Important registration and general conference information is located in this document: FAST FACTS
The Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Design (FOCAPD) is the premier international conference focusing exclusively on the fundamentals and applications of computer-aided design for the process industries.Held every five years, FOCAPD 2019 is the ninth in this series, and brings together researchers, educators and practitioners to identify new challenges and opportunities for process and product design.
We are inventing a world in which "high performance design" will become expected and delivered through products and production systems that are agile, fault tolerance, and resilient. How will the process systems design community embrace these challenges and develop the necessary frameworks, knowledge and tools to support high performance design that is sustainable, agile, and efficient in a global manufacturing ecosystem? This will be the major theme of FOCAPD 2019.
Whether from industry, government or academia, participants are invited to share their views and constructively debate how academic research and industrial development can support high performance design. Complimenting keynote addresses and invited presentations from leaders in the field, contributions as extended abstracts or full papers will be reviewed for poster presentations, and will form the core of the conference.
In recognition of his seminal contributions to process systems engineering, the conference will also include a session in honor of Professor Roger Sargent.
FOCAPD is organized around different topics in addition to the traditional process and product design areas, including:
- Advanced Manufacturing and Agile Design – Success in the chemical industries has often required tight integration between the product design and the manufacturing process. A desire for model-based analysis that ensures rapid entry to market with efficient manufacturing processes and reliable products, is driving the co-design of process and product to new levels. How do we deliver on this requirement with frameworks and software tools to support integrated design of agile manufacturing processes and products?
- High Performance Computing, Design Tools, and Optimization – Advances in high-performance computing hardware, coupled with effective software tools and novel algorithmic frameworks continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in model-based design. What is the current state-of-the-art in computer-aided design, and how do advances in computing hardware and algorithms change the way we are delivering design?
- Sustainability and Energy Systems – Designing chemical products and processes to improve metrics beyond those of safety and cost has become a key driving force for high performance. How can design methodologies continue to evolve to deliver high performing sustainability driven products and processes? How do metrics in energy and water efficiency change designs and design processes?
- Machine Learning and Design – The re-emergence of machine learning driven by big data and deep neural networks has significantly impacted the fields of pattern recognition, game playing and control. Mining patterns in designs across variations in design problems could lead to the automatic generation of design heuristics for complex design problems. How can machine learning approaches be used and extended to deliver higher performance process design?
- Modular Design and Process Intensification – Modular design brings the promise of efficient manufacturing of reusable subsystems to reduce construction costs and time-to-market. Process intensification provides a framework for design with improved efficiency and sustainability. RAPID - The Modular Chemical Process Intensification Institute for Clean Energy Manufacturing, led by AIChE, is a significant investment in research and development. How will these new developments impact the process design community?
- Advances and Best Practices in Design Education – With the rapidly changing efforts in “high-performance design”, there is a need to educate new engineers and prepare them with advanced techniques and a foundation for lifelong learning. What are the best practices for design education, and what are the most effective advances in educational paradigms?