ASHRAE Qatar ORYX Chapter

The Chapter received its name and first Board of Governors (BOG) on December 10, 2007, thanks to the initiative of Mr. Hani Hawamdeh, Miss Denise Haladjian, Mr. Kamal Taj, Mr. Subrata Kar, Mr. Ramiz Gabriel, and Mr. Mohamad El Mokdad. The founding BOG members were not only the creators of the Chapter but also served as mentors and visionaries, essential to the Chapter’s guidance and sustainability. Over the years, the Chapter has grown into an innovative and adaptive group that engages with the local Qatari engineering community and organizations. It constantly adapts to the changing expat engineering community, ensuring every incoming member is welcomed and integrated into the local community, and maintains connections after leaving. This is achieved through extensive personal communication, supported by the creation of the website, www.ashraeqatar.org, launched in 2011. The website provides information on technical seminars, newsletters, social events, technical support, and job opportunities. In 2016, the Chapter began developing its own Oryx Application, facilitating chats between ASHRAE members and providing instant notifications of seminars and new papers on the website. Throughout its history, the Chapter has remained socially active, following ASHRAE’s bylaws and embracing the cultural nature of its members. The Oryx Chapter consistently organizes regular monthly innovative technical seminars, featuring both local and international speakers. This has enabled the Chapter to maintain strong connections with the engineering community and local suppliers of major HVAC and refrigeration companies, ensuring their innovations are properly and technically introduced to local engineering firms.