2011 AIChE Midwest Regional Conference
November 10 - 11, 2011
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
The AIChE Midwest Regional Conference continues into its fourth consecutive year, with the Chicago Local Section and AIChE that provides an opportunity for engineers and scientists in the region to learn about new technologies, as well as offer a relaxed atmosphere for networking. This year's conference theme is "Energy is Everything - Game Changers" covering various chemical industries geared toward the crucial topic of energy. This two day conference will also provide a great opportunity for professional engineers to earn up to 14 PDH credits.
Click here to view the Conference Program.
On Thursday, November 10th the keynote address will be delivered by Mr. Nick Spencer, Business Unit Leader of the BP Whiting Refinery and Modernization Project, and he will speak about the rich history of this massive refinery in Whiting Indiana. He'll then focus on the reasons for the modernization project and what is actually being built to sustain the refinery for the future.
On Thursday, November 10th the Chicago Local Section will be hosting their monthly dinner meeting. This meeting features the opportunity to dine with fellow colleagues, the presentation of the 2011 Thiele Award to Dr. Urmila Diwekar and the main presentation of The Production of Gasoline and Diesel from Biomass through Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion (IH2) by Martin Linck, Principal Engineer, GTI.
On Friday, November 11th our keynote speaker is Dr. Narasimha Rao, Nalco Division Vice President of R & D, Innovation Marketing, and he will talk about Improving Energy Efficiency in Industrial Use: Why Water Matters.
The technical program will cover a collection of topics with highlights related to the theme of the conference, Energy. There are sessions devoted to refining, natural gas, food in Chicago, water safety, bio-technology and energy success stories. Some examples are:
· A series of sessions highlighting on-going research development efforts occurring at the universities in the Midwest Area. We expect participation from several universities Midwest area. This provides an opportunity for university researchers to present their work to industry participants at the conference, draw their interest in further commercialization, and get input as to industry and societal needs and techno-economic viability. For the industry participant, it is an opportunity to identify promising new leads, as well as steer the academic research to address societal and industry needs.
· Back to basics sessions: These two sessions will focus on tools, tips and techniques for folks in plant operations as well as professional engineers looking to review or upgrade their skills. The focus is on energy of course! Various topics covered include: Pumps - Evaporators - Chillers - Heat Exchangers - Steam Traps - Heat Tracing.
· The “refining energy updates” session will look into energy utilization in today's modern refinery - Feed Upgrades - Environmental - Catalysis - Upstream Issues.
Plus, the Chicago Local Section, along with the University of Illinois at Chicago, is pleased to continue sponsoring the High School Engineering Career Outreach Program. Chicago-area high school students will become acquainted with the various facets of the chemical engineering profession. The program will take place on both days from 10:00am – 2:00pm, and the featured speaker is former NASA payload specialist and Dean of the College of Engineering at Texas Tech University, Dr. Al Sacco. The program includes a special luncheon where students can interact with practicing chemical engineers.
For young professional engineers, presentations on topics related to young professionals will be held along with workshops on both days to help fine-tune interviewing skills and improve the effectiveness of resumes.
