This grant will provide travel support for US-based junior faculty, post-doctoral associates and graduate students to attend two conferences in Europe: The Second International Process Intensification Conference (IPIC2) in Leuven, Belgium, and the First International Conference on Unconventional Catalysis, Reactors and Applications (UCRA2019)) in Zaragoza, Spain. The two conferences will cover unique topics that are relevant to the Manufacturing USA initiative. Training the future US workforce on topics, such as process intensification and modular manufacturing, is critical for creating a competitive advantage that will enable the development of a modern manufacturing infrastructure in the US leading to job creation and economic development.
The IPIC2 and UCRA2019 conferences will cover a broad range of topics on Process Intensification, Unconventional Catalysis and Advanced Manufacturing, including: Batch to Continuous Processes; Energy Activation for Processes and Materials; Multifunctional Reactors and Hybrid Separators Modular Processes; Microreactors; 3D Printing and Process Intensification; Novel Process and Equipment Concepts; Modelling and Control of Intensified Processes; Scale up and Industrial Implementation; Unconventional Catalyst Synthesis and Manufacturing Methods; Unconventional Activation/Energy Supply Methods; Catalysis in Unconventional Environments; Unconventional Catalytic Reactors. The meeting participants will benefit from state-of-the-art plenary talks and keynote lectures by leading experts in academia and industry, by exchanging the latest advances on frontier research subjects, and by debating controversial points with their peers. The meetings will also provide an excellent opportunity for interaction and cooperation among industrial and academic researchers. The grant will support junior researchers, including women and members of under-represented groups, that they may otherwise be unable to attend the conferences. The US-based junior researchers will have an opportunity to interact with experienced academic and industrial researchers from around the world, which will positively influence their professional development.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
