SPOTLIGHT
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September 2, 2010 STS-AIChE Meeting!
Houston, TX & The Woodlands, TX - We will be having our monthly technical meeting on September 2, 2010 at two locations: The Aramco Services Building in Houston (central meeting) and Lone Star College-Montgomery in The Woodlands (satellite meeting). Don Shackelford (Boots & Coots, Inc.) will be giving the dinner talk titled "All You Ever Wanted to Know About Oil Well Blowouts But Were Afraid to Ask."
more ...STS-AIChE Workshops!
Houston, TX - At the Aramco Services location (central meeting), we will be having two workshops:
- Professional Development (PD): The Job Seeker’s Guide to Successful Social Media, Morgan Meador, Director of Communications for Meador Staffing Services, Inc.
- Process Engineering/Plant Operations (PE/PO): Process Troubleshooting - Addressing Common Oversights, Julie White, Process Safety Consultant for Lloyd's Register Energy
The Workshops start at 5:30PM and are free to attend!
2010 AIChE Process Technology Conference – Sponsors & Exhibitors
Galveston, Texas; October 7 and 8, 2010 -The South Texas Section of the AIChE, in partnership with AIChE National, is hosting its 2nd Regional Process Technology Conference at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston, October 7 & 8, 2010. This conference will attract hundreds of chemical engineers living in the Greater Houston and Gulf Coast region to provide them with both technical sessions and industry solutions in process technology. With 400 attendees in 2009, the 2010 conference will be even bigger and better with more regional participation from the largest concentration of petroleum refining, chemical processing, engineering and technology firms in the US.
The early registration deadline for the 2010 AIChE Regional Process Technology Conference is September 3. Don’t miss it!
Given the financial pressures that all of us are feeling, many companies have had to cut travel budgets and professional develop funding. Against this background, the goal of the conference is to provide an easily accessible, high-quality technical program for chemical engineers in the Greater Houston area, focused on issues that are relevant to local industries. The program includes sessions on advances in petrochemical technologies, distillation and separation, thermodynamics, process safety, reaction engineering/catalysis, energy efficiency, environmental issues, and oil refining. There will also be an exhibition, and a separately ticketed conference dinner on Thursday evening (October 7), which will also serve as the STS-AIChE monthly dinner meeting.
The conference will be held at Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston, October 7 & 8, and we hope to see you there. And don’t forget the early registration deadline, September 3.
The conference website below contains additional information, including the meeting program.
Materials Science & Technology 2010 Conference and Exhibition
Houston, TX; October 17-21 - The Materials Science & Technology 2010 Conference and Exhibition will be held in Houston, on October 17 - 21, 2010, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Technical program will be covering these topics:
- Biomaterial Technology
- Ceramic and Glass Materials
- Corrosion Control and Sustainability
- Electronic and Magnetic Materials
- Environmental and Energy Issues
- Fundamentals and Characterization
- Iron and Steel
- Materials Performance
- Nanotechnology
- Processing and Product Manufacturing
- Special Topics
More information is available at the MS&T 2010 website.
OTC's New Arctic Technology Conference
Houston, Texas - This dynamic new event, 7-9 February 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, will address the cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices needed for exploration and production in the Arctic. The OTC model, which brings together nearly a dozen professional societies and associations to create a comprehensive technical conference, will serve as the basis for the new event.
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From The Chair
Webcasting and Satellite Meetings
AIChE provides unique professional development opportunities for chemical engineers. These consist not just of the technical information that we share, but also the personal interactions that we have at our meetings. That “personal touch” is one of the key benefits of active participation in a local section.
The South Texas Section covers a very large geographical area, stretching 250 miles north to south and east to west. This makes it very difficult for many of our members to attend meetings. Even within the Greater Houston area, which is just a part of STS’s territory, commuting times prevent many from coming regularly to our events. We have been using multiple venues in different parts of the city to encourage people to attend at least some of our meetings, and this has definitely increased overall attendance. However, travel times continue to be a problem.
Enter the Internet Age. We now have the technology to share information across the city – and across the world – in real time. Starting in September, STS will be webcasting our meetings to allow satellite groups within our territory to share the benefits of membership. The webcasts will include the main technical presentation and also announcements and awards that are presented at the central meetings. The satellite groups themselves will create opportunities for personal interaction and networking. I believe this will be a great “win-win” for everyone, and a model that other AIChE local sections will want to emulate.
Many people have contributed to the development of this new venture. Two of our members from The Woodlands, David Keyes and Connie Carroll, started the ball rolling by pointing out that their part of our territory is under-served, and they have taken the lead in setting up a satellite organization in their area. AIChE nationally has been providing webinars for several years, and the East Tennessee local section and others have used webinars for their section meetings. Our plan to webcast section meetings is simply a logical progression, building on prior experience and existing technology to serve our members better.
We will need a few computer-savvy individuals to look after the webcasting activities. A couple of volunteers have already come forward, but we need more. There is also the possibility of additional satellite meeting locations, and each of these will require volunteers. If you are interested in these opportunities please let me know.
Webcasting, together with the development of satellite meetings, has the potential to dramatically extend the reach of STS and other AIChE local sections. No doubt there will be a steep learning curve over the next few months, and I am excited that we are in the forefront of this new endeavor. I look forward to seeing you at the September meeting – in person or virtually!
Alan Rossiter
alan@rossiters.org
School Registration Opens for Future City Competition
Houston, Texas - Have kids in Middle School? Want them to learn more about engineering, team work and presentation skills but haven't found a good, fun way to spark their interest? The Future City Competition might just be the ticket. Kids work in teams of 3 to design their city using SimCity software, build a scale model using recycled materials, write an essay and present their projects. The Houston winners will go on to the national competition in Washington D.C.
more ...ChE PE License Review Course
Houston, Texas; Aug. 13 - Oct. 23, 2010 - PE License Exam Review Course for passing the PE License Exam in Chemical Engineering. August 13, 2010 – October 23, 2010. Thrity-three hours of expert instruction from STS-AIChE lecturers at the University of Houston. Registration Closed. Contact Dale Embry (Dale.L.Embry@conocophillips.com) for further details. Information can be found in this form as well as on the below website.
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