23 June 2011

Keynote speakers announced for process control conference

Charlie Cutler

The founding fathers of process control, Charlie Cutler and Walter Boyes, have been confirmed as keynote speakers for IChemE’s Advances in Process Control 9 conference in September.

Boyes is one of the most influential figures on the US process control scene and is editor-in-chief of Control magazine and the controlglobal.com portal. A Fellow of the International Society of Automation (ISA), Boyes is an expert on product development, marketing and management and is a global automation industry analyst.

Cutler has devoted his career to model predictive control and real-time optimisation. He was instrumental in the development of the dynamic matrix control (DMC) algorithm in the 1980s and is currently working on a new Max-APC controller, focusing on flexibility in identification and adaptive multivariable control. Cutler was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2000 and to Control magazine's Hall of Fame in 2003

IChemE director of policy Andrew Furlong says: “We’re delighted to have two of process control’s most distinguished and respected names speaking at the event.

“Good quality process control and automation is fundamental to all aspects of operability, quality, reliability, safety, sustainability and viability. Indeed, for an existing plant, it is often the case that additional instrumentation and innovative utilisation of control and automation are the only practicable and cost effective means of realising change and improvements,” adds Furlong.

The technical programme includes sessions devoted to safety and security, tools for the job, living with PID, and new technology. There will also be presentations on wireless monitoring and control, advanced control methods and PID loops, and new approaches to controlling lugging within multiphase flowlines.

Advances in Process Control 9 takes place on 19-20 September in York, UK. For more information about the event, visit www.icheme.org/apc9 . A discounted delegate rate is available until 11 July.

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