Dr. Joseph Smith, president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at S&T, attended the 12th World Congress of Chemical Engineering July 14-18 in Beijing, China. He delivered a plenary lecture titled “The International Role of AIChE in Eliminating Energy Poverty” and presented a technical talk titled “Hybrid Energy Systems: Innovative Research Pathways for Alleviating Global Energy Poverty.”

The congress featured prominent leaders in chemical engineering, including Nobel Laureate Ben L. Feringa, who opened the event with a presentation on molecular motors. Smith also met with the World Chemical Engineering Confederation, which included members from South Africa, Italy, United Kingdom, China, Netherlands, Canada and Czech Republic. The group discussed major challenges facing the chemical industry and agreed to collaborate on addressing global grand challenges.