AFS 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

May 9-11, 2006
Rosemont, IL

The 2006 AFS 19th Annual Conference highlighted leading practices in filtration and separation from across the world and established an atmosphere of collaboration among industry designers, suppliers and end users. This year’s event was co-located with the International Powder and Bulk Solids Conference and Exhibition.

This event was designed to showcase cutting edge research and accomplishments, and to enrich the educational experience. Participants were exposed to an unparalleled and inspiring combination of learning and networking opportunities. With over 90 technical presentations there was an abundance of knowledge shared.

The conference opened with two outstanding plenary presentations. Dr. Karsten Keller, Dupont, prepared a presentation on “Nanoseparations – From Centrifuges to Filters”. The presentation was given by Dr. Benjamin Fuchs, Dupont. Last year, Dr. Keller was awarded the Frank Tiller Award by the AFS. This year, Dr. Fuchs was awarded the Junior Scientist award by the AFS.

The second plenary presentation was “Indoor Air Quality and Sick Building Syndrome” by Dr. Dean Tompkins, University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Tompkins has been a scientist in the Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program at the University of Wisconsin since 1995.

The Tuesday Award lunch is always a highlight of the AFS conference. At this lunch AFS recognizes outstanding individuals in the field of filtration and separations and individuals that have donated much of their time to as volunteers in service to the AFS.

Lively discussion filled the conference hallway as students answered questions at the Student poster competition on Tuesday afternoon. Three scholarships where presented to the top student poster presentations. At the conclusion of the poster competition the discussion continued as the evening networking reception began.

The Wednesday venue offered the Keynote Address for the collocated event. Gordon Bethune, former CEO and Chairman of Continental Airlines, gave a talk entitled “From Worst to First”. It outlined the turnaround of Continental Airlines.

In addition to the technical papers and outstanding plenary and keynote addresses, this year’s conference offered an outstanding collocated Exhibition. AFS had a pavilion area for filtration and separation companies within the larger Powder & Bulk Solids Exhibition. This was an outstanding opportunity for the AFS exhibitors to meet new potential customers and for conference attendees to view solutions offered by a wide variety of companies.

The AFS Annual Conference is the leading technical forum for providing technological issues and information pertinent to the needs of the filtration and separation industry. Held only once a year, dozens of technical papers are presented providing filtration and separation professionals unique inside access to research and findings.

The information generated at this conference is critical to all those interested in improving filtration and separation systems to better serve their industry and community. It is through the integration of viewpoints and needs of all stakeholders in the filtration and separation industry that solutions for the real world are found.

Proceedings from the 2006 Annual Conference can be obtained by contacting the AFS office, 612-861-1277.

Next year’s annual conference will be collocated with the Water Quality Association in Orlando, Florida. It will be held the week of March 27-31, 2007. Save those dates, AFS will be celebrating its 20 th anniversary. The call for papers is already available. If you are interested in exhibiting contact the AFS office.

2006 Conference Sponsors