Panelists

 Dr. Iyad Al-Attar, WFI Strategic Director, Visiting Academia Fellow, Cranfield University, UK.

Dr. Al-Attar is a mechanical engineer and an independent air filtration consultant. He is also a Visiting Academic Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, consulting for air quality and filter performance relevant to land-based gas turbines. Dr. Al-Attar is the strategic director, instructor, and advisory board member of the Waterloo Filtration Institute. In 2020, EUROVENT Middle East appointed Dr. Al-Attar as the first associated consultant for air filtration affairs. Dr. Al-Attar received his engineering degrees (BSc, MSc, Ph.D.) from the University of Toronto (Canada), Kuwait University, and Loughborough University (UK), respectively.

Dr. Al-Attar’s area of expertise focuses on designing and performing high-efficiency filters for HVAC and land-based gas turbine applications, particularly on the chemical and physical characterization of airborne particles. Dr. Al-Attar is a columnist in the EUROVENT Middle East newsletter, Climate Control Middle East Magazine, ES Engineering, USA, and Caloryfrio Magazine, Spain. He has authored many articles on air quality, filter design, performance, particle characterization, and climate change, which were translated into Arabic and Spanish. Dr. Al-Attar is an editorial member/referee in the Filtration Society (UK) and the Journal of Cleaner Production.

Mr. Al Vatine, President, LMS Technologies, USA

Mr. Vatine is a globally well-recognized expert in various air filter testing and evaluation. He studied biology at Macalester College and graduated in Pathology at the University of Minnesota, USA. He started LMS Technologies in 1996 in response to the increasing demand from the industry for filter measurement. Al has over 35 years of experience in comprehensive air filtration testing, test equipment design, research and development. The company is establishing the core facility for fiberization, filtration, nozzle design, and filtration research and development. They have successfully designed the largest test system with a capacity of 25,000 CFM and built-in back pulse, rain, sand storm, ice pulse removal, 99% humidity, and saltwater migration testing capability. This system provides realistic test data for gas turbines and large engine intake filters used in the aerospace and defense industry.

Mr. Steve Nicholas, Filter Service Expert, Past NAFA President, USA

Mr. Nicholas has been involved with HVAC air filtration industry since 1984. He is the past president of the National Air Filtration Association, [NAFA]. And is a Certified Technician Level II for Bag-In/Bag-Out HEPA Filter installations. Mr. Nicholas has also been professionally trained by the Harvard School of Public Health for Certifying 99.97% HEPA Filters In-Place for nuclear and non-nuclear applications. Stephen has also been certified for Testing Adjusting and Balancing Commercial Building HVAC Systems.

Mr Nicholas has written several technical articles on air filtration and ventilation, and served on several ASHRAE National Committees. He has also been recognized by both ASHRAE and NAFA as a recipient of their Distinguished Service Award. He remains active in the industry as a Professional Member of NAFA and Life Member of ASHRAE.

Ms. Kathleen Owen, ASHRAE Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer, USA

Ms. Owen is an expert in air filter/cleaner filtration efficiency and test method development. She is ASHRAE ETF member,  Past chair of ASHRAE 52.2 chair,  SPCC 145 and SPC 185.5.  She has more than 30 years in air cleaner testing and method development as well as several areas of IAQ and aerosol research. She also developed chamber test methods for gases and bioaerosols based, in large part, on the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) CADR test method.She ran the air cleaner testing lab at RTI for over 20 years and is now a consultant. Her BS in chemical engineering is from North Carolina State University, and her MS in Air Pollution Control Engineering is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Tim Johnson, Filter Testing Expert, recently retired from TSI Incorporated.

Tim Johnson has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota. He worked at TSI Incorporated for over 43 years before retiring in 2022. He has worked with particle instruments and the Automated Filter Tester products since 1990.  He was responsible for the product applications using automated filter test equipment and components used in filter testing applications. He is involved with standards development for a number of filter related standards and is an expert on several international standards groups. He is acting convenor of ISO/TC142/JWG11 and co-convenor on a Joint working group between ISO/TS142/JWG11 and IEC/TC59/SC59N. These committees are working on standards for portable room air cleaners. Recent standard work with ASTM created a new standard, ASTM F3502, Standard Specification for Barrier Face Coverings in 2021 which uses similar testing method to the testing done for NIOSH approved respirators. He is also working on changes to F2100 (material for medical masks) to also use the same test method so that all types of face coverings will have similar test methods.