Mohammadreza Azaddel has always aimed to help mankind live more easily, whether on Earth or another planet.

This passion has led him to become an engineer researching ways to make heating, ventilation and cooling more efficient while using environmentally friendly refrigerants.

For his work, Azaddel has been named a recipient of a 2026 American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid award. This award is given to around 20 graduate students annually working in HVAC-related research, providing $10,000 for students’ personal use.

Azaddel is a Ph.D. student in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University.

“It is truly an honor, and I’m excited to be a recipient of ASHRAE GIA,” Azaddel said. “I look forward to giving back to the ASHRAE community and being an active society member. This recognition also motivates me to contribute further to the HVAC field.”

He studies under MAE Professor Christian Bach, working alongside him through the OSU Center for Integrated Building Systems.

“Receiving a Grant-In-Aid sets students, including Mohammadreza, apart from most of his peers at a national level,” Dr. Bach said. “As an international student, recognition at this level strengthens his application to the U.S. National Interest Waiver program, which may ultimately permit Mohammadreza to stay in the U.S. — a dream he has worked toward while also pursuing a topic he is interested in.”

His current work involves conducting numerical investigations into methods to increase the performance of heat exchangers that are used in heat pump systems with high-glide, low global warming potential refrigerants.

Heat exchangers transfer heat from indoors to outdoors, keeping the airflows separate to cool or heat indoor air. Heat exchangers use various fluids such as water and refrigerant-oil mixtures.
Azaddel has worked on projects examining whether heat exchangers need upgrades to operate with newer fluids, as well as how these fluids affect heat exchanger performance under off-design conditions.

His primary role on Bach’s team is to maintain and expand the capabilities of the team’s xFin discretized heat exchanger model, which predicts the effect of design changes on heat exchanger performance.

"His most recent additions include improved visualization as well as handling the latest generation of low global warming potential refrigerants in a more accurate fashion than legacy models,” Bach said. “This type of work requires excellent analytical and coding skills and close attention to detail; Mohammadreza has shown repeatedly that he excels in those areas. Ultimately, Mohammadreza’s work will contribute to improving heat pump and air conditioner performance, which is a benefit to all of us.”

Bach strives to encourage his students to get out of their comfort zone and tackle real-world problems. Azaddel feels fortunate to work alongside such a supportive mentor.

“Dr. Bach is a great mentor, and I genuinely feel lucky to have this opportunity to work under his supervision,” Azaddel said. “He has been incredibly supportive since day one, helping me push beyond my limits and grow in all aspects, not just the research.

“I would like to thank OSU and CIBS for providing me the opportunity to research this project, and I hope the results of my Ph.D. research will be of benefit to the field. I would also like to thank my family for their emotional support during this journey.”