One hundred years ago on July 17th, Willis Carrier, a 25-year-old apprentice engineer employed by the Buffalo Forge Company, handed in his plan to solve a new client's problem - and air-conditioning was born.

The client, Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographic and Publishing Co. of Brooklyn, experienced problems when sheets of paper used for production were expanding and contracting in the heat and humidity, causing ink not to dry properly. The publishers of one of Sackett-Wilhelms' biggest clients, Judge magazine, were not pleased with the production problems and threatened to take their business elsewhere.

Carrier, just a year removed from Cornell University, was confronted with the client's problem and came up with the idea for air conditioning. He figured if a production plant was heated by blowing air through coils pumped full of steam, then why couldn't the plant be cooled by blowing air through coils of cold water?

On July 17, 1902, Carrier completed his drawings for what became recognized as the world's first air-conditioning system, and submitted them to his employer and client. This marked the birth of air-conditioning, according to Carrier.

Carrier Funds NYC High School Program

Carrier Corp. President Geraud Darnis and New York City Schools Chancellor Harold O. Levy announced the creation of the Willis H. Carrier Academy at Brooklyn's William E. Grady Technical High School. Supported by a $100,000 grant from Carrier, the Academy will offer students a three-year program in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration.

The announcement took place at a dedication ceremony at the school on the centennial of the day that Willis H. Carrier invented modern air conditioning.

"As a company, we have embraced Dr. Carrier's lifelong appreciation and commitment to education," said Geraud Darnis, president of Carrier. "Creating the Willis H. Carrier Academy is the ideal way to honor his belief that education and understanding are the keys to solving challenges of all kinds, as well as help the Academy's students become valued contributors to a growing industry that has a crucial need for technical talent."

The funds donated by Carrier will purchase equipment and renovate classroom space at Grady, a four-year career and technical education school devoted to the Willis H. Carrier Academy.

The Academy's faculty will have access to Carrier's training programs. In addition, Carrier will host student groups at its facilities. A Carrier representative will serve on the Academy's advisory board, and the company will provide ongoing curriculum review and development.

NYSE Helps Celebrate

The cooling industry reached a milestone in August with the production of the 130 millionth central air conditioner, according to the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute. A celebration was held at the New York Stock Exchange to salute the technology and accomplishment. Executives whose companies are listed on the NYSE rang the closing bell to mark the production of the unit, which rolled anonymously off the assembly line at one of many factories located across the U.S.

ARI has counted units produced for residential and light commercial use since it was founded in 1953.