Overview

This event will be moderated by Chris Park, an Fellow of IChemE and a MK Member Group Committee Member.

The format is a live moderated debate for 45 minutes with opportunities for audience Q&A for a further 30 minutes. The proposer of this topic is Dr Peter Clough, who will argue that AI drives unmatched safety, green chemistry , waste reduction, and process optimisation - all of which are beneficial to mankind. Dr Ollie Folayan MBE will be the opposer and state that AI introduces severe risks, workforce displacement, data insecurity and ethical ambiguity - it is dangerous and harmful to mankind.

Debaters

Dr Ollie Folayan MBE, President of IChemE

Currently Head of Process Engineering at Costain, Dr Folayan has more than two decades of experience spanning traditional energy industries and emerging low-carbon technologies including hydrogen and carbon capture. He assumes IChemE's Presidency at a pivotal time for the profession, with chemical engineers fundamental to key challenges and developments, including decarbonisation, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. In recent years, he has worked on projects relating to energy transition, including gasification of waste plastics to produce hydrogen, direct air capture initiatives, CO2 sequestration through injection into production wells, and the design of hydrogen and CO2 gathering pipelines in the Teesside cluster.

Dr Peter Clough, Climate Leader at Teva Pharmaceuticals

Dr Clough has worked as a researcher, academic, consultant, and a leader in industrial decarbonization. Throughout these roles, he has retained his youthful optimism for technology, balanced with a healthy dose of realism. In his previous roles, he used AI for research into material selection and process optimization, predominantly in applications involving CO2 capture and hydrogen production. He also previously taught on the subject of AI for chemical engineering. However, in all his past experience with AI, the rate of change and potential use case opportunities were never as great as they are now and as a technophile he hopes they will continue to grow. Currently, Dr Clough works with production sites to develop decarbonisation roadmaps and ensures the business has strategies and tactics enabling the transition to net zero. Dr Clough was a consultant at ERM where he advised clients on technical design reviews, decarbonisation road mapping, and techno-economic assessments. Whilst an academic at Cranfield University, Peter led their activities in clean hydrogen production and CCS. He also has an MEng in Environmental Engineering, a PhD in Chemical Engineering, and is a Chartered Chemical Engineer.

The material presented has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter’s own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Milton Keynes Member Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Some information you provide may be given to the venue for booking purposes.

Time

18:00 - 20:00 GMT.

Price

Including VAT

• IChemE Member - Free
• IChemE Non-Member - £5.00

Software

The presentation will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. We recommend downloading the app from the Microsoft website, rather than using the web portal.

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