InterPore2017 Conference: A Great Success

The InterPore2017 conference in Rotterdam has come to a close and is marked with a great success in all aspects. This was an outstanding meeting with 736 participants from 38 countries. The conference included four plenary lectures and 16 invited presentations, covering porous media applications in reservoir engineering, miniature energy systems, porous materials under extreme conditions, reactive transport, experimental works and biomechanics. It featured four general sessions, one special session in memory of Professor Stephen Cowin, 70 minisymposia, three multidisciplinary sessions, and seven short courses.

There were 398 oral presentations, 161 poster pitches and 286 posters. This year the poster pitch was introduced in order to increase the effectiveness and importance of poster presentations. The poster pitch sessions were effective, informative and enjoyable, and most presenters were proficient in presenting their work in two minutes. The conference was fully digital, run by a professional Speaker Service Center (SSC) for central management of the presentation files. The SSC system was very functional and ensured a smooth running of the sessions with no delays due to swapping of USBs and/or laptops.

In addition to the scientific sessions, there was a well-designed combination of posters, exhibitions, coffee breaks and lunches, all organized in the same area. The gala dinner took place in a 15th century national heritage building, which has the largest mechanical organ in Europe. During the opening reception, a professional organist played the well-known Star Wars theme for 15 minutes. To ensure the attendance of all participants and to keep the registration fee low, InterPore contributed financially to the dinner and lunches of students, and partially sponsored the accompanying person in the gala dinner.

Participation per country

The mobile app Whova was widely used by many participants, and it was valuable in connecting them together and providing them with up-to-date information about the meeting. Lots of photos have been uploaded to Whova. A webpage has been set up for uploading photos by those who are not using Whova. All photos will be kept in a gallery accessible to InterPore members only.

The success of this conference could not have been possible without the participation of the diverse porous media community and the valuable efforts made by the minisymposium organizers to attract contributors to their sessions. Contributions from sponsors and exhibitors are greatly appreciated. The commitment, professionalism, and effectiveness of the Local Organizing Committee from Delft University of Technology in organizing this conference are absolutely praiseworthy. The efforts and amount of time invested by them, specially by Professor Rafid Al-Khoury, were beyond any expectation.