All’s well that ends well, or all’s well that metamorphose itself into something even better.
The year gone by as President of this prestigious and vibrant organization Indian Institute of Chemical
Engineers was a tumultuous and rewarding experience. It gave me opportunity to work with lot of
talented people from industry and academia. We are now preparing ourselves for the mega event of
CHEMCON-2009 to be held at Chemical Engineering department, College of Engineering (A), Andhra
University, and Visakhapatnam. I invite you all for the 62nd Chemical Engineering Conference; this will
be very useful event to know the “Role of Chemical Engineers in Pharma Industry.
The year 2009 started with a bang of economic crisis and a very gloomy scenario across the globe.
Indian scene was also bad if not worse. The year which started with lot of speculation on economy
going to worsen further has started to show some signs of recovery and stability. The GDP has
increased to 6.2 % by end of October 09 from the level of 5.8 % recorded for quarter March 2009.
While much has been written on the global economic crisis, very little has been said about what the
leaders of large global organizations should be doing to prepare their organization to emerge in a
position of strength as the economy recovers. Organizations now have to act rapidly to look into their
projects kept on hold and start planning step by step investment. Chemical Engineers are considered
as nation builders and we have to keep growing by continual advancement in right direction. Resource
conservation should be an integral part of the Planning, Design, Execution and Operation for the
growth and sustenance of any organization.
Growth has to be with due care towards the social and environmental aspects. This is important to
sustain the growth. There is a need to take solid steps to overcome this to survive and to keep the
environment in best of its shape. Environmental Impact (EI) is a function of Population (P), Affluence
(A) and Technology (T).
ƒn EI = P x A x T
Population of the globe is bound to grow and it is anticipated to be 8 Billion in next 20 years. Our
economic model is affluence driven so it is not viable to decrease Affluence. So ultimate thing remains
is the Technology and we chemical engineers has to owe this responsibility. Research in developing
technology to create wealth with minimum or no pollution is a must. Innovation and development in the
field of Biotechnology, Bio-engineering, Green technology and Clean technology has become the
prime need of the hour.
Energy conservation is the other most important area which is recognized as a national priority for a
long time and needs a serious attention. The major focus area now in energy sector is the use of
alternative source of energy. And in this direction lot of work is going on. Solar energy, Wind energy,
Nuclear energy and Bio-fuels have gained lot of importance. The chemical engineers should contribute
in the development of these by making these cheaper through innovation and developing newer
technology. In essence we all need to innovate and adopt appropriate responsible stewardship of our
resources.
The Development of new generation of entrepreneurs needs kind attention at curriculum level itself.
Future entrepreneurs need to learn apart from running business to think about betterment of
environment and society. “The curriculum should be consistently infused with relevant and
demonstrative examples of open-ended problems and case studies, challenges of engineering practice
– safety, economics, ethics, regulation, intellectual property and market/social needs.” Globalization
has affected the practice of engineering in the country. Many institutions have started to respond to
this fact and others are responding to the globalization of chemical engineering but a real extra bit of
effort is desired in this direction. IIChE and Anamaya Publishers had signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on January 1st 2009 regarding publication of our journal which is a move
towards globalization. One important aspect of the agreement is on-line electronic networking of IIChE
Journal through Francis & Taylor website. With this our journal has a global exposure and immense
potential to become a journal of repute. I call upon my colleagues from academia and various research
institutes, CSIR labs to contribute in our journal ICE. This is the only way in my view to take IIChE to
next level of Prominence.
Success is about having the right vision. It is ability to rise above the immediacy of pain. It is about
imagination. It is about sensitivity to people. It is about building inclusion. It is about connectedness to
a larger world existence. It is about personal tenacity. It is about give back more to life than we take
out of it. We all have to keep one thing in mind “It is not about what we create for ourselves; it is what
we leave behind that defines the real success.
To achieve success we have to Plan we have to Act.
With Best Regards,
Sushil Kumar
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