EVENTS
Claudia McWhirter, Luc Dwyer, Martin Oates and Isaac Jervis, joined the top table as guests. Cook described them as representing “the future of our industry in very real terms,” a symbolic gesture that aligned with the evening’s focus on skills and succession.
Awards Professor Judith Evans received the J&E Hall International Gold Medal for her long-term work on improving energy performance and reducing carbon impact across the food cold chain. Her research spans food processing, cold storage, transport, retail and domestic handling in both developed and developing regions. The document notes that her recent studies on raising frozen food storage temperatures to –15°C “have been discussed internationally, including at COP28 in Dubai.” She has also contributed to standards development, industry guidance, road maps and collaborative projects. The Ted Perry Memorial Award went to Jake Locke of the University of Warwick for his project Investigation of salt mixtures for resorption heat pump cycles. His work examines sorption-based heating and cooling using salt mixtures and ammonia as a low-GWP refrigerant. Judges highlighted the project’s technical approach, relevance to low-carbon heating and potential for further research. Andy Clarke of Airconuk received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the IOR RACHP Engineering Technician Section.
The award recognises a career spent in hands-on roles within the sector. Clarke was acknowledged for his involvement in training activities, eff orts to support consistent installation practices and engagement with new technologies through workshops and trade events.
The Lightfoot Medal for the best IOR Talk and Paper of
the previous year was awarded jointly to Catarina Marques and Dermot Cotter for Energy Usage in the Industrial Refrigeration Sector: Food, Drink, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Refrigeration. The award is determined by a vote of IOR members. The authors donated their £500 prize to the IOR President’s Fund to support training initiatives. Space Engineering received the IOR Beyond Refrigeration
Environmental Award for its Booster Integrated Solution Plus project. The project replaced multiple HFC refrigeration systems and gas boilers with an allelectric COâ‚‚based installation. Reported outcomes included reduced materials use, lower site disruption, monitored high effi ciencies, seasonal performance data and verifi ed lifecycle carbon savings of around 180 tonnes. Judges noted the project’s controls strategy and its relevance to reducing fossil fuel use in retail refrigeration and heating. Professor Evans, Jake Locke and Space Engineering will
present further details of their work in the next IOR papers programme.
“Education and skills remain our number one strategic
priority,” she told attendees. “It’s not a slogan, it’s a responsibility.”
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www.acr-news.com • March 2026 23
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