AIChE-IChemE Joint Session: Energy, Water, Food, Materials: An Interconnected Global Challenge

The expectation is that there will be 3 billion additional middle class consumers by 2030 with increasing demand for energy, water, food, and materials. During the 20th century, these were resources addressed individually. These are now complex socio-technical systems that are interconnected. How these complex systems are addressed will shape future organizations, markets and nation/states. The chemical engineering profession approach to integrated systems analysis and the need for the technology voice to enable evidenced based policy requires our professional societies to be a more vocal stakeholder in addressing how we will value the ‘commons’. As two of the largest organizations of chemical engineers in the world, AIChE and IChemE are creating a collaborative working group to respond to this challenge. This session will be held in a workshop format to include messages from representatives from both societies on the challenges, exchanging views on priorities, and exploring options for how we engage beyond our traditional boundaries.