Editorial

by Ralph D. Nelson, Jr.

In this commercial world, it is unusual to find an organization which has no dues, no budget, no treasurer, no newsletter, no Web site (!!), and no annual meetings. But The Assembly is such an organization, and in spite of the unusual structure it provides the backbone for quadennial Congresses of the 500-1,000 people who define the field of particle technology through their research and teaching.

The Assembly is now a mature organization -- the founding officers have all been replaced by fresh faces, and there has been a Congress in each of the major regional centers of particle technology. Next year (2006) the Fifth World Congress of Particle Technology will be held on April 23-27 in Orlando, Florida. The host organization is the Particle Technology Forum (PTF, ERPT's sponsor).

If you are reading this editorial before April of 2006, be sure to visit the WCPT5's Web site at www.wcpt5.org and consider participating as a registrant, presenter, or exhibitor -- or all three!. If you are reading this after April of 2006 be assured that another Congress is being planned. Technology is less developed for particles than for the continuous phases, it is the most challenging to model (or for which to develop theories), and there are far more industrial problems related to particles than to any continuous phase. So we shall have World Congresses long after meetings devoted to gas compression, distillation, and crystallization have run out of significant commercial challenges to solve.

Shrikant Dhodapkar (Dow) is the Technical Program Chair for WCPT5, and I am one of the vice chairs. Shrikant suggests [private communication] that there are (at least) five good reasons to attend a World Congress:

• NETWORK: A technical conferences is a good place to join or form a network of colleagues with similar interests. It allows practitioners from various industries to gain insights from work done in closely-related fields. It is easier to learn new approaches to a problem informally over coffee or tea than in formal meetings, and it is more personal than communicating through Email. This networking bears fruit even after the conference is over, and a sabbatical visit or a long term collaboration with someone in another nation may develop out of a friendly conversation at a congress.

• SHOWCASE: Presentations and exhibits showcase the talent and capabilities of suppliers, research groups, and industrial labs. This can provide opportunities for advancement and attract new talent as future hires. This is especially important for industries and government agencies which often do not display their talent by publishing routinely in journals. Questions and discussion at a presentation or in an informal meeting can show your interest and ability in a field even if you are not presenting a paper on that topic.

• STIMULUS: Four days of presentations by established and rising world leaders in technology provides intellectual stimulus - away from the routine and mundane tasks required in many work environments. A congress provides a few days of focus away from day-to-day hassles. These leaders serve as a review board for new ideas and concepts; most are eager to give critical (and constructive) feedback to help move the field forward. Of course you must not present proprietary information or compromise the value of a promising commercial idea by disclosing it, but many useful ideas can be gained from academic presentations, new equipment on display, and industrial complaints about common problems that remain unsolved.

• STEERING: And that leads to the last point. Congresses provide an opportunity for industry to affect the direction of research by the academia through feedback and support. You can indicate areas where more work is needed, hire students or contract with faculty who seem to be making progress in the area, write letters of support for grant applications in areas that would help your company, and promote the careers of promising researchers so that they have a better chance of securing grants or starting research groups that will solve your problems or provide talented students interested in working in your industry.