Workshop: Fundamentals of Transport, Pollution and Energy Processes

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

Project Title: Workshop: Fundamentals of Transport, Environmental, and Energy Processes (CTS-0633780); University of New Hampshire, Durham, This project is a workshop between USA and Chinese academic chemical engineers on the overarching topics of fundamentals of transport, environment, and energy processes held in Durham, New Hampshire August 20 to 23, 2006. The main focus of the workshop participants is engineering phenomena such as mass transfer, separations, catalysis and particle mechanics as related to frontier areas of research. Joint research projects may ultimately flow from the professional contacts made at this workshop. Background: Energy and environmental pollution is a global problem and can best be solved with international cooperation. Because of the pollution awareness and strict laws, during the past 30 years, there has been considerable reduction in the emissions of major pollutants. Despite this progress, over 170 million tons of pollutants are emitted into the air each year in the United States, and approximately 133 million people live in counties where monitored air was unhealthy at times because of high levels of at least one of the six principal air pollutants (particulates, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and hydrocarbons). Reducing pollution in the US environment is only part of the solution. During recent years, energy consumption of both developing and developed countries has been on the rise. Countries like China with fast growing chemical-based industries are likely to play a decisive role in the future environmental health of our planet. Recent visits of President Bush to China and India underlines the importance of these two nations in working toward reducing such problems. Objective: The main objective of this workshop to be held in Durham, NH, USA is to have an exchange of scientific information and a dialogue between the American and Chinese university faculty members on recent advances mainly in the above mentioned areas of fundamental research. Another objective is to inculcate a close collaboration between the faculty members particularly junior and minority faculty of these two countries for a sustained interaction and relationship, even after the workshop is over, towards coordinating our efforts to exploring fundamental new concepts that might lead to long term solutions to the global pollution challenges. This joint workshop will provide a platform to achieve these objectives of information exchange and faculty collaboration that may have a focus on this critical problem of worldwide pollution of the environment. Intellectual Merit: The workshop would cover a variety of topics relevant to fundamentals of transport, environment, and energy processes. These include mass transfer, separations, catalysis, and particle mechanics. Broader Impact: The major impact of this workshop would be to sustain our endeavor towards collaborative R&D effort between faculty members of the USA and China to undertake fundamental research, that was started by the last workshop (held in China in 2005), towards achieving pollution prevention and control in industries involved in energy conversion and chemical production. In addition, a future visits by the Chinese faculty to a US university campus may result, and they would be mutually informative and helpful in their understanding our system of teaching, research process, and way of life. This workshop may also generate an opportunity for the exchange of American and Chinese students to work on joint research projects.