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Membranes: Materials and Processes

Gordon Research Conference

Debates and Controversies in the Field of Membranes

July 31 - August 5, 2016
Chairs and and
Vice Chairs and
Colby-Sawyer College
541 Main Street
New London, New Hampshire, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The "Membranes: Materials and Processes" GRC is an interdisciplinary meeting that has gained significant international recognition, attracting leading experts on membranes and related areas from around the world. In addition to emphasizing fundamental breakthroughs in membrane science and technology, the 2016 GRC will introduce a new focus on debates and controversies in the field of membranes. It will also include a session on successfully translating fundamental science to startups. As usual, the informal nature of the meeting, excellent quality of the oral presentations and posters, and ample opportunity to meet many outstanding colleagues make this an excellent conference for established scientists as well as for students. A Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on the weekend prior to the GRC meeting, with a primary theme about the remarkably broad applications of membranes, will provide young researchers an opportunity to present their work and network with outstanding experts. It will also be a warm-up for the young scientist to actively participate in main conference and enjoy the full benefits of the GRC tradition.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Membranes: Materials and Processes" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pmKeynote Session: Membrane Materials and Processes
Discussion Leader: Kerri Hickenbottom (Humboldt State University, USA)
7:40 pm - 8:20 pmAndrew Livingston (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
"Liquid Permeation Through Thick and Thinner - Speedy Membranes, Fast Processes?"
8:20 pm - 8:35 pmDiscussion
8:35 pm - 9:15 pmThomas Epps (University of Delaware, USA)
"Engineering Nanostructured Membranes Through Macromolecular Design: Tapered Block Copolymers for Lithium Battery Electrolytes"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMembranes for Water Treatment
Discussion Leader: William Phillip (University of Notre Dame, USA)
9:00 am - 9:35 amMeagan Mauter (Carnegie Mellon University, USA)
"Processes and Materials for Aqueous Separations with Low-Temperature Heat"
9:35 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:25 amBaoxia Mi (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Layer-Stacked Graphene Oxide Membrane for Water Purification: Uniqueness and Opportunity"
10:25 am - 10:40 amDiscussion
10:40 am - 11:10 amCoffee Break
11:10 am - 11:45 amHyung Gyu Park (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
"Permeation and Selectivity of Membranes out of Low-Dimensional Materials and Nanomanufacturing"
11:45 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmYoungbin Baek (The Pennsylvania State University, USA)
"A Facile Surface Modification by Polydopamine Under UV Irradiation for Water Treatment Membrane"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmMd. Shahidul Islam (Concordia University, Canada)
"Highly Effective Microfiltration Membrane Based on Electrospun Nylon 6/SiO2 Composite"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pmPower Hour
The GRC Power Hour is an optional informal gathering open to all meeting participants. It is designed to help address the challenges women face in science and support the professional growth of women in our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring.
Organizer: Isabel Escobar (University of Kentucky, USA)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmModeling Membrane Transport
Discussion Leader: Sylvie Neyertz (University of Savoy, France)
7:30 pm - 8:05 pmRich Lueptow (Northwestern University, USA)
"Ångström-Scale Molecular Interactions in Reverse Osmosis Membranes"
8:05 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:55 pmDavid Sholl (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
"Quantitative Prediction of Adsorption and Diffusion in Crystalline Materials via Modeling - Is the Dream Reaching Fruition?"
8:55 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pmNitish Mittal (University of Minnesota, USA)
"Conceptual Process Design and Techno-Economic Analysis of Zeolite Membrane-Based Separation Systems"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmGas Separation Membranes
Discussion Leader: J.R. Johnson (SABIC, Saudi Arabia)
9:00 am - 9:35 amAndre Beyer (Bielefeld University, Germany)
"Carbon Nanomembranes (CNMs): Mechanics and Gas Permeation"
9:35 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:25 amRyan Lively (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
"Water, Gases, Organic Liquids: How 60 Years of Membrane Research Enabled Organic Solvent Reverse Osmosis"
10:25 am - 10:40 amDiscussion
10:40 am - 11:10 amGroup Photo / Coffee Break
11:10 am - 11:45 amHo Bum Park (Hanyang University, South Korea)
"Graphene-Based Membranes: From Strategy to Reality into Actual Separation Process"
11:45 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmMichael Alders (RWTH Aachen University, Germany)
"Chilled Membranes: How a Temperature Decline Can Improve Gas Permeation Processes"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmRamy Swaidan (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia)
"Tuning Hybrid PIM-PI-OH/Z-MOF-Based Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Highly Efficient C3H6/C3H8 Separation"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmInorganic Membranes
Discussion Leader: Jerry Lin (Arizona State University, USA)
7:30 pm - 8:05 pmKang Li (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
"Ceramic Membranes for Separation and Reaction"
8:05 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:55 pmArian Nijmeijer (University of Twente, The Netherlands)
"Inorganic Membranes in the Petrochemical Industry"
8:55 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pmZachary Smith (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Gas Transport and Mechanical Properties of Mixed-Matrix Membranes Formed with M2(dobdc) Nanoparticles"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmThe Business of Membranes
Discussion Leader: David LaMonica (Rochem Americas Inc., USA)
9:00 am - 9:35 amHans Wijmans (Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., USA)
"Do You Need a Good Membrane to Be in the Membrane Business?"
9:35 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:25 amRobert McGinnis (Nagare Water, USA)
"Water Tech Startups in a Software Tech World"
10:25 am - 10:40 amDiscussion
10:40 am - 11:10 amCoffee Break
11:10 am - 11:45 amMaryTheresa Pendergast (Oasys Water, USA)
"Forward Osmosis: From Ideation to Commercialization"
11:45 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmLingling Xia (University of Connecticut, USA)
"Application of Trimethylamine-Carbon Dioxide in Osmotic Heat Engine for Power Generation"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmChad Gilmer (University of Iowa, USA)
"Easily Tunable Poly(epoxy) Membranes to Separate Organic Molecules"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmBiological, Biomimetic, and Biomedical Applications
Discussion Leader: Andrew Zydney (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
7:30 pm - 8:05 pmClaus Helix-Nielsen (Aquaporin, Denmark)
"Biomimetic Membranes: Design Strategies and Applications"
8:05 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:55 pmBruce Hinds (University of Washington, USA)
"Electrodynamically Pumped Bio-Mimetic Membrane Systems"
8:55 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pmYuexiao Shen (The Pennsylvania State University, USA)
"Highly Permeable Artificial Water Channels in Block Copolymer Membranes"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmAdvanced Membrane Materials
Discussion Leader: Shihong Lin (Vanderbilt University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:35 amNieck Benes (University of Twente, The Netherlands)
"Hybrid Membranes by Localized Reactions"
9:35 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:25 amBrian Benicewicz (University of South Carolina, USA)
"Conventional and Unconventional Ideas in Polymer Membranes"
10:25 am - 10:40 amDiscussion
10:40 am - 11:10 amCoffee Break
11:10 am - 11:45 amUlrich Wiesner (Cornell University, USA)
"Advanced Membrane Materials from Block Copolymers"
11:45 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmPapatya Kaner (Tufts University, USA)
"Zwitterion-Containing Polymer Additives for Fouling Resistant Ultrafiltration Membranes: Choosing the Right Chemistry and Architecture"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pmNeda Mahmoudi (University of Arkansas, USA)
"Modified Polysulfone Hollow Fibers with Peptoid Having Improved Protein Fouling"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmKeynote Session: Membrane Controversies and Perspectives
Discussion Leader: Manish Kumar (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmIsabel Escobar (University of Kentucky, USA)
"Are You Still Not Modifying Your Membranes?"
7:40 pm - 7:45 pmDiscussion
7:45 pm - 7:55 pmDavid Ladner (Clemson University, USA)
"The Power of Hydrodynamics"
7:55 pm - 8:00 pmDiscussion
8:00 pm - 8:10 pmScott Husson (Clemson University, USA)
"Recent Poll Shows Slight Edge for Surface Modification over Hydrodynamics in New Hampshire"
8:10 pm - 8:15 pmDiscussion
8:15 pm - 8:25 pmJohn Pellegrino (University of Colorado, USA)
"Channeling Nikuradse"
8:25 pm - 8:30 pmDiscussion
8:30 pm - 8:40 pmGeneral Discussion: Surface Modification Versus Hydrodynamics
8:40 pm - 9:15 pmRichard Baker (Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., USA)
"Barriers to the Development of New Membrane Gas Separation Technology"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Contributors

Conference Links

Conference History Membranes: Materials and Processes (GRS)
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