Preface Somer Symposium Series I

This special issue of Chemical Engineering Communications contains 20 of the reviewed articles selected from the presentations made at the Somer Symposium I, held at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara Turkey, May 14–15, 2007. The major objective of this symposium was to bring together experts from industry and academia to highlight the role of innovation in the future of Chemical Engineering. Technological, research, and educational aspects, including sustainable processes, alternative energy sources, materials science, and biotechnology applications, were covered. The role of Chemical Engineering in the development of knowledge was discussed. The symposium program covered 12 invited keynote lectures, 10 oral, and 119 poster presentations. We are indebted to the keynote speakers Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama (President of Tokyo University), Prof. Dr. Milorad Dudukovic (Washington University), Prof. Dr. Ilhan Aksay (Princeton University), Prof. Dr. Nicholas Abbott (University of Wisconsin), Dr. Jeff Siirola (Eastman Chemical Co.), Mr. Timur Erk (President of Turkish Chemical Manufacturers Association), Prof. Dr. Benjamim McCoy (University of California, Davis), Mr. Alber Bilen (former President of Turkish Chemical Manufacturers Association), Prof. Dr. Robert R. Furgason (Director of Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University), Mr. Ugur Yuce (Turkish Technology Development Foundation), Prof. Dr. Erdogan Gulari (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), and Prof. Dr. Arif Caglar (Hacettepe University), who presented excellent review lectures highlighting the importance of innovation in Chemical Engineering. This is the first of a series of symposiums planned to be organized in the memory of Professor Tarik G. Somer, who was the initiator of modern Chemical Engineering education in Turkey and also the founder of the Chemical Engineering Department of Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. After getting his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Maryland respectively, Dr. Somer worked as a research engineer at DuPont Co. between 1954 and 1956. He was appointed as the founding Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at METU in 1957. He served as the President of METU and Ankara University in 1974–76 and 1982–87, respectively. He also was the President of the Council of Turkish Universities. Being the chief technical advisor of UNESCO, he contributed to the establishment of the university system in Uganda. He also worked in Technische Hochschule Darmstadt as a Visiting Professor. Besides his memberships in a number of professional societies, he was also a member of the Union of Presidents of European Universities. We are grateful to Mr. Mete Bora (SUMMA) and Mr. Adem Unal (GEMSAN) for their continuous support during the organization of this symposium. We also would like to express our great appreciation to the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK), Middle East Technical University administration, and to the academic staff, assistants, and alumni of the METU Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0098-6445 print/1563-5201 online DOI: 10.1080/00986440802303731 LES