International Workshop on Advanced Particle Science and Engineering

The Institute of Particle Science and Engineering (IPSE) at the University of Leeds is a world-leading centre of expertise in the engineering science of particulate systems. Members of IPSE have a very strong international profile and the wider UK community in particle technology is recognised as being probably the strongest in the world. Given the importance of particle products to the world economy, estimated at $10T per year, this strength provides many important research opportunities for the UK science and engineering community. To build upon this leading position, we are proposing to host an international workshop on Particle Technology involving leading researchers from all of the major centres of expertise around the world. The workshop will be held over 3 days from December 15th to 17th and will bring together world-leading researchers in particle technology together with the next-generation of researchers. Leadership of the workshop and its outcomes will be led by expert delegates in this field from Japan, Australia, Germany, US and the UK. The workshop will include presentations of cutting edge research from selected researchers followed by active discussion sessions which will explore how we can exploit this research and build upon it further through international collaborative research programs. A session on the future research trends in particle technology and how these can be developed in a collaborative framework will also be held. The workshop will further develop existing links between particle scientists as well as initiating important new collaborations between young researchers. A major focus of the workshop will be to give the opportunity to the next generation of particle scientists to interact and build strong collaborative relationships.IPSE has an international reputation for its academic excellence and a large number of state-of-the-art devices for multi-scale particulate science and engineering research. The research groups within the Institute are world-renowned for their work on particle technology. Hence, the Institute provides a ideal candidate for organising and chairing this workshop. All research groups from IPSE would participate, primarily through the post-doctoral research fellows and group leaders to add to the international expertise to the discussions taking place during the workshop.

Particulate systems and products are of massive importance to the global economy. The range of products and processes that rely upon a knowledge of particle technology is immense and it has been estimated that the value of particle products to the global economy exceeds $10T. The advent of nanotechnology has further boosted the importance of particle technology since many of the proposed nanoscale systems are particle based. Despite this breadth of interest, much remains to be understood if we are to efficiently exploit and/or manage particulate materials. The UK has traditionally played a leading role in the area of particle science and engineering and has, for some time, been seen as hosting the world's leading concentration of researchers in this area. This has had, and continues to provide, a significant benefit to a wide-range of important contributors to the UK's economic competitiveness. Examples include the efficient manufacture and processing of drug particles and agrochemicals, or the design and manufacture of new home and personal care products. The UK has traditionally provided important leads in both of these technology areas and their importance to the economy is well known. Recent developments overseas, through major investments in research centres, are providing a significant challenge to the UK's world-leading position in this research area. It is timely, therefore to reinvigorate UK research in this critically important (in economic terms) area. We propose to do this by hosting a workshop that will serve as a forum to explore and develop future research trends in this field. The workshop will also facilitate the development of new collaborations between world-leading research teams from overseas and UK researchers. This is also timely given the opportunities for trans-national research funding that are beginning to develop for which we need UK research staff to take a leading role. The different institutes involved in the workshop encompass a large part of leading-edge research carried out in particle technology worldwide. Future research in this area is likely to be influenced by the discussions occuring at the workshop between the different institutes involved. This will be made possible by the organisation of several sessions dedicated to discussing current known industrial problems relating to the application of particle technology. Industries where particle technology is involved could also benefit from these discussions as new ideas for solutions to these problems are suggested and taken on board by the academic researchers present at the workshop. By involving young researchers, the workshop will also be aiming at strenghtening the links between the leading-edge institutes present, not only with respect to current collaborations but also with a view in future relationships and the development of new ideas. In addition, by giving the opportunity to a large participation of UK particle technology scientists, the workshop will reinforce the position of the UK within this area of research.