Chemical engineering is a profession on the rise and the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the international membership organisation for chemical engineers, is growing too.
The only organisation authorised to award the professional Chartered Chemical Engineering status (MIChemE CEng) and accreditation for chemical engineering degree courses in institutions in 15 countries, including the Abu Dhabi Men’s College, IChemE, has members in over 110 countries and throughout the Middle East.
With offices in the UK, Australia and Malaysia, IChemE is increasingly hiring staff where its members are. Yan Tsaur became IChemE’s first staff member in China recently and further international expansion is expected in the coming months.
The sectors chemical engineers serve remain vital to the global economy as these talented professionals continue to work towards building a cleaner, safer and more prosperous society.
A vibrant, optimistic and growing community, chemical engineers are working to combat many of the problems caused by climate change.
IChemE membership continues to rise steadily. At the end of 2007, IChemE had almost 28,000 members, enjoying year-on-year growth of nearly 6 per cent.  Later this year, IChemE stages ChemEng 08 in Birmingham, UK, one of the most ambitious events in the Institution’s 86-year history.
With more than 1,000 chemical engineers expected at this international gathering, a range of business and industry leaders will be in attendance, as both delegates and speakers.
“ChemEng 08 will be a global forum for professional engineers and scientists,” explained Caroline Smith, IChemE publishing director and organiser of ChemEng08.
“We’ll have sessions covering the opportunities and challenges of emerging markets, the role of chemical engineering in delivering safe foods, managing a global workforce and perspectives on sustainability,” Smith said.
“The sessions will be of international relevance and we have already attracted a range of international exhibitors and speakers. We’re anticipating delegates attending from all over the world and we’ll look forward to seeing readers of Gulf Industry magazine,” she added.
Speakers include DP Misra, director general of the Indian Chemicals Council; David Smith, economics editor at the UK’s Sunday Times; Professor Yingjin Yuan, Tianjin University, and Professor Richard Darton, president, IChemE 2008-09.
They will be joined by the likes of Al Sacco, a chemical engineer and former NASA astronaut and television star, and Chris Barrie who will host the annual IChemE Awards Dinner on 29 October.
The IChemE Awards programme encourages, celebrates and rewards innovation and excellence. These international awards – widely considered as the most sought after in chemical and process engineering – aim to recognise and promote organisations and individuals who make an outstanding contribution to safety, the environment, sustainable development and other aspects of the process industries.
Darton, on becoming president of IChemE, said: “There are a number of challenges that face the chemical engineering community. We must promote ‘inclusive growth’ through efficiency and equity: a challenge for educators, professional standards, practising engineers and leaders of the profession.
“We must challenge universities to broaden course provision and objectives, and we must rethink our ideas on the boundaries of the profession and what our members need by way of support and services.”
This year a new award, sponsored by Reliance Industries chief, Mukesh Ambani, will be added to the programme. The Dhirubhai Ambani Award for “Outstanding Chemical Engineering Innovation for the Resource-poor People” will be awarded to an individual or team for the development and use of chemical engineering technology in the interests of supporting those people living on less than $2 a day.
Ramesh Mashelkar, ex-president, IChemE, joined 13 of science and technology’s most distinguished figures last April when he was awarded the Foreign Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (ATSE).
Mashelkar, who is also president of the Global Research Alliance and former director general of the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, was presented with his fellowship certificate by the ATSE president, Robin Batterham, in Canberra, Australia.