Guest blog from Jeni Wong, Chair of AFS. Jeni has been an active AFS member since 2014, serving as Co-Chair of the 2017 Spring Conference and as a Board member since 2018. She also is active in ASHRAE, serving on the Technical Committee (TC 2.4) as the Membership Chair since 2017 and Voting Member since 2019.

As we start a third year of responding to and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud to be a professional in an industry on the front line of protecting human health and devising innovations to defend the world against this disease. Especially in the air quality and pharmaceutical sectors, but in other areas as well, filtration is leading the charge to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

After rescheduling it twice, we are confident that we will, at long last, be able to host World Filtration Congress 13 this October in San Diego. What we have learned in the past two years will take center stage during technical sessions, keynote presentations and poster presentations. In fact, due to the effect of the pandemic on the filtration industry, we have added three new sessions in the Health Symposia Track: Facemask and Respirators for Filtering Airborne Viruses & Harmful Aerosols, Vaccine Production Filtration & Separation, and Cleanroom Filtration. We will be accepting new abstracts for consideration through January 28 – get started here. Stay tuned with all the WFC 13 developments on the WFC 13 website, LinkedIn page and Twitter feed.

If you are not yet a member of AFS, I urge you to join us. Founded in 1987, the AFS is an educational non-profit that provides a forum for networking and the exchange of technical knowledge within academia and industry in all areas of filtration and separation. We host conferences, offer expert training and provide on-demand courses to help professionals advance their careers. Apply to join here.

If you are already a member of AFS, I encourage you to become more involved. Your networking and professional development benefits will increase exponentially as you participate more. Join a committee or get involved in your local chapter.

I am truly excited about what this year will bring. In the challenging but exciting journey that lies before us, we need to prioritize knowledge sharing and innovation. The American Filtration & Separations Society is here to assist the industry on both fronts.