Thirty Years of International Symposia on Process Systems Engineering

Abstract

The paper discusses definitions and history of Process Systems Engineering (PSE) as a discipline, starting from General Systems Theory and Systems Engineering. The past, present and future of PSE are presented. Eleven International symposia on PSE are analysed together with the content and importance of the first one organized in Kyoto thirty years ago. Other PSE conferences: European Symposia on Computer Aided Process Engineering (ESCAPE), International Conferences on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimization for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction (PRES), Foundations of Computer Aided Process Design (FOCAPD), Foundations of Computer Aided Process Operations (FOCAPO), Chemical Process Control (CPC), and Process Systems Engineering Asia (PSE Asia) were analysed. The topical overview of the most important PSE conferences and plenary lectures presented there, enabled identification of the PSE research agenda in the present. On the basis of the recent PSE conferences in Europe, United States of America and Asia, future trends in PSE have been forecast.