On 14 September 2013, more than 100 participants convened at Imperial College London for the Conference on Ever Vibrant Particle Science & Technology jointly organised by the CSCST-UK (the Chinese Society of Chemical Science and Technology in the UK) and SCI (the Society of Chemical Industry). This was the 20th event of the joint conference series, and has attracted participants from 15 universities, including two Chinese universities, and 13 industrial companies. This year’s conference had a very packed programme with 2 plenary talks, 6 keynote talks, 18 oral presentation, and 22 posters.

The opening session was hosted by Dr Nigel Dong, the Chairman of CSCST-UK and the Conference General Co-Chair, who gave a welcome speech on behalf of CSCST-UK. In the speech, he acknowledged the generous support from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SCI, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the sponsorship from AkzoNobel. Dr Jerry Heng, the Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London and the Conference General Co-Chair, gave a welcome speech on behalf of the local host. Ms Joanne Lyall, the Executive Director of SCI, then introduced SCI and  the activities of its Chinese UK group. This was followed by a presentation by Ms Kathleen Too, the International Development Manager (Asia) of Royal Society of Chemistry. Ms Too also announced that RSC will continue its Travel Grant for CSCST members, which supports the younger generation of UK-based researchers to travel to China for meetings that are related to collaboration there.

The conference featured twoplenary lectures. Dr Neal Williams, the Principal Scientist of Material Science Expert Capability Group, AkzoNobel, introduced AkzoNobel’s researchefforts in developing green coating technology that is important for a sustainable future. Prof Paul Luckham from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, gave a very interesting talk on Manipulating Forces between Surfaces: and its Applications in Particle Technology. The Conference also presented six keynote talks by Prof Zhibing Zhang (University of Birmingham), Dr Jianping Wu (Pharmaterials Ltd), Prof Charley Wu (University of Surrey), Dr Haifei Zhang (University of Liverpool), Dr Shoufeng Yang (University of Southampton), and Dr Manel Torres (Fabrican Ltd). In addition, there were 18 oral presentations given by researchers from University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, University of Leeds,Queen Mary University of London, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Xaar Jet.

The conference also comprised a poster session where 22 posters from universities and companies were presented. Also, a tour to the ABB-sponsored Carbon Capture Pilot Plant at Imperial College London took place in parallel to the poster session.

In the closing session, the co-Chairs of the SCI Chinese UK group, Dr Cigang Xu and Dr Kenneth Chung, introduced activities of the group, and then presented the awards for the best oral and poster presentations. Dr Nigel Dong then wrapped up the programme by acknowledging all contributions from the participants, sponsors and the local organising committee Finally, the whole-day event was capped off by a drink reception.

Winners of the presentation awards:

More conference photos can be found here.

On behalf of the Chinese Society of Chemical Science and Technology in the UK (CSCST-UK) and the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), we cordially invite you to participate in the 20th Joint Annual Conference of CSCST-SCI, which will be hosted by the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London on 14th September, 2013.

This year's conference will feature the theme Ever Vibrant Particle Science & Technology. Particle technology has emerged as a separate discipline in its own right with its own unique paradigm of describing, modelling and controlling phenomena that involve a wide variety of discrete entities and their interaction with the surrounding medium. Particle technology is extremely important for a number of industries spanning from mineral processing and metal extraction to drugs and pharmaceuticals. The particle products are estimated to contributed c.a. $10 trillion per year to the world economy. The UK community in particle science & technology, with a decent presence of Chinese researchers, is recognised as being among the strongest in the world. This conference will bring together leading UK-based Chinese researchers in this broad discipline together with the next-generation of researchers to showcase the latest developments and challenges in particle science & technology.

With helps from our generous sponsors, the conference is free for UK-based students and scientists. Free lunch and a drink reception will be provided too. Also, the opportunity for a tour to the Carbon Capture Pilot Plant's control room at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, will be offered to up to 50 attendees on a first come first serve basis.

CSCST-UK, established in 1994, is a professional organisation of Chinese researchers and scholars currently working in the UK. Its objective is to promote and strengthen communication between academia and industry, exchange of ideas and potential collaborations between China and the UK.

Imperial College London is a university of world class scholarship, education and research in science, engineering and medicine. Established in 1907, it is located in the heart of London. It is consistently rated among the UK's top three universities and was ranked 8th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2012-2013. The Department of Chemical Engineering is the largest such department in the UK with a annual research revenue of ~£14 million and the only department to have been awarded a top rating in each of the latest three Research Assessment Excercise (RAEs).

Originally established in 1881, the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is an unique international forum where science meets business on impartial and independent ground. The society offers a chance to share information between sectors as diverse as food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental science and safety. The SCI Chinese UK Group is the youngest of all SCI regional groups, which caters for the applied scientific interests of Chinese diaspora.