UNSW hosts international conference on membrane technology

10 November 2003

Twenty years since the University of New South Wales held the first international conference for the research and application of membranes, it once again hosts a delegation of the world's leading researchers and industry specialists.

IMSTEC 03, the fifth International Membrane Science and Technology Conference, opened today with a welcoming address from the Vice-Chancellor Professor Rory Hume. With more than 200 delegates from 23 countries, the conference brings together industry specialists, research corporations, government agencies and universities involved in the research and application of membranes.

Covering the three major themes of the conference -- gas separation, water and waste treatment and bio and nano materials -- are distinguished plenary speakers. Dr Joe Jacangelo is Vice-President and Manager for MWH in the United States and an adjunct professor at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Professor William Koros is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Membrane Science and the author of more than 225 articles. Professor Matthias Wessling is head of the Membrane Technology Group at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Professor Chris Fell, who will speak about the past successes and future opportunities in membrane technology, is President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and International) and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW.

Other speakers covering the other major areas of research include Professor Pierre Aimar, Professor Hans-Curt Flemming, Professor John Howell, Professor Philip Kuchel, Dr H.S. Muralidhara, Professor Yuri Yampolskii and Dr William Eykamp.

The conference also features key current research activities being undertaken by the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology and the Centre for Water and Waste Treatment at UNSW.

"UNSW has a long and excellent tradition in membrane science and technology," said Professor Hume in opening the conference. "We are particularly pleased to highlight our work on process improvements for water and wastewater treatment and our new emerging work on carbon dioxide sequestration."

Conference organisers, Associate Professors Dianne Wiley and Vicki Chen, say the sessions will present many technologies and advances. "Professor Wessling, for example, will be presenting a new technology for the production of micro and nano-engineering membranes - technology that offers a generic platform for access to new diagnostic devices, tissue engineering and flexible electronics," says Professor Wiley.

Another highlight is a presentation from Mr Harry Seah of the Singapore Public Utilities Board. Mr Seah was responsible for the scheme known as NEWater, a programme where municipal wastewater is treated to drinking water quality standards and recycled back into the drinking water reservoirs on the island. The scheme is possible because of membranes and offers a possible solution for Sydney's water problems, says Associate Professor Greg Leslie, one of the session chairs.

For further information, visit the conference website