​Jarek Kurnitski receives the Rydberg Gold Medal 2024

Professor Jarek Kurnitski has been honoured with the Rydberg Gold Medal 2024 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the research on ventilation and its effect on airborne diseases. The award was given at Roomvent conference Wednesday, 24 April 2024 in Stockholm. 

​Jarek Kurnitski is professor at Tallinn University of Technology and Aalto University, and chair of REHVA Technology and Research Committee, Federation of European Heating and Air-Conditioning Associations, a non-profit organization representing more than 120 000 HVAC-engineers and energy experts. He is the leader of Estonian Center of Excellence in Research ZEBE, Zero Energy and Resource Efficient Smart Buildings, and the leader of the Nearly Zero Energy Buildings NZEB research group which today operates at both universities. Before the professorship Jarek worked for SITRA, the Finnish Innovation Fund, where he had the main responsibility to conduct the Energy Programme 2009–2012. Jarek is editorial board member of Energy & Buildings and Energies journals and The REHVA European HVAC Journal.
Jarek has been working in expert groups of CEN, WHO, CIB, ISIAQ and REHVA, preparing international evidence-based guidelines, standards and textbooks for healthy, comfortable and energy efficient buildings including preparation of EPBD 1st and 2nd generation standards in technical committees CEN TC 156, TC 89, TC371 and TC228, and WHO guidelines for Indoor Air Quality, Dampness and Mould, and WHO Ventilation Roadmap published by World Health Organization in 2009 and 2021. Recently he chaired a task force preparing European residential ventilation guidebook, and was responsible for developing REHVA Covid guidance, that has been popular worldwide with more than 300 000 downloads.
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Jarek is internationally known for the preparation of technical definitions for nearly zero energy buildings through many activities in REHVA Technology and Research Committee and contributions to European standards. He has also been deeply involved in the work to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment in Estonia and Finland with major contribution in the development of dynamic simulation-based energy calculation frames for present energy performance regulations.

The Rydberg Gold Medal is a recognition for outstanding contributions to the research on or the development of ventilation and room air distribution. The medal is typically awarded every second year by SCANVAC. The gold medal is named after Professor John Rydberg (1908 – 1986) in order to honor his international pioneer work with room air distribution at Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan in the middle of the nineteen-hundreds.