In this episode, John Downey, executive director of the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI), previews Healthy Buildings America 2021, which is an upcoming conference hosted by CIRI. If you feel like you’re experiencing déjà vu, Downey did join R&R for an interview on the event in a previous episode a few months back. However, since then, the conference was rescheduled for January 18–20, 2022. It was initially planned for November 2021, but COVID-19-related government restrictions in Hawaii prompted its postponement.

The theme of the conference is Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice – In the Age of COVID-19 and Beyond. Professionals in cleaning, disinfection, restoration and remediation will team with

researchers representing the nation’s top academic institutions to build bridges between research and practice. Hundreds of oral and poster presentations on the indoor environment will be offered.  

This episode covers:

• The roller-coaster ride of planning Healthy Buildings and rescheduling it several times due to the pandemic
• “Research to practice” defined
• A detailed list of speakers and presentations relevant to restoration and remediation professionals
• Why CIRI thinks it is important to host an academic research conference like Healthy Buildings America
• About CIRI, including its unique status as an organization that is a non-profit but not a trade association
• The value of researchers and practitioners (restorers and remediators) learning from each other to fuel new ideas and advancement  

Check out this episode of Ask the Expert to learn more. You can watch the video here or listen to the audio version of our conversation here. You can also find our show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Just search for Restoration & Remediation Ask the Expert, then hit Follow.