New Freehills Prize for Innovation in Chemical Engineering

07 May 2007

Freehills Patents and Trade Marks Attorneys announce today a new Freehills Prize for Innovation in Chemical Engineering, valued at $2000. Nominations are now open for the Freehills Award, which is due to be presented at the Young Engineers Australia function scheduled to be held at the annual Chemeca Conference on 23 September 2007. This event is sponsored by the Joint Victorian Chemical Engineering Committee (JVCEC).The JVCEC comprises two organisations involved in supporting and judging the award: Engineers Australia and the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

In announcing the Award, Freehills Partner, Brett Connor said, “This award seeks to encourage and support future generations of engineers to forge new directions and reward innovation in this sector. The firm believes innovation is key to gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.”

The aim of the award is to recognise innovation in the following areas: new process design, new process enhancement, new design calculation methodology, and new application of existing technology.

The annual Chemeca Conference is the premier Australian and New Zealand chemical conference combining chemists and chemical engineers.

A panel of judges comprising of practicing chemical engineers with significant industry experience will be formed to choose the winner of the Freehills Prize for Innovation in Chemical Engineering. One judge will be a member of the JVCEC and will act as the Chair of the judging panel, another will be a judge appointed from a chemical engineering faculty at a Victorian University and Freehills will appoint a panel member.

* Nomination entries for the award close on 30 July 2007, with nomination forms and full entry details available from IChemE (http://www.icheme.org.au).

* Only qualified chemical engineers who are members of Engineers Australia and IChemE, under 40 years of age can apply.

Background Information:

Freehills’ Intellectual Property group is comprised of experienced IP lawyers and patents and trade mark attorneys offering a full range of IP services across all technologies and fields. Their services include the creation, acquisition, commercialisation and enforcement of intellectual property rights, as well as all other aspects of IP - patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and confidential information and areas that affect the use of IP such as trade practices, licensing and franchising.

Freehills’ Intellectual Property group calls on the expertise of over 16 partners and almost 60 solicitors and attorneys. Many members of the IP Group have undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in scientific fields such as biotechnology, physics, chemistry, engineering and computer science, and many have professional experience in our clients' industries.

The Joint Victorian Chemical Engineering Committee (JVCEC) is a group made up of members of Engineers Australia and IChemE that work to promote chemical engineering in Australia through learning and development.