Elia Sterling, ASHRAE, RAIC, AIA, is founder and president of Theodor Sterling Associates Ltd., providing indoor environment consulting services to the North American construction and real estate industries since 1973. Recognized internationally as a leading expert in IAQ and ventilation, Mr. Sterling chairs the Canadian Advisory Committee to the ISO Technical Committee on Indoor Air Quality and serves on the ASHRAE committees responsible for their influential Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort Standards. His groundbreaking 1983 research for Health Canada on the relationship between moisture and microbial growth in indoor environments continues to be cited as the seminal reference upon which American and international moisture and IAQ standards, guidelines and regulations are based.