A preliminary schedule has been announced for the 2014 ASHRAE/IBPSA-USA Building Simulation Conference, Sept. 10-12, in Atlanta. The conference merges the ASHRAE Energy Modeling and IBPSA-USA SimBuild Conferences. In addition, the schedule of pre-conference courses has been finalized, and applications are now being accepted for student scholarships to attend the event.

“The conference theme of ‘BIM, BEM and SIM – Integrated Building Design and Modeling’ focuses on workflow and integration,” said Dennis Knight, conference chair. “The papers and non-paper presentations selected for the conference address these areas as well as innovations in modeling for the benefit of the energy modeling and building simulation industries.”

The papers and presentations are organized around the following topics: urban modeling, state of the art BIM, design firms, new simulation approaches, BIM in the cloud, codes and rating systems, and life cycle cost analysis.

“Attendees will benefit by networking, by participating in numerous hands-on modeling and simulation presentations, and by seeing current tools available in the marketplace, their applications, and workarounds,” Knight said.

In all, some 80 papers and some 80 non-paper presentations are slated to be presented.

The featured keynote speaker is Dru Crawley of Bentley Systems. He is scheduled to deliver an address titled “BIM to SIM: Trends in Buildings, Technologies and Tools.” Additional keynote speakers are being identified.

A “Market-Reality Session - Modeling Tools” features major modeling and simulation vendors who will explain, defend, and answer questions about their software’s capabilities.  Confirmed vendors are Autodesk, Carrier, EnergyPlus, IES, OpenStudio, and Trane.

Early bird registration closes on July 24.  For more information or to register, visit www.ashrae.org/simulation2014.

In addition, 12 courses and software training are scheduled prior to the conference on Sept. 8-9.  See the website for the course descriptions and registration.

Student scholarships are available to students and recent graduates to apply for support for registration, hotel, and travel. The application cut-off is July 25. Visit www.ashrae.org/simulation2014 to submit a scholarship application.

A post-conference ASHRAE Building Energy Modeling Professional certification exam will be administered on Sept. 12. Separate registration is required.