Report on the 55th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference.

The 55th Canadian Chemical Engineering conference was a great success. It took place October 16-19, 2005, at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto, ON. The conference brought together a record number of people with almost 1,300 attendees, including over 400 undergraduate students. We had excellent

The conference theme, "Innovation for a Healthy Planet," was reflected in the more than 650 papers contained in 97 sessions that included our major symposia on "Emerging Energy Issues," "Frontiers in the Global and Urban Environment," and "Challenges in Regenerative Medicine," as well as a forum on "Design in Chemical Engineering." The three opening plenary speakers invoked some excellent discussion on topics relevant to our theme with talks on innovation, regenerative medicine, and the future of nuclear power. The sessions were well attended, and were indicative of the high calibre of chemical engineering research in Canada and abroad. Lots of networking and discussion took place including some fine dining at the banquet in the CN Tower.

The student program was very successful. It kicked off with an inspiring talk from Paul Godfrey, president of the Toronto Blue Jays and a chemical engineering graduate. The students also had a very popular and successful program that included paper competitions, a career fair, industrial tours, and a stunning social program every evening. This year featured, for the first time, a graduate poster competition that included 40 entries from 17 universities. This poster competition, combined with the other conference posters and a reception, brought together lots of people who were engaged in scientific discussion. There were several student awards (undergraduate and graduate). Read more about it on p. 24 (see Student News).

The conference owes its success to a dedicated team of people from academia, industry, and government. The organizing committee, consisting of faculty and students from the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, local industry, and the CIC national office, was supported by symposium organizers and chairs from across Canada. Another key factor in the success of the meeting was the excellent financial support that we received from the 32 sponsors listed on p. 26.

Overall, we had a very successful conference last year in Toronto. We are all looking forward to seeing everyone at next year's conference in Sherbrooke, QC!

Grant Allen, MCIC

Co-chair, 2005 CSChE Conference

55th CSChE Conference Highlights

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