3^rd Steering Committee Meeting - July 9, 1999

Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This was the third Steering Committee meeting since the formation of the Process Development Group (Group 12) in 1997. These meetings are open to all group members with an interest in helping the advancement the Process Development Group activities.

The main objective of the Steering Committee meetings is to develop the scope and directions of the Process Development Group within the AIChE National programming Committee.

The 1999 Meeting was held at Xerox Research Centre of Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Present : Warren Barkey (Exxon), Prabir Basu (Monsanto, Group 12 Vice-Chair), Kamlesh Bhatia (Du Pont, Area 12a Chair), Shiah Cherney (Chevron), Cawas Cooper (Air Products), John Corn (Ashland, Area 12b Chair), Joe Cramer (AIChE, Director of Programming), Bill Dale (Xerox), Bob Duggal (Ethyl), David Edwards (Zeton), Yinlun Huang (Wayne State University), Alan Leviton (Rohm and Haas), George Liebermann (Xerox, Group 12 Chair), , Ron Mack (Monsanto), Ramesh Rameswaran (Lyondell).

Host: George Liebermann

David Edwards recorded the meeting minutes.

The number of programmed sessions (i.e. our base allocation) has increased from two in Fall Meeting sessions in 1997 to four starting in Los Angeles in Fall 2000. There is no official allocation limit for the smaller Spring Meetings. Topical Conferences are planned for Dallas in Fall 1999 and Atlanta in Spring 2000. Co-sponsoring with other Groups was highlighted an effective way of increasing sessions above and beyond our base allocation for specific meetings.

Areas 12c (Technology Transfer) and 12d (Manufacturing) will be granted official area status in Dallas (Fall 1999). There was a proposal to move the Group and Area elections (except for Area 12a) to Dallas in Fall 1999 from LA in Fall 2000 in order to elect new leadership. See also below - Group Leadership section.

The web page (www.pd-aiche.com and www.pd-aiche.com/temp) is under development (G. Liebermann coordinator). Sponsorship from other companies is needed, in addition to those already committed (Rohm and Haas, S.C. Johnson and Xerox). Sponsoring companies will be recognized on the Home Page. Cawas Cooper (Air Products) and Ramesh Rameswaran (Lyondell) expressed an interest in providing sponsorship. A bank account will be needed to handle the deposits and Joe Cramer indicated that the AIChE could help in setting the bank account up. Once the website is developed, the newsletter will be an e-mail pointing to the website. See also below - Web Site section.

Other current activities were discussed after the review of the action items (see below). Joe Cramer reported that the AIChE is considering running an "International Meeting" sometime in the future, rotating between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Request additional base session allocations (4 sessions in LA Fall 2000) - DONE.
Area level meetings are now being held as well as a Group 12 meeting - DONE.
Academic Participation Enhancement (K. Ng and G. Tampy) - ONGOING.
Corporate Sponsorship/Participation (G. Tampy, K. Ng, A. Leviton) - see separate item below.
New Areas Development (G. Liebermann et al) - ONGOING.
Process Development Group Web Page (G. Liebermann) - ONGOING/DONE
Benchmarking (A. Leviton) - see separate item below.
Organize Topical and Mini-Topical Conferences (K. Bhatia, S. Dudley) - ONGOING/DONE

Alan Leviton and Ka Ng have been working on corporate membership and funding. Alan Leviton presented the idea of having a special Process Development Forum once or twice a year. This forum would be less formal than an AIChE meeting, would focus on one topic, would be in one location, and would present a good networking environment. Presenters would be encouraged to make > 30 minute presentations, promoting dialog and audience interaction. Round table or panel discussions would be a feature. The format could be based on the NA Mixing Group's forum (Group breakfast, Morning session, Group lunch, Afternoon unscheduled, Group dinner, Evening session). The participation cost would be set so that some additional funds would be raised through the event for other Group 12 activities.

A number of supportive comments were made. Joe Cramer asked that any forum be held under the AIChE umbrella, and there was wide agreement. Kamlesh described the mixing group's format, comparing it to the present Group 12 organization. A suggestion was made for holding the forum at a national meeting to cut down on delegate travel time, possibly at a different, but nearby, venue. It could also be held on a weekend. Joe Cramer commented that off-season resorts can be very reasonable, and are popular with the engineering foundation groups.

George Liebermann suggested putting a small group together to look into the idea of holding a Process Development Forum. Alan Leviton, Bob Duggal, Yinlun Huang, and Ka Ng (in absentia) volunteered, and will develop plans over a 1-year timeline. The target meeting for the forum is the Fall 2001 (Reno) or Fall 2002 meeting.

Alan Leviton suggested carrying out an informal benchmarking exercise at a future Process Development Forum. Prabir Basu mentioned that he knows of one or two companies that carry out benchmarking surveys, using standard forms. Warren Barkey cautioned that confidentiality must be preserved, and it was agreed that the survey questions and the use of the results must be carefully controlled. Batch Process Development and Toll Manufacturing were put forward as two areas of general interest. Joe Cramer mentioned that the Ethylene Producers group completes one benchmark survey a year. Alan Leviton, Prabir Basu and Cawas Cooper volunteered to investigate this issue further, and will report back at the Dallas meeting in Fall 1999.

George Liebermann displayed the organization chart for Group 12 : [snip]

The activities and missions of the new areas, Area 12c (Technology Transfer) and Area 12d (Manufacturing), were described by Cawas Cooper and Ron Mack respectively.

The creation of Area 12c will provide a forum to share Technology Transfer experiences. This could included scale-up/down experiences, technical/managerial challenges, inter and intra-company technology transfer, toll manufacturing, standardizing on best practices, creating multi-disciplinary teams, Cost Vs Risk analysis (managing the risk), global technology licensing and know-how transfer etc. Cawas Cooper will prepare a mission statement for Area 12c and e-mail it to George.

Joe Cramer mentioned the International Technology Transfer award for lifetime achievement for an individual. Details are on the AIChE website.

The creation of Area 12d will provide a forum for the large number of chemical engineers involved in industry that currently do not participate in AIChE events. The development of Area 12d is in its infancy, and is essentially wide open for member's input. Ron held a kick-off meeting in Houston, and will follow up in Dallas, where topics will be selected, initially revolving around process development. If successful in the long term, there may be the potential to create a new Group specifically for manufacturing. Ron asked for ideas on how to reach the engineers in industry. Where are they? Could we move the meetings to these industrial areas ? Could we run electronic conferences ? Could other societies be involved (ACS, NSPE, SOCMA)? Can other Groups and Areas help in reaching these members ?

Ron displayed an Area 12d Mission Statement for 0-3 years, and some suggestions were made (change Process Development to Manufacturing Process Improvements). Ron also displayed a list of possible sessions, to be voted on in Dallas. These included asset productivity, operator training, life cycle support, on-line optimization, unit cost improvement, debottlenecking, simulation of modifications or plant, data collection, analytical, manufacturing rules of thumb, contract manufacture, maintenance.

Ron Mack will prepare a mission statement for Area 12d and e-mail it to George. Ramesh Rameswaran (Lyondell) expressed an interest in supporting Ron in developing Area 12d.

The leadership structure and the election of Chairs and Vice-Chairs were discussed again.

As noted previously, Area 12c (Technology Transfer) and Area 12d (Manufacturing) will be granted official area status in Dallas (Fall 1999). Elections will be held for the new area Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

There was a proposal to move the Group and Area elections (except for Area 12a) to Dallas in Fall 1999 from LA in Fall 2000 in order to elect new leadership. George Liebermann has been the Group Chair for an extended period, and will plan to pass the baton onto Prabir Basu in Dallas.

Prabir proposed that there be two Group Vice-Chairs, one from academia and one from industry, and he will develop a job description for the Vice Chairs.

For continuity and the development of the area relatively new Area 12a, Kamlesh Bhatia and Ka Ng were asked to stay on as Chair and Vice Chair of Area 12a until at least the LA meeting in Fall 2000.

Group 12 will need to elect a treasurer to manage the group funds/account. A bank account will be needed and Joe Cramer indicated that the AIChE could help in setting the bank account up. Sponsorship funds will be used to pay for upkeep of the website, and could also be available for special events like site visits, guest speakers, committee meetings, and marketing activities to name a few

Preliminary nominations for the new leadership were discussed. Joe Cramer suggested including the names of those nominated for these leadership positions in a mailing prior to the Dallas meeting so that members will be aware of the election and who is running. Nominations from the floor during the Group/area meetings will be also encouraged.

Prabir Basu will draft the roles and responsibilities of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs, and George Liebermann will send the existing guidelines to Prabir.

Preliminary nominations for the Chair and Vice Chair positions, with election dates, include:

Group 12 (1999): Chair	P. Basu (Monsanto) - succession/no election required
Group 12 (1999): Vice-Chair(s)	A. Leviton (Rohm and Haas), Ka Ng (U of Massachusetts, J. Corn (Ashland)
Group 12 (1999): Treasurer	A. Datta (Monsanto), R. Rameswaran (Lyondell)
Area 12a (2000): Vice-Chair	Y. Huang (Wayne State U)
Area 12b (1999): Chair	J. Corn (Ashland) - succession/no election required
Area 12b (1999): Vice-Chair	A. Datta (Monsanto), B. Dale (Xerox), B. Duggal (Ethyl), D. Edwards (Zeton)
Area 12c (1999): Chair/Vice-Chair	C. Cooper (Air Products) ,G. Tampy (IFF), A. Leviton (Rohm and Haas)
Area 12d (1999): Chair/Vice-Chair	R. Mack (Monsanto) R. Rameswaran (Lyondell), T. Kenat (Kenatech)

The existing Chairs will contact other possible candidates, including female members of Group 12 to ask if they wish to be nominated for a leadership position. Muthana Al-Dahan (Washington State University), Sandra Dudley (Eastman), Cheryl Teich (Rohm and Haas), Wayne Fisher (Proctor and Gamble), Carol Calvano (Mobil) and Kamel Makar (DuPont) were mentioned. The option to have two vice-chairs for some areas was also discussed.

George Liebermann who is leading its ongoing development further discussed the web page. Key words are needed for the browsers, and an AIChE connect button must be programmed into the site. Contact details for Chairs and Vice Chairs associated with Group 12 will be listed. A person responsible for new membership is needed to coordinate answering e-mail messages sent to the site. Sponsoring companies and universities will be acknowledged on the home page. If they so wish, other companies involved in the Group can have a link button further inside the site. The web contact at AIChE is Steve Smith (steps@aiche.org).

The first Group 12 Topical Conference will be held at Dallas. There will be a conference dinner on Wednesday evening, with Octave Levenspiel as the invited speaker.

Kamlesh Bhatia (Du Pont), the topical chair, gave an overview of the event, with all details available on the AIChE web site. Joe Cramer suggested putting a notice on the web saying that delegates should sign up early for the dinner as space is limited.

Warren Barkey (Exxon) requested that in future the Area sessions (12a, 12b, 12c and 12d) be programmed as close together as possible, and not separated with one or two days in-between. Joe Cramer (AIChE) commented that this was always the goal, but session scheduling is a complex task, and it is not always possible to achieve this.

A Group 12 Mini-Topical Conference will be held in Atlanta. Sandra Dudley (Eastman) is coordinating the conference. Dave Dickey of MixTech will provide the first Group sponsored tutorial. Some members reported difficulties obtaining passwords to access the area of the web site associated with the spring meeting. Joe Cramer promised to look into the problem. Joe Cramer mentioned that the AIChE will have space available for tabletop display exhibits, and that he is looking for vendors to participate.

The 2001 meeting sessions will have to be finalized in November '99 in Dallas. Several session titles have already been proposed for Houston, TX in Spring 2001, at the Houston '99 Meeting with the idea to make them interesting for the area participants. These are:

• Process Innovation in Polymers (12a) - Chair: Joe Powell (Shell)
• Polymerization Pilot Plants (12b) -
• Cost driven Pilot Plant programs (12b) -
• Process Control and Data Acquisition in Pilot Plants (12b) -
• Process Innovation for Existing Processes (12a, 12d) - Co-Chair: Andreas Matzakos (Equilon)
• International Technology Transfer (12c and 12d) - Chair: Shiah Cherney (Chevron)

The proposed target for the Houston 2001 is to have 4 sessions.

The National Meeting in the Fall of 2001 will be in Reno, Nevada. The suggestion was made already the Houston '99 Meeting by Prabir Basu to hold a Topical Conference on Batch Processing, with 8-10 sessions, some involving other Groups. At that time, Prabir agreed to champion the topical conference and Lionel O'Young (Mitsubishi Chemical) also volunteered his support. A topical chair would need to be needed, and Christine Seymour (Monsanto), Yinlun Huang (Wayne State University), and James McGill (Hyprotech) were suggested. Two sessions per Area were recommended. Proposals to be exchanged by e-mail prior to the '99 Dallas Meeting.

Joe Cramer suggested that a short course or tutorial on Batch Process Design costing about $75 for 6 hours could also be run to coincide with the Topical Conference. The possibility of holding the first Process Development Forum was also proposed. A decision on holding a Topical Conference in Reno will be made in Dallas.

George Liebermann will publish Group and Area nomination information with the Dallas agenda mailing.

A proposal was put forward by Prabir Basu to change the name of Area 12b (Pilot Plants) to reflect scale-up. This idea will be given consideration by John Corn, and all members of Area 12b, at the Dallas meeting. A modification of the name of area 12d (Manufacturing) will be also considered by Ron Mack.

At Joe Cramer's suggestion, George Liebermann and Prabir Basu will decide whether to hold a breakout workshop for the Jan 28/29 National Programming Committee retreat in Houston with the participation of area chairs/vice-chairs. This workshop will specifically focus on academic/industry partnership in process development.

George Liebermann agreed to develop links with other organizations (AIChE, Sponsoring Companies etc.) in the Group 12 website. He will also look into how we link our webpage with academic, third world and other process development orientated organizations.

John Corn felt strongly that, as a group, we need to develop our skill set in networking with other Groups, and coordinating joint programming sessions.

The participants agreed that it was more beneficial to hold the steering committee meetings separately from the AIChE meetings so we can really focus on Group 12 affairs without distraction.

It was agreed that process economic analysis probably fits best in Areas 12a and 12b, but can be targeted by all Areas as appropriate.

Next Group 12 Steering Committee Meeting - July 7th or July 14th, 2000- Hosted by Joe Cramer (AIChE) - Location will be AIChE's Washington DC or New York Office (TBC).

Outstanding Action Items:

1. Academic Participation Enhancement (K. Ng and G. Tampy) - see below
2. Corporate Sponsorship/Participation (G. Tampy, K. Ng, A. Leviton)
3. New Areas Development (G. Liebermann et al)
4. Process Development Group Web Page (G. Liebermann)
5. Benchmarking (A. Leviton) - see below

New Action Items:

1. Develop concept and organize a Process Development Forum. The target meeting for the forum is the Fall 2001 (Reno) or Fall 2002 meeting. (Alan Leviton, Bob Duggal, and Cawas Cooper)
2. Develop benchmarking options, such as: informal benchmarking at a future Process Development Forum, use specialized company to carry out benchmarking survey, benchmark Batch Process Development and Toll Manufacturing. (Alan Leviton, Prabir Basu and Cawas Cooper to review at the Dallas meeting in Fall 19990)
3. Issue preliminary mission statements for Area 12c (Technology Transfer) and 12d (Manufacturing) and e-mail it to George Liebermann for posting on the website. (Cawas Cooper, Ron Mack)
4. Develop proposal for increasing the number of Group Vice-Chairs, including job description. (Prabir Basu)
5. Develop proposal for the position of Group Treasurer and support from AIChE. (G. Liebermann, Prabir Basu, Joe Cramer).
6. Passwords for Area/Group chairs for 2000 Atlanta website to be made available. (Joe Cramer)
7. Contact other potential area chair/vice-chairs: M. Al-Dahhan, W. Fisher, K. Makar - Kamlesh Bhatia, S. Dudley - G. Liebermann, C. Seymour - Prabir Basu, C. Teich - Alan Leviton, C. Calvano - John Corn.
8. Communicate preliminary nominations for the new leadership positions in the Group newsletter prior to the November '99 Dallas Meeting. (George Liebermann)
9. Organize for and select session titles and chairs/co-chairs for the 2001 Houston Meeting. To be agreed upon at the '99 Dallas Meeting. (Kamlesh Bhatia, John Corn, Cawas Cooper, Ron Mack)
10. Organize for and select session titles and chairs/co-chairs for the 2001 Reno Topical Conference. Finalize title related to "Batch Processing", select Topical Chair and Co-chairs). To be agreed upon at the '99 Dallas Meeting (Prabir Basu, Yinlun Huang, Kamlesh Bhatia, John Corn, Cawas Cooper, Ron Mack)
11. Consider holding a breakout workshop focused on academic/industry partnership in process development at the Jan 28/29 National Programming Committee retreat in Houston. (Prabir Basu, George Liebermann, Joe Cramer)
12. Make arrangements for the Group Steering Committee meeting in Summer of 2000. (Joe Cramer, Prabir Basu)

The meeting will take place at the AIChE offices in Washington, DC on Friday, July 7, 2000. (Joe Cramer)

Group 12 treasurer: Ramesh Rameswaran (Lyondell)
Area12a vice-chair: Cheryl Teich (Rohm and Haas)
2001 Reno Topical Conference: James McGill (AEA Technology)