Chemeca is the name given to the annual conference held by chemical engineers and industrial chemists in Australia or New Zealand. Chemeca is a conference that brings together chemical engineers, chemists and other professionals from academia and industry to showcase and discuss the latest developments in the field, conduct a meaningful exchange of ideas and recognise outstanding achievements through awards of excellence.

In the mid-1960s, the late Professor Clive Pratt (Chief, CSIRO Division of Chemical Engineering) was concerned about the status of chemical engineering in Australia and set about establishing an Australian branch of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in Victoria, which later became IChemE Australia.

A first national chemical engineering conference was mounted by the Institute of Engineers Australia (IEAust at that time) in Sydney in 1965. A participant was ‘Doc’ Murphy who came from the US in 1915 to set up the first chemical engineering course in Australia, at the then Sydney Technical College.

A first national chemical engineering conference was mounted by the Institute of Engineers Australia (IEAust at that time) in Sydney in 1965. A participant was ‘Doc’ Murphy who came from the US in 1915 to set up the first chemical engineering course in Australia, at the then Sydney Technical College. A year later, the Australian National Committee of IChemE was formed; this saw the three professional institutions representing chemical engineers and industrial chemists in Australia (IChemE Australia, IEAust and RACI) collaborate for the first time, and in 1968 a national conference for chemical engineering and industrial chemistry was held in Adelaide. Although this meeting was not held under the Chemeca banner, it wasn’t long before a visionary alliance between Pratt and Whiffen devised the Chemeca concept, resulting in the first Chemeca being held in 1970.

Even though the spirit of collaboration was strong between the NSW and Victorian branches there also existed a healthy but intense rivalry. As a reflection of this, it was decided to stage the first Chemeca in two parts with the first 2 days held in Melbourne, followed by a trip through the Snowy Mountains to Sydney, where the last 2 days were completed.

After the inaugural meeting, the Chemeca concept took several years to become recognised and, following a sporadic series of ‘national conferences’, the second Chemeca was held in Canberra in 1977. Since the inception of Chemeca, the members of the RACI Industrial Chemistry Division have worked together with IChemE and Engineers Australia to develop a successful annual series of conferences. Chemeca has been the main activity of the Industrial Chemistry Division and, as part of the ongoing involvement, the R.K. Murphy Medal was established in ‘Doc’ Murphy’s honour. This is the only national award for the Industrial Chemistry Division to recognise outstanding achievements by an RACI member in the field of industrial or process chemistry.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, many Chemeca conferences were held and the success relied heavily on the dedication of the volunteers involved – all members of IChemE, IEAust and RACI. Chemeca was strengthened and made more sustainable by the reorganisation of the overarching body, the ‘Senior Office Bearers’ (SOBs!) into the ANZ Federation of Chemical Engineers (ANZFChE) in 1997. This cemented the collaboration between IChemE Australia, Engineers Australia, RACI and, since 1981, the Society of Chemical Engineers New Zealand (SCENZ). Membership of the Federation comprises the Chairs of each of the host bodies, the Chair of the Awards of Excellence Selection Committee, an Australian Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering (APCChE) representative, a New Zealand APCChE representative and administrative support from IChemE and Engineers Australia. The presence of the ANZFChE has led to an improvement in the Chemeca allocation process, the quality of the conferences and the financial accountability.

This model for running Chemeca with an overseeing role by the ANZFChE has recorded a successful history and bodes well for a bright future. Although there are many reasons for the success of Chemeca, the prime reason is the allocation of responsibility to a local group of enthusiastic chemical engineers and industrial chemists with complete responsibility for management and financial operation. The head offices of all of the host organisations do not interfere with the arrangements and this contributes to the success.

It follows that Pratt and Whiffen left an indelible mark on the industrial chemistry landscape in Australia and New Zealand, in particular through the establishment of Chemeca, and as recognition for their services to the profession they were jointly awarded the highly prestigious IChemE Jubilee Medal in 2001 at the World Congress of Chemical Engineering.

The World Congress of Chemical Engineering in 2001 was held in Melbourne and has been the only World Congress to be held in Australia. This conference incorporated Chemeca and showcased it to the world as a highly effective model for running conferences. This conference attracted over 1500 delegates and is widely regarded as the best Chemeca ever. Professor David Wood (RACI President-Elect 2009– 2010) recalls: ‘Not only were the technical presentations and plenary lectures of a very high standard, the social activities were remembered by all. The major event was the Congress banquet, which was held at the Palladium ballroom at the Crown complex in Melbourne and 1800 people attended. The event was preceded by a rendition from the Australian youth choir leading with “I still call Australia home” with visual effects from the Qantas advertisement on big screens around the room’.

The annual awards of excellence which are presented at Chemeca are coordinated by the ANZFChE. The members of the ANZFChE meet in late June along with representatives of the award sponsors to sort through the award submissions. This is a process that I have found extremely rewarding and unique in the sense that for a few hours each year, representatives (usually senior management) from large multinational companies in Australia (e.g. Caltex, Rio Tinto, Exxon Mobil) remove themselves from the daily pressures of their business to carefully consider recognising outstanding achievements from people within the profession. This is a harmonious process that brings industry representatives and the professional bodies together to determine the best set of award winners each year in a friendly and cooperative manner.

The ANZFChE also works at ways of keeping the Chemeca concept fresh and innovative by introducing additional forms of recognition. For example, at Chemeca 2008 in Newcastle on the occasion of Professor Rolf Prince’s 80th birthday, Professor Richard Darton (2008 President of IChemE) delivered the inaugural Rolf Prince opening address. This recognised Professor Prince’s remarkable contribution to Chemeca, in that he is the only person to attend all Chemeca conferences, and his major contribution to chemical engineering in Australia through his career as a highly regarded academic at Sydney University. The opening address at Chemeca is now known as the Rolf Prince plenary lecture.

Chemeca 2010 will be held in Adelaide and celebrates over 40 years of a great tradition. The theme is ‘Engineering at the edge’ and focuses on many of the challenges that the world is facing – global warming, massive land and water degradation and the potential for a pandemic are just a few examples. Chemists and chemical engineers have contributed greatly to these advances and, by grasping the opportunities they offer, will lead the way in solving these challenges.

Tackling these unprecedented challenges requires scientists and engineers to work at the edge of the discipline, interfacing with other traditional and emergent disciplines. Chemeca 2010 promises to be an exceptional exhibition of modern chemical engineering and process chemistry both in academia and industry.