Heat recovery ventilation idea wins innovation prize

November 4, 2019

ACEP's Riley Bickford (front, left) and Tom Marsik (front, right) receive their Arctic Kicker prize during the Arctic Innovation Competition. Behind them are Ping Lan and Mark Herrmann (School of Management), �� photo by JR Ancheta.

At this year’s , Riley Bickford and Tom Marsik of ��’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power pitched their invention. The project was awarded a prize of $2,000 for the best Arctic-related idea. With the cash and support from , the , the and the Bristol Bay Campus, the team plans to test a prototype this winter at the CCHRC research and testing facility.

The goal is to create a combined intake/exhaust unit to simplify heat and energy recovery in cold climate ventilation systems.

The project started at CCHRC and gained speed when Bickford chose the idea as his undergraduate research endeavor. He received guidance from Marsik, who holds a joint position with ACEP and CCHRC.

The innovation also won the 2018-2019 Commercialization: Best Overall IDEAs Award at ��. The Innovative Disclosures and Entrepreneurial Activities, or , awards recognize entrepreneurial individuals who have developed innovative approaches to research, teaching and service.

Bickford graduated from �� in spring 2019 and continues to work on the invention as an ACEP employee. The project team now includes CCHRC’s Vanessa Stevens, Robbin Garber-Slaght and Conor Sosebee.

For more information on the dual hood innovation, contact Riley Bickford at rjbickford@alaska.edu.

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