Chemical engineers present breakthroughs in liquid fuels and thermodynamics

Imperial's Department of Chemical Engineering presented their latest research at the AIChE conference in Pittsburgh

A team of Imperial academics presented their latest research at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) annual meeting in Pittsburgh.

Over forty academics and students, led by Professor Nilay Shah, Head of Department of Chemical Engineering, attended the conference and gave talks on themes such as natural gas sweetening, thermodynamics, liquid fuels and petrochemicals.

Professor Nilay Shah said: “It was pleasing to see that our research really stacked up against the rest of the world.

“We had a large number of staff and students there to demonstrate the scale and breadth of what we do and show that we’re working on a wide range of areas in our department.

“It’s probably the biggest single conference for chemical engineers in the world – so it’s important for Imperial to have a strong profile there.”

During the conference Imperial researchers met up with US and international academic and corporate collaborators including; Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Melon, Shell and Eli Lilly.

The Imperial delegation also hosted a reception for over 400 alumni and friends.

Women in chemical engineering

President Alice Gast gave a talk at a symposium celebrating women in chemical engineering, organised by the Women's Initiative Committee (WIC) to mark their 20th anniversary.

President Gast, reflecting on 40 years in the AlChE, said ‘Much has changed in these four decades and some things remain the same.

"As a group, chemical engineers are collegial, collaborative and competitive and these traits have shaped our discipline.’