March 2012

The first Middle East Process Engineering Conference and Exhibition (MEPEC) is scheduled for October 23 to 26 at the Gulf International Convention Centre in Manama, Bahrain. Organized by the Saudi Arabian Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Bahrain Society of Engineers, the meeting will offer practical approaches to performance and innovations in the process industries, particularly upstream and downstream activities in oil, gas and petrochemicals.

Biotechnology Progress, a bimonthly journal published for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and its Society for Biological Engineering (SBE) by John Wiley & Sons, is offering a new annual prize for excellence in publications in biological engineering.

To facilitate collaboration across borders--both national and disciplinary ones—the Engineers Forum on Sustainability, has launched a new web site: http://efs.aiche.org . The site uses the latest communication technologies, including social media, to improve the dissemination of information on sustainable development. Its development has been underwritten by a grant from the United Engineering Foundation.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) announced that Maria K. Burka, program director in the Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems Division of the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia, will become president of the 40,000 member organization in 2011.