The Spring National Meeting of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers, April 26-30 at the Tampa Convention Center, will focus on managing carbon releases into the atmosphere, developing new energy strategies, and ensuring the sustainability of our water supply. Conference topics include the latest developments in alternative energy, nuclear engineering, carbon capture and reduction, and developments in battery and fuel cell technology, among others.On April 28 a plenary session will examine energy strategies in light of the new Presidential administration and current Congressional proposals, constantly changing state and local regulations, and an evolving global climate. Energy production via clean coal, nuclear, and wind and solar energy will all be discussed. Panelists include Charles Black, president of Tampa Electric; and Reynad Fezzani, CEO of
BP Solar.Alan Boeckmann, chairman and CEO of
Fluor Corp., will deliver the keynote address on April 27. Titled “Restoring Public Trust,” his speech will describe how ethics and transparency are vital to business success.The meeting also features the 5th Global Congress on Process Safety – the largest annual gathering of process safety experts in the world. They will share safety lessons learned in the chemical, refining, and pharmaceutical industries. Issues to be covered include technologies and practices for preventing fires and explosions and the hazards of alternative fuels.An April 28 session will focus on hazards in the food and consumer products industries, including comments from John Bresland, chair of
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board on the 2008 Imperial Sugar explosion in Georgia; a look at the hazards presented in alcohol production; and even the challenges presented by a switch to more environmentally-friendly refrigerants in Canadian hockey rinks. A plenary session on water sustainability on April 29 will focus on water law and policy. Is our water supply a limited resource to be managed in the public interest, or a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder? An expert panel will take a close look at the situation in Florida and at the State’s laws. Other highlights of the conference include:• The 21st Ethylene Producers’ Conference• 12th Topical Conference on Refinery Processing • 9th Topical Conference on Natural Gas UtilizationTo facilitate participation by engineers whose companies may have limited travel in the current economic downturn, AIChE will webcast much of the meeting. And, for those in attendance, there will be special sessions on organizational change, career transitions, job hunting, talent retention and chemical engineering consulting.For more information about the conference or related workshops and meetings please go to
http://www.aiche.org/Conferences/SpringMeeting/index.aspx.
