In 2002, Jason Obrzut graduated from the HVAC Technical Institute in Chicago, kick-starting an accomplished career in the HVAC Industry. Jason began working as a service technician and, within a short time, became an installation supervisor, and ultimately a business owner. While working during the day, he returned to the HVAC Technical Institute as a part-time, evening instructor. Teaching quickly became his passion, and he scaled back on working in the field to focus on teaching full time. While teaching, Jason developed, wrote, and implemented the curriculum that is currently being taught at the school. His dedication to his students and the institution was evident and he soon became the school's director of education and lead HVAC/R instructor. In 2016, The ACHR News recognized Jason as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in the HVAC industry. He is affiliated with numerous HVAC industry organizations, including Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES), the ESCO Group, and HVAC Excellence. At HVAC Excellence's 2016 National HVAC Educators and Trainers Conference (NHETC), Jason participated in the first annual Teachers-N-Trainers (TnT) competition and took first place in a field of over 60 participants. Jason is one of only 125 instructors nationwide who have held the title of Certified Master HVAC/R Educator (CMHE), and he holds Certified Subject Matter Educator (CSME) certificates from the ESCO Group. Jason has recently accepted a full-time position with the ESCO Institute, an industry partner of Cengage, where he will be taking on a role as part of the content development team to help improve the quality of HVAC/R education and training. Since entering the HVAC industry in 1980, Eugene has taken on many roles ranging from field technician and system designer to company owner, teacher, administrator, consultant and author. Eugene is currently the Director of Technical Education and Standards at the ESCO Institute. Eugene has twenty-five years of teaching experience and has taught air conditioning and refrigeration at many institutions including high school vocational programs, proprietary post-secondary institutions, and community colleges. In December of 2015, Eugene retired from his tenured teaching position at Suffolk County Community College, in Brentwood, New York, to join the ESCO Group and relocate to Southern California. Eugene earned his dual Bachelors Degree from The City College of New York (New York, NY) and his Masters of Science degree from Stony Brook University, (Stony Brook, NY) where he specialized in Energy and Environmental Systems, studying renewable and sustainable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower. He earned his Certified Master HVAC/R Educator (CMHE) credential from HVAC Excellence and the ESCO Group in 2010. Eugene also carries ASHRAE's BEAP credential, which classifies Eugene as a Building Energy Assessment Professional. He is also an active member of many industry societies. Eugene has served as the subject matter expert on more than fifteen HVAC-related educational projects. His most notable work is Cengage Learning's Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology title, which is now entering its 9th Edition (2021). This book is used in more than 1,000 schools both in this country and abroad to help individuals master the skills they need to install, service, troubleshoot, and design HVAC/R equipment.
