Invitation from the Conference Chair

The organising committee warmly invites you to join us at Chemeca 2008 in Newcastle.

One of the major issues facing us today as citizens and as engineers is sustainability. Everything we do to ensure the necessities of life has an impact on our surroundings.

Chemical engineers are playing a major role in the efficient use of water and energy, and in the development of alternatives, while minimising the impacts on the environment.

For these reasons, we have chosen the theme, "Towards a sustainable environment" for Chemeca 2008. Newcastle and the Hunter Valley provide good illustrations of the competing challenges facing our society. The region has a two hundred-year history of involvement with the coal industry, and is literally the powerhouse of the state of NSW and a significant driver of the Australian economy. Hopefully, the region and Australasia can benefit from some of the clean coal technologies that are currently being developed, which will in turn reduce net greenhouse emissions.

We've put together a program that should engender discussion of current practice, debate and, above all, new ideas. We strongly encourage you to participate, and also join us at the conference dinner, to be held at one of the vineyards for which the region is justly famous.