Raymond Cocco is the president and CEO of Particulate Solid Research Inc (PSRI), and also this year's conference chair of the 8th World Congress on Particle Technology in Orlando, Florida. We recently discussed what we can expect at this year's exciting new conference.
What is your role for the 8th World Congress on Particle Technology in Orlando?
As the conference chair, my main role is to oversee the various aspects of the World Congress on Particle Technology – programming, marketing, communications, etc. Working with AIChE, we have amassed over 100 poster presentations, 630 oral presentations, five plenary speakers, and over 25 keynote speakers covering 14 different topics in particle technology.
How did you approach this iteration of the World Congress on Particle Technology, and did you make any changes or improvements?
Our theme for this congress is "expanding boundaries." It may sound like a cliché, but it’s really not. This conference focus is intended to expand boundaries regarding the topics, training, and even the meeting format. The topical areas span all aspects of particle technology with additional considerations for pharmaceuticals, environmental impact, sustainable energy, and safety.
We have also put an emphasis on training since training in its very nature is expanding boundaries. Several sessions focus on new methods, technology and processes, plus one area is focused on safety. In addition, we have added two training workshops in the modeling of particle systems as applied to industrial applications and scale-up.
Finally, we have changed the meeting functionality itself. Most topical areas are kicked off with keynote speakers; meeting durations are dependent on topic area. Realizing some topics can be covered in a 15-minute presentation whereas others may require more time, topical areas now have varying presentations times. Moving from topic to topic will be more challenging, but each topic area group can now present material in a time frame that best supports their needs.
How did you go about the selection of this year’s plenary speakers?
The WCPT8 Plenaries are important conference events, which are scheduled unopposed to allow all attendees to come and learn from experts about the pertinent topics in particle technology. I wanted to ensure that attendees were able to experience a broad view of how particle technology can impact the world and how the growth of particle technology is occurring right before us. This year’s plenary speakers will provide attendees with invaluable insight into the particle technology applications, innovations, and the future.
What are you hoping your attendees take away from your event?
We hope to stimulate discussion on where particle technology has been, but also where it needs to go. We have a world of problems, and we all need to expand our boundaries to solve them, together.
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Raymond A. Cocco
Ray Cocco has been with PSRI for 12 years where he has the role of President. PSRI is a consortium-based company with 31 member companies in Canada, France, Brazil, Finland, Germany, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United States.