University of Birmingham hosts ChemEngDayUK 2017

University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood welcomes delegates to ChemEngDayUK 2017

BIRMINGHAM, 27-Mar-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Chemical engineering experts from across the UK and beyond headed to the University of Birmingham today to discuss research innovations that could help to shape a better world.

The University is hosting ChemEngDayUK 2017 – a prestigious two-day event that sees leading UK Chemical engineering academics, industry partners and international guests discuss developments and innovations towards a more sustainable future.

Chaired by Professor Zhibing Zhang, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, the conference is organised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). It brings together researchers, engineers and scientists from around the UK, Europe, USA and the Far East to explore the latest technological advances and research results in core areas of chemical engineering.

University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood launched the event, which this year has the theme ‘Better Life, Better World’. Research areas covered will include formulation engineering, energy storage, nano-pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels and ‘green’ chemistry.

Sir David said: “For more than a century, the University of Birmingham has thrived by developing innovative solutions to address big issues. Our School of Chemical Engineering has made some outstanding contributions to Birmingham’s continued success.

“We are delighted to host ChemEngDayUK 2017 and welcome so many distinguished experts from across the UK and beyond to our campus. As a global ‘civic’ university, Birmingham has a responsibility to enrich the life of people in our home city and the wider world.

“I look forward to future research partnerships and opportunities being forged here in Birmingham which will help to create a better life for people in Birmingham, Britain and around the globe.”

The conference features distinguished speakers, technical sessions with invited talks by leading experts from academia and industry, and interactive sessions where participants showcase their research successes.

New opportunities for collaborative effort will be created and, in particular, industrialists will be able to establish new dialogues and build relationships with universities in addition to developing links across industries.

Professor Zhibing Zhang said: “We should be proud of chemical engineers in the UK who have made outstanding contributions to modern civilization. We face new challenges that require us to be highly innovative in research and education, whilst working with scientists in different disciplines and collaborating with researchers in other countries. ChemEngDayUK provides an excellent platform for us to share the most recent achievements in our research and education.”

Prof. Jonathan Seville, President of IChemE, added: “ChemEngDayUK is an important date in the UK chemical engineering calendar, for both academics and industrial researchers. The University of Birmingham offers one of our oldest established chemical engineering programmes, and was a natural choice to host this year’s event. Chemical engineering is at the heart of many of solutions to global challenges in water, energy, food and healthcare, and I look forward to hearing more about our collective efforts in these and other areas at the event.”

SOURCE: University of Birmingham

ENDS

For more information, please contact Tony Moran, International Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on +44 (0) 121 414 8254 or +44 (0)782 783 2312 or t.moran@bham.ac.uk. For out-of-hours enquiries, please call +44 (0) 7789 921 165.

Notes to Editors

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.

Its success in chemical engineering is reflected not only in research, but in teaching. Our students who participated in the National Student Survey (NSS) last year ranked Chemical Engineering highly with 94% student satisfaction. The Guardian University Guide 2017 reveals our chemical engineering is rated third best in the UK.

The School of Chemical Engineering has two doctoral training centres funded by EPSRC, which are EngD Centre for Formulation Engineering, and Doctoral Training Centre for Hydrogen and Fuels. Recently, the Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage (BCCES) was established, and is based in the School.

Key speakers at ChemEngDayUK 2017 include:

Professor Lynn Gladden, University of Cambridge
Professor David Mooney, Harvard University, USA
Professor Ian Noble, Senior R&D Director, Mondelez R&D
Professor Nigel Brendon, Imperial College
Professor Chris Hardacre, University of Manchester
Professor Steven M Howdle, University of Nottingham
Professor Omar Matar, Imperial College, London
Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker, University College London
Professor David York, University of Leeds

More information about the event can be found at http://www.chemengdayuk.co.uk/

With a membership exceeding 44,000 members in over 120 countries, and offices in the Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK; IChemE aims to be the organisation of choice for chemical engineers. It promotes competence and a commitment to best practice, advances the discipline for the benefit of society and supports the professional development of its members. IChemE is the only organisation to award Chartered Chemical Engineer and Professional Process Safety Engineer status.