Around 1,400 delegates and more than 130 exhibitors participated at the INDA hosted Filtration 2014 conference and exhibition, while 40 professionals attended the Nonwoven Filter Media training course, which it called ‘Pure Opportunity’.
The first-ever combination of INDA’s Filtration 2014 International Conference was held November 18-20, at the Baltimore Convention Center, while its Nonwoven Filter Media training course was conducted prior to the start of the expo.
Led by Christine Sun, Ph.D., Principal, Textile Research Associates, the Nonwoven Filter Media training course covered the principles of filtration, market and technology trends, technologies, products, test standards, unmet needs, and the growing potential of filter media products.
Also adding value was the co-location of the National Air Filtration Association’s NAFA Air Tutorial, covering such topics as technology of clean air, air filter application and best practices, and air filter health and the indoor environment.
The Filtration 2014 conference featured preeminent speakers who spotlighted the advancements in technology and applications like, issues surrounding healthy, safe air quality, and how it can be improved; human health; and a special focus on nanotechnology.
The first day of the conference focused on ‘Pure Filtration: Healthier Todays, Cleaner Tomorrows’ kicking off with a panel on ‘Expanding Cleanliness and Safety’ moderated by Jenny Dobmeier, Filtration business manager at Johns Manville Corporation.
Other speakers included Behnam Pourdeyhimi, from The Nonwovens Institute, on ‘The Long View: The Future of Filtration’ and Montserrat Torremorell from University of Minnesota, on ‘Use of Air Filtration Systems to Reduce Risk of Swine Viruses’.
The same day, Jennifer Wagner, Principal Infection Control Consultant at Prism Environmental Health & Safety spoke on how ‘Clean Room Technology May Help Reduce Surgical Site Infections’.
Speakers on the second day presented on ‘Filtration's Impact on Human Health’. Among the highlights were presentations on ‘Towards Sustainable Nanotechnology: Opportunities and Challenges with Engineered Nanoparticles’ from Georgios Sotiriou from Harvard University.
The second day also had ‘Evaluating and Controlling Exposures to Nanoparticles: The Role of Filtration – Research and Application Studies’ by Charles Geraci from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); and ‘Health Effects of Nanoparticles’ from Joseph Brain also from Harvard University.
INDA also announced that Filtration 2015 will return to Chicago from November 17-19, 2015. It also said that based on the response, the Nonwoven Filter Media training course will be offered in conjunction with Filtration 2015 in Chicago and two other scheduled dates at INDA’s headquarters. Additionally, it said, on-site training at a member’s location can also be arranged.
Dave Rousse, INDA’s president said, “Filtration is a key growth sector within nonwovens and the Filtration event continues to be the major event of the year for this important market.” (AR)
