Roorkee (The Hawk): The Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) organized a three-day International Chemical Engineering Conference on Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (ICECEES-2024) from February 15-17, 2024. This was to commemorate 60 years of the Institute's establishment. The theme of the conference included all major domains of Chemical Engineering, such as Circular Economy, Sustainable and Renewable Energy, Green Processes, and Transfer Processes and Computational Modeling. The conference intended to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas among people working at different levels in academia and industries. Faculty members, scientists, persons from industries and other government agencies, research scholars, students, etc., participated in the conference.
The Department of Chemical Engineering was established in 1963 with an undergraduate program in Chemical Engineering. The department grew over the years and set very high standards in teaching and cutting-edge research. Over the years, the department has supported the local chemical and process industries. The department currently has 25 faculty members and over 500 students. The Department also has high-end analytical instruments like BET surface area analyzer, LCMS, HPLC, UV spectrometer, FTIR analyzer, rheometer, micro-PIV, high-speed camera, Raman spectroscopy, etc. The department focuses research work in the broad areas of chemical engineering, such as liquid and solid waste management, green catalysis, sustainable energy, energy storage, process design and intensification, process modelling and simulation, drug delivery, transport and separation processes, process safety, CO2 capture and utilization, and biochemical and bioprocess engineering. The department runs a Center of Excellence in Petrochemicals sponsored by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, and the Government of India.
Prof. K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee (Patron) graced the event along with Chief Guest Ms Vartika Shukla, CMD, EIL and Prof. Shishir Sinha, DG, CIPET (Co-Patron). Notable eminent speakers included Prof. Shizhang Qiao, The University of Adelaide, Australia, Prof. Kumar Patchigolla, Teesside University, UK, Prof. Sophie Hermans, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; Prof. Luís Miguel Madeira, The University of Porto, Portugal, Dr. D.K. Chandraker, BARC and HBNI, Mumbai, Dr. Thallada Bhaskar, CSIR-IIP, Dehradun, Prof. Sirshendu De, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Peter Englezos, The University of British Columbia, Canada, Prof. Nagu Daraboina, The University of Tulsa, USA, Prof. Shijun N. Raveendran, The University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Prof Panagiota Angeli, University College London, UK, Prof. Ju Dong Lee, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, South Korea, Dr. Syed G. Dastager, CSIR-NCL, Pune, and Prof. Hem Raj Pant, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Commenting on the conference's motif, Prof. K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, avers, "ICECEES provides a forum for all the eminent participants to showcase their research and address the emerging future challenges pertaining to the theme of the conference. The participants will have the opportunity to present their recent research findings on an extended spectrum of conference topics and be informed about new challenges, future trends, and technological innovations on sustainable processes following the principles of circular economy."
Chief Guest Ms Vartika Shukla, Chairman & Managing Director at Engineers India Limited (EIL), New Delhi, said, "The Conference will provide an opportunity to the students, researchers, scientists and stakeholders to develop new thoughts in the areas of sustainable energy and environment which is the need of the hour. Efforts are to be made to utilize the sustainable, green and renewable resources to make the society carbon free..