AFS FiltCon 2021 included a plenary presentation from Brian Lane, expert filtration industry consultant and retired Vice President of Engineering, Technology and Innovation at Parker Hannifin. His presentation, “How Global Mega Trends, Particularly the 'Race to Zero Emissions' and COVID, are Impacting the Filtration Industry,” provided valuable insight into the state of the filtration industry, especially in light of the events of 2020.

Brian began by referencing the 2017 AFS Point of View Publication, written by former AFS Chair Tom Ramsey. Brian highlighted six global mega trends that formed the basis for chapter two of the report, emphasizing that after four years, all are still vigorous drivers of change in the filtration and separations industry: Population Growth and Social Change, Disruptive Digital Technology Changes, Rapid Urbanization on a Global Scale, Climate Change and Natural Scarcity, Transformative Healthcare Advances, and Reduce, Reuse and the Race to Zero Emissions/Discharge. In fact, the events of 2020 even accelerated the pace of change for several of them, most notably in the social change, healthcare and emissions areas.

By Shagufta Patel, AFS Chair

A primary mission of the American Filtration & Separations Society (AFS) is to provide a forum for the exchange of information among engineers, scientists and technologists from all areas of our industry. One initiative that upholds this mission especially well is our upcoming major conference, FiltCon 2021.

FiltCon 2021 will be held virtually April 19-21, and our full conference schedule is now online. The conference will feature two plenary presentations, 42 technical presentations, an expo and a student poster competition. New Product Awards for 2019 and 2020, as well as Honorific Awards for 2020, will be announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday morning.

Nominations are now open for key AFS leadership positions, including multiple 2-year Board positions (2022-2024) and 2^nd Vice Chair, who serves one year as 2^nd Vice Chair, a second year as 1^st Vice Chair, a third year as Chair and a final year as Immediate Past Chair. All terms begin September 2021.

All nominees and nominators must be current members of the American Filtration and Separations Society. Read the AFS leadership nomination guidelines here.

AFS FiltCon, our signature spring conference, will be a fully virtual conference and expo this year, with two concurrent tracks taking place Monday-Wednesday, April 19-21, 2021. Attend the full conference or drop in for select sessions that fit your interests and schedule. All presentations will be available for two weeks post-conference for registered attendees.

The three-day schedule will offer remarkable access to technical content. Through two concurrent tracks over three days, the schedule offers a total of 36 technical presentations.