2008, Refrigeration Year

Many events and actions have already been scheduled or have already taken place in various countries in order to celebrate the IIR's centenary and the 100th anniversaries of several national associations of refrigeration (France, the Netherlands, Serbia). The first event was in Russia. A conference was held in Saint Petersburg on January 29, 2008: "One Hundred Years that changed the World". It was organized by the Saint Petersburg State University of Low-Temperature and Food Technology, the International Academy of Refrigeration, the Working Group entitled "Refrigerant and Heating Medium" of the Russian Academy of Science, in cooperation with the Russian National Committee for the IIR. Specialists and scientists from various parts of Russia and Belarus attended it. Full information on the conference will be published in the journal Holodil'naya Tekhnika. Several events have already taken place in France. Refrigeration Year was officially launched on February 6, 2008, during Interclima in Paris; the French Refrigeration Association and the IIR held a stand, on which one of the oldest ice machines was on display and demonstrated. Logos and signs were provided for all the sponsors of the events in France and used during various shows, along with lectures dedicated to the refrigeration sector: "Mondial des metiers" (Lyons, February 7-10) "Etanchéité" (Nancy, March 7); "Froid pour le médicament (Lyons, March 12-13); "Journée Grand Froid" (Paris, April 4); "Forum des métiers du froid" (Dinan, April 4-5). In the Netherlands too: a series of short 1¾-h presentations took place at Delft University: "Refrigerating the Food Chain" (February 18), "Refrigeration and Sustainability" (March 3), and "New Developments in Rotating Machines" (March 17). Moreover, the Dutch Refrigeration Association (NvVK) has published a 60-page illustrated book, in Dutch, presenting the current situation and uses of refrigeration in the Netherlands and the rest of the world. An English edition of a book on Kamerlingh Onnes, by Mr Dirk van Delft Freezing Physics, has also been published. In China, the IIR-co-sponsored conference ICCR2008, held in Shanghai on April 6-9, provided an opportunity to present the history of the IIR and its present challenges. A lot of other events are programmed in these countries and in many other IIR member countries. The next issues of the Newsletter will give you a summary of them. However, you will find more complete information and updates on future events on our Web site. Our other publications, the e-Bulletin and the International Journal of Refrigeration (IJR), will also briefly mention them. In addition, the IJR is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year: you will find more details in the IIR events section. Please consult the dedicated pages on our Web site: www.iifiir.org