent Tse Thomas Watson, P .E. Secretary & Executive Vice President Jeff H. Littleton POLICY GROUP 2008 – 09 Chair Publications Committee Julia A. Keen, P .E. Washington Office washdc@ashrae.org Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation March 2009 ASHRAE Journal 5

ASHRAE Journal - March 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - March 2009