Each year, IIAR recognizes the best technical paper presentations offered at the annual Natural Refrigeration Conference. This year’s event took place March 2-5 in Phoenix, AZ.

The IIAR Award for Presentation Excellence, offered to the top English and non-English language technical papers and previously named the “Andy Ammonia Award,” was created to acknowledge the crucial role that education and information-sharing plays within the natural refrigeration industry, and to provide acknowledgement of the expertise that is generously shared by association volunteers. Award recipients receive a free registration for next year’s conference, and perhaps most importantly, the acknowledgement from their peers for a job well done.

Award selection is based on attendee evaluations, and scores are weighted based on attendance. The 2025 Natural Refrigeration Conference featured 17 outstanding technical papers and presentations, but after extended consideration, the two 2025 winners (English language and non-English language) were:

• James Booth of Sustainachem (Hannibal, MO) received the 2025 award for his technical paper presentation that focused on “Understanding Water Treatment Performance.”
• Karel Israel Ortiz Reyes received the 2025 award for his technical paper presentation that examined “Encontrando el balance entre consumo energético y de agua en condensadores y torres de enfriamiento” (“Finding the balance between energy and water consumption in condensers and cooling towers”).

In a press release, IIAR acknowledged the participation of international natural refrigeration professionals who contribute non-English papers to the program, noting that it wouldn’t be an international organization without the dedication of these industry experts.