Program
Invited Speakers
Plenary Speakers
- Dr David Brown
- Dr Christine Grant
- Mr Greg Lewin
- Mr Ross McCann
- Mr Jim McIlvenny
- Mr Mark Nolan
- Professor Amanda Sinclair
Keynote Speakers
Dr David Brown
Chief Executive of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
Before joining IChemE in October 2006, Dr David Brown was Head of Technology and Innovation Management at the consulting firm Arthur D. Little Ltd.
After achieving a double first in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Materials at Cambridge, David spent ten years at ICI plc, in chemicals, materials and biotechnology businesses. He later headed a business unit for the University of Warwick, developing closer links with industry, commerce and Government, before moving to Arthur D. Little in 1997. There he developed with colleagues the company’s work in sustainability and corporate responsibility, and built up an extensive programme advising national and regional bodies as well as universities, R&D providers and companies on innovation, technology exploitation and university-industry links. He has worked for a variety of Governments (including Australia) and international organizations, and is recognized for expertise on innovation alliances and partnerships involving public and private sectors, and the characteristics of innovative businesses. He is a member of the West Midlands Innovation and Technology Council and holds non-executive Board positions at the Regional Development Agency for the West Midlands, the Central Technology Belt, West Midlands in Europe, and the Centre for Sustainable Engineering. He is an Associate Fellow of Warwick Business School’s SME Centre, a Chartered Physicist, Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics.
Professor Ian Cameron
School of Engineering, The University of Queensland
Senior Fellow, The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
Ian completed Chemical Engineering programs at UNSW and UWashington. He worked for 10 years for the CSR Group in industry sectors such as sugar, building materials and industrial chemicals, having roles in process and control system design, plant construction and commissioning, production management and environmental protection. He subsequently obtained a PhD from Imperial College London in Process Systems Engineering. He is a visiting professor at Imperial College London and has collaborative work at the Danish Technical University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
He spent 3 years as a UNIDO process engineering consultant in Argentina and a further 6 years in Turkey on a part-time basis. He has spent the last 20 years in research, consulting, teaching and learning innovation at the University of Queensland. He has published extensively in areas of process systems engineering and engineering education, as well as several well-known books on modeling and risk management.
He has received the J.A. Brodie Medal of the IEAust, Australian Award for University Teaching in Physical Sciences 2003 and the Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year 2003. He was part of the team from UQ Chemical Engineering that won a federal government AAUT institutional award in 2005 for educational enhancement via curriculum innovation.
He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Carrick Institute, looking at issues surrounding the interface of engineering theory and practice in higher education.
Professor Michael Dureau
Executive Director, The Warren Centre
Professor Michael Dureau is a Chemical Engineering Graduate from Sydney University, and has a Master of Applied Science (Environmental Pollution Control) from University of New South Wales. In July 2003, he retired as CEO of ALSTOM Power after a successful career in the Chemical, Water, Controls, and Power Industries. In January 2003, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Sydney University, and then, in May, became Executive Director of The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering which compliments his other roles as President of the Electrical & Information Engineering Foundation, the Dean's Advisory Committee and the Chemical Engineering Foundation executive.
Professor Dureau is a member of the Industry Advisory Network of UTS and a guarantor member of the Mt Eliza Business Council. He is Chairman of RedR Australia, a Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors, an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia where he is on the Chemical College Board, the National Industry Liaison Board and the National Committee for Fuels & Energy. He is on the Board of the Australian National Committee of CIGRE (International Association of Large Electrical Systems) and Tyree Holdings.
Mike is an Honorary Life Member and Past President of the Australian Water Association. He has been Professional Engineer of the Year 2000 for Engineers Australia (Sydney Division), and received the Centenary Medal for services to the Community in Power and Electrical Engineering. He also received the 2001 Fluor Daniel Award for sustained achievement in leadership and management.
During his career Mike worked for 4 years in England (1966 to 1970) and 3 years in Malaysia (1993 to 1996). He also sits on the Federal Government's Electric Energy Export Council.
Dr Eric Hoek
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr Eric M.V. Hoek is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering and Henry Samueli Fellow at UCLA, as well as co-founder of the UCLA Water Technology Research Center and faculty member of the California NanoSystems Institute. Hoek’s fundamental research interest is aquatic colloid and interfacial phenomena. His current research program comprises three complimentary activities: (1) fundamental studies of adhesion, fouling, and interfacial phenomena; (2) development of advanced membrane materials and nanotechnology, and (3) application of membranes and nanotechnology to desalination and advanced water treatment.
Dr Christine Grant
Professor of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University
Dr Christine Grant is a tenured Full Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular (CBE) engineering at North Carolina State University. She obtained a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Brown University in 1984; her graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) were both obtained from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986 and 1989. She joined the NCSU faculty in 1989 after completing her doctorate and has moved through the ranks of Assistant and Associate to Full Professor - one of only 2 African-American women in the U.S. at that rank. Her research focuses on surface and interfacial phenomena in the areas of electronic materials and polymers. She has served her profession as a leader in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) as a member of both the Board of Directors and the Chemical Technology Operating Council.
Dr Grant, an NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) awardee, was recently selected as a Boeing Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering's Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE). As a Boeing Fellow her project involves strategic planning, and infrastructure development to catalyze existing resources and develop new resources to enhance the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty drawn from underrepresented minority (URM) populations in engineering and science. A critical aspect of her project is to develop a strong collaborative effort between university administrators (e.g., engineering deans, department heads) and senior URM faculty in engineering and science that will address this opportunity based on the wisdom of their own experiences. She recently founded the "Promoting Underrepresented Presence on Science and Engineering Faculties (PURPOSE) Institute". PURPOSE is the culmination of Dr Grant's over 20 years working on the development of URM scientists and engineers. She has been a co-facilitator of an active network of chemical engineering faculty through: leadership of the Minority Affairs Committee in AIChE, organization of NSF workshops for minority engineering faculty, and numerous presentations as a speaker or a panel member for programs focused on excellence in the academy. Her progress in this arena was recently recognized with the AIChE Minority Affairs Committee Distinguished Service Award. As one of only eight tenured female African-American chemical engineering faculty in the nation, Dr Grant is working to change the under-representation of minorities on engineering and science faculty through targeted mentoring of both women and URM students and faculty.
Mr Greg Lewin
President, Shell Global Solutions International BV
Executive Vice President, Shell Downstream
Greg Lewin was appointed President of Shell Global Solutions in 2003.
Born in Mildura, Australia in 1953, Greg Lewin graduated in Chemical Engineering from Melbourne University before joining Shell in 1975.
He undertook an MBA at Melbourne University, graduating in 1984. He subsequently worked in Shell Australia’s retail and manufacturing businesses before joining the East and Australasian Regional Organisation in London, where he worked specifically on Japan and Korea.
For three years from 1992, Greg was Manufacturing and Supply Director for Norske Shell, based in Stavanger, Norway.
In 1995, he took up a management position in The Hague in the Netherlands, and during the transformation of the Shell Group’s Manufacturing and Marketing technical, advisory and research organisations into Shell Global Solutions, became Vice President responsible for Services, Consulting and Business Development.
Later, he became Vice President Manufacturing, Supply and Distribution for Shell Europe, and Executive Vice President Strategy, Portfolio and Environment for Shell’s Oil Products Business.
Greg is a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and was its President in 2006-7.
Mr Ross McCann
Managing Director, Qenos
Mr Ross McCann is a graduate of the University of New South Wales in Chemical Engineering (Hons) 1969. Ross has extensive executive experience in petrochemicals with ICI Australia and in mineral resources as a member of the Executive Committee in WMC Resources Ltd.
He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Qenos, the sole manufacturer of polyethylene in Australia. Qenos is owned by China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina).
Ross is married to Margaret with two daughters. His hobbies are golf, most sports, fishing, music, gardening and watercolours.
Mr Jim McIlvenny
President, Asia Pacific & Greater China, The Dow Chemical Company
Mr Jim McIlvenny assumed additional responsibility as President of Dow Asia Pacific & Greater China in February, 2006.
Mr McIlvenny, who had been Dow Greater China President since January 2004, broadened his responsibilities to embrace Dow's presence across the whole region, capitalizing on the many synergies that exist across Asia Pacific while ensuring that the Company's focus on Greater China remains just as sharp as it has been these past few years. Jim is based in Shanghai, China.
Prior to being named President of Dow Greater China, he served as Business Vice President of Specialty Polymers, a portfolio of businesses providing a diverse range of products for applications in industries such as paints and coatings, water purification, transportation, construction, pharmaceuticals, and personal care.
Jim joined Dow in Australia in 1982, where he held a number of positions in Chemical and Performance Products in the areas of technical service, sales, marketing, and business leadership. From 1989 to 1998, he was involved in the commercial and business operations for Liquid Separations, beginning in Tokyo as the Business Manager for Separation Systems in Dow Pacific.
He moved to Midland, Michigan, to serve as the Director of Marketing, Sales and Service for Liquid Separations in Dow North America. In 1995, he became the Global Business Director for Liquid Separations, and as part of that role, he was named President and CEO of FilmTec Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.
In 1998, Jim was named President and CEO of Hampshire Chemical Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, then based in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Jim graduated from the University of Sydney with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.
Mr Mark Nolan
Chairman, Exxon Mobil
Mark J Nolan was born in June 1954 and completed his secondary education at Saint Patrick's College in Ballarat. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1975 with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Mr Nolan joined Esso Australia Ltd in 1978, and held various engineering and operations assignments in Sale, Sydney and Long Island Point. In 1992 he became General Manager, Employee Relations based in Melbourne.
In 1994 Mr Nolan transferred to the United States to Exxon Company, International; in May 1996 was promoted to Production Manager of the New Orleans Production Organisation, responsible for Exxon's offshore Gulf of Mexico operations and onshore operations in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
In 1998 Mr Nolan returned to Melbourne where he took up the position of Production Operations Manager. In 1999 Mr Nolan was appointed to the position Director, Esso Australia Ltd and Director, Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd. After the merger with Mobil in December 1999, Mr Nolan became Production Operations Director of Esso Australia Pty Ltd, and Director Mobil Exploration and Producing Australia Pty Ltd. In June 2004 Mark Nolan was appointed Chairman of the ExxonMobil group of companies in Australia.
Mr Nolan is a Board member of the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund (Melbourne).
Mr Nolan is married to Vicky and they have four sons.
Professor Nicholas Peppas
Nicholas Peppas is the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering with appointments in Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy. He is widely recognized as the father of modern biomaterials and drug delivery and its leading researcher, inventor and pacesetter.
He is also an international leader in biomaterials, polymer science and bionanotechnology, and has contributed seminal work in the fields of polymer physics, biomedical transport phenomena and feedback controlled biomedical devices. His contributions have been translated into more than twenty medical products with multimillion dollar markets. Among others, Nicholas originated novel hydrogels as successful articular cartilage replacement systems or as vocal cords, a procedure that has helped thousands of patients. Among other medical devices, he has developed, patented and/or commercialized nanodelivery systems for oral administration of insulin to type I diabetic patients, systems for oral delivery of calcitonin for treatment of postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis, and devices for oral delivery of interferon-beta for multiple sclerotic patients.
Professor Peppas is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the French Academy of Pharmacy. He was educated in chemical engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece (Dipl.Eng., 1971) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sc.D., 1973). He is the author of more than 1,000 publications and 45 US and international patents, and the coauthor or coeditor of 31 books and volumes. He is the Chair of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and has served as President of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) and the Controlled Release Society (CRS), and Director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He is a Fellow of AIMBE, AIChE, SFB, AAAS, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Physical Society, and American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). He has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Ghent, Parma, and Athens. An international ambassador of chemical, polymer and biomedical engineering he has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Geneva, Paris, Parma, Pavia, Naples, Berlin, Santiago de Compostela, Complutense (Madrid), Hoshi (Tokyo), Hacettepe (Ankara), Athens, Hebrew (Jerusalem) and Nanyang (Singapore).
He has published more than 1000 refereed publications, 350 proceedings and 450 abstracts and is one of the most highly cited scientists in the world. He is the coauthor or coeditor of 31 books including the classic "Hydrogels in Medicine and Pharmacy" and two pioneering monographs on bionanotechnology. He is the inventor of 35 US and international patents and has founded two biotech companies, Mimetic Solutions of Lexington, KY, and Advanced Therapeutic Design of Austin, TX. Peppas has served in numerous panels of NSF, NIH and other Federal Agencies including the Nanotechnology Technical Advisory Group of the President. In addition he has served on the Advisory Boards of 12 companies and as a consultant of more than 60 companies, law firms and brokerage firms. He has been recognized with more than 100 national and international awards including the William Walker (2006), Jay Bailey (2006), Materials (1984) and Bioengineering (1994) Awards from AIChE, and the Dow Lectureship in Chemical Engineering (2006) from ASEE. In November 2007, he will deliver the Institute Lecture at the AIChE meeting. Nicholas has served as a Director of AIChE (1999-2002), member of the CTOC Council of AIChE (2000-03), Past Chair of the Materials Division (1988-90), Director of the Food, Pharmaceuticals and Bioengineering Division (1994-97), and in numerous Committees of AIChE in the past 30 years. He is a founding member of the Nanotechnology Forum and has contributed as an organizer of symposia and chair of sessions. Professor Peppas has supervised the theses of 73 Ph.D. students, including 33 current professors in other Universities.
Professor Amanda Sinclair
Foundation Professor of Management (Diversity and Change), Melbourne Business School
Amanda Sinclair is an academic, consultant and researcher with particular expertise in the areas of leadership and ethics, organisational culture and change, gender and diversity.
Amanda's work has been widely published, and her sometimes controversial conclusions have generated significant popular as well as academic debate. Her books, Trials at the Top and Doing Leadership Differently, argued that gender, sexuality and power have shaped and limited leadership in business. Both were read with interest across professional, academic and corporate circles. New Faces of Leadership (with Valerie Wilson) highlights how trust, openness and a moderate ego are emerging as the critical ingredients and capabilities in leading diverse workforces effectively. Her latest book, Leadership for the Disillusioned: Beyond myths and heroes to leading that liberates suggests leadership should be directed towards new purposes of promoting freedom and well-being.
In addition to her work at MBS, Amanda consults to organisations and coaches individuals and senior management teams. She is a regular contributor to the business press, teaches yoga at MBS and outside and is a mother of four.
Professor Alan Weimer
Al Weimer is H.T. Sears Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado (Boulder, CO). Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Colorado in 1996, he was an Associate Research Scientist with the Dow Chemical Company. He carried out industrial research in the areas of hydrocarbons and energy, agricultural chemicals, monomers, polymers, pharmaceuticals, and ceramic materials over a 17 year industrial career. He received Dow’s 1990 Ceramics Founder’s Award, 1993 Inventor of the Year Award, and 1995 Excellence in Science Award. He co-invented, developed, and commercialized the Rapid Carbothermal Reduction process for producing fine tungsten carbide powders which supplies the majority of powders for fabricating printed circuit board microdrills used throughout the world today. He co-founded ALD NanoSolutions, Inc. in 2001. He was named University of Colorado at Boulder Inventor of the Year in 2004 and received both the campus wide and the Engineering College Excellence in Research awards in 2005. He has over 25 years of experience in the synthesis and functionalization of particles and is past Chair of the AIChE Particle Technology Forum. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati (1976) and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado (1980).
Dr Ian Wilson
Dr Wilson is a Reader in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the IChemE, a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Scientist and has degrees in chemical engineering from the universities of Cambridge and British Columbia. His research interests lie in the rheology and processing of soft-solids, heat transfer, and the impact of processing on microstructure and product properties. Many of the applications of this research are in the food sector, and he organises the international and interdisciplinary series of quadrennial meetings on fouling, cleaning and disinfection in food processing. The group's emphasis on fundamentals has drawn funding from the fine chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and aerospace sector as well as food manufacturers.