Professor Eckhard Groll, who has made unique contributions in the field of positive displacement compressor analysis, is the 2018 winner of the Institute of Refrigeration J & E Hall Gold Medal. In more than 23 years at Purdue University, Indiana, USA, he has led teams whose work has benefited heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industries across the globe.
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Together with his colleagues and graduate students, he has developed detailed and comprehensive simulation models of hermetic PD compressors, including scroll, rolling piston, reciprocating, linear, rotating spool, bowtie and S-RAM using different working fluids including HFCs, HFOs and natural refrigerants.
Professor Groll said: "I know many of the accomplished people who have won this award over the past decade or so and I feel I am being elevated into an elite group. I love this job. I am also educating students and this has always been at the forefront of everything I do. I am most proud of the graduate students that I was able to educate through this research and being able to help place them gain successful positions and careers over time. That is by far the most gratifying aspect of my job."
Around 2000 students have benefited from Professor Groll's tutelage over the years – including 25 PhD graduates and more than 70 Masters students. He added: "I have enjoyed being able to work with a diverse group of industries. In various projects there have been more than 30 HVAC and refrigeration companies represented. They are from several countries including the US, Germany and China. The US Army and Air Force and the Department of Energy have also sponsored projects. I have been able to work with a variety of different entities and that has been very enjoyable."
