The two finalists for the Rising Star Award are Leon Wurfel and Jonathan Hare.
This category recognises upcoming talent that has plenty of ambition and the determination to succeed. It is the category for high achievers and is restricted to men and women under 35 years of age.
CCN's first finalist Leon Wurfel is the co-founder and managing director of Beuno Systems, a technology company that is in the business of Built Environment Optimisation. The company has grown quickly since it was established in 2013 and already has 10 staff.
Wurfel graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering from the Australian National University in 2006 and his client base includes Crown Resorts, GPT and Stockland.
Prior to forming Beuno Systems, Wurfel was a consultant at Exergy where he was responsible for managing Colonial First State's energy efficiency program.
The second finalist for the Rising Star Award, Jonathan Hare, has a degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States.
Hare began working as a system design engineer in 2011 at CA Group Services, it was his first placement out of Univerwsity. Hare is currently responsible for the design and project management of the new CO2 / NH3 training rack for RMIT University.
Since joining the CA Group, Hare has obtained a significant understanding of all types of refrigeration systems from simple HFC dx systems through to Transcritical and sub critical CO2 systems and two stage NH3 systems.
He led the team in research and development into Australia's first Low temp low charge NH3 dx systems for commercial applicationn.
Hare said his goal is to develop the safe use of natural refrigerants in non traditional areas through innovative design and system testing via his R&D program.
This award category was sponsored by ABB, a leader in power and automation technologies.