Posted on 27 May 2011
Members of the University of Wales Institute of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics
The village of Portmeirion was the setting for the 20th Anniversary Scientific Meeting of the University of Wales Institute of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (UWINNFM), held 18-20 April 2011.
Sixty-four delegates from 15 different countries attended the two-day conference and heard presentations from 28 speakers.
The organisers were particularly pleased that Baron Marcel Crochet - an honorary graduate of the University of Wales - and Professor Anthony Pearson were able to address the gathering. Both luminaries were speakers at the inaugural meeting of Institute in 1991. Baron Crochet led a talk on “Innovation”, while Professor Pearson’s talk centred on “The Role of Rheology in the Natural and Engineering Sciences”.
Speaking during Monday evening’s dinner was Professor Peter Townsend, a founder member of the Institute and former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the then University of Wales, Swansea. Professor Townsend regaled guests with an overview of the history of the Institute. Professor Marc Clement, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales, was delighted to be able to share in the UWINNFM’s celebration and remarkable achievements, commenting on the conference’s ability to gather such an extraordinarily impressive array of scientific talent in one place.
Also in attendance was Professor Ken Walters, Chairman of the Institute. As well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society he is also a founding Fellow of the newly-established Learned Society of Wales. Expressing his delight at the response to the 2011 Conference, Professor Walters said:
“The 20th Anniversary Meeting has been particularly successful and of course the delightful surroundings of Portmeirion and the wonderful April weather has made this a particularly memorable conference.”
Subsequently, Professor Joao Maia, Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University delivered the British Society of Rheology (BSR) Annual Award Lecture; this was followed by the BSR Presidential Address by Dr Oliver Harlen of the University of Leeds.
The speaker at Tuesday’s conference dinner was Professor Jeffrey A Giacomin, Vice-President of The Society of Rheology, Chair of the Rheology Research Centre and President of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin.
The UWINNFM provides a multidisciplinary environment for meeting the challenge of modern rheological problems in industry. It brings together expertise in experimental and theoretical rheology, including the latest techniques for the characterisation of the mechanical behaviour of materials through rheometrical measurement.
For further information:
For all media enquiries concerning the University of Wales, contact Tomas Llewellyn Barrett in the Communications Office
t.barrett@wales.ac.uk