Several Plenary Lectures on NICE by Professor Marc-Olivier Coppens

The month of June was the apex of a virtual world-tour on NICE, as Professor Marc-Olivier Coppens, Director of the CNIE, presented several invited keynotes and plenary lectures on the CNIE’s nature-inspired solution methodology, emphasising its opportunities for sustainable development and innovation, as discussed in a recent article in the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

On 7^th June, he had the honour to present a Plenary Lecture at the 31st “European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering” (ESCAPE-31), which took place virtually from Istanbul, organised by Professors Metin Turkay (Koc university) and Rafiqul Gani (PSE for SPEED). Further information on ESCAPE-31 can be found here.

Another prime event where Marc-Olivier gave the opening Plenary Lecture on 21^st June was the 21^st  ‘Symposium on Thermophysical Properties’ in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Professor Coppens was invited by Dr Kenneth Kroenlein (Citrine Informatics) and other organisers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Symposium was concerned with theoretical, experimental, simulation, and applied aspects of the thermophysical properties of gases, liquids, and solids, including biological systems. Further information can be found here, and the programme can be accessed here.

Both events were very well organised, making the best out of the virtual format to create an engaging event, bringing people together, to discuss ideas and maximise social interaction, despite the physical distance.

Marc-Olivier also presented the opening Plenary Lecture at the ‘Ingénierie Inspirée par la Nature’ conference in France (in French) on 21^st June 2021 – delocalised between France and Colorado on the first day of summer, all while being in London! This conference was organised by the Institut des Sciences Ingénierie et Systèmes (INSIS), part of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). The conference marked the closing event of the Year of Nature Inspired-Engineering. Further information can be found here, and the programme can be accessed here. Work at the CNIE had given an impetus to this activity in France, especially in chemical engineering, and a Special Issue of Chemical Engineering Research and Design on Nature-Inspired Chemical Engineering was already edited by Marc-Olivier Coppens with Catherine Xuereb (CNRS) and Vincent Gerbaud (CNRS, organiser of the conference) last year.

Beyond these events, Marc-Olivier also presented several other invited lectures, including a seminar at the University of  Surrey and keynotes on NICE for Process Intensification at the CEB Research Conference 2021 of the University of Cambridge, and on Nature-Inspired Solutions for Molecular Systems Design and Engineering at the “MSDE Symposium 2021: Frontiers in Molecular Engineering”, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry for the MSDE journal, where a Special Issue on Nature-Inspired Solutions for Engineering will appear soon.