10th Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods

The 10th Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods will be held on 2–4 September 2015 at the Hotel Azúr in Siófok, Hungary.

Photo Credit: Zsolt Hlinka/Getty Images

The biannual Balaton Symposium has grown to be one of the most important events of the separation science field in central Europe, bringing together separation scientists and friends from all over the world. The symposium is designed to discuss the latest issues, current requirements, and technological challenges faced in the present and the future. Twenty years after the first Balaton Symposium, the Hungarian Society for Separation Sciences continues the tradition.

The separation science community has been saddened by the news that Professor Georges Guiochon passed away on 21 October 2014. Professor Guiochon was one of the giants of separation science and he made a significant impact on every aspect of chromatography. He had very strong connections with Hungary - as the secretary of the Science Exchange Agreement he supported the scientific contact between separation scientists divided by the Iron Curtain. This opportunity had a tremendous impact on the career of numerous Hungarian separation scientists, and he was always a plenary speaker at the Balaton Symposia. In 1999 he received the Halász Medal Award of the Hungarian Society for Separation Sciences at the Balaton Symposium in Siófok. The organizers are dedicating the 10th Balaton Symposium to the memory of Professor Georges Guiochon.

The symposium scientific programme includes plenary lectures, keynote lectures, contributed lectures, and posters. A special emphasis will be placed on new developments in pharmaceutical, environmental, biomedical, forensic, life, food, refinery sciences, and industrial separation methods. Furthermore, research trends on various stationary phases and column technology, advances in separation techniques, and fundamentals of separation science and applications are to be covered.

During the award ceremony prominent separation scientists will be honoured. The Hungarian Society for Separation Sciences established the Halász Medal Award in memory of Professor István Halász, the extremely highly regarded separation scientist. The medal was awarded for the first time in 1997. To salute the memory of Csaba Horváth, the Hungarian Society for Separation Sciences established the Csaba Horváth Memorial Award in 2004. Since 2010, the Csaba Horváth Memorial Award has been jointly presented by the Hungarian Society for Separation Sciences and the Connecticut Separation Science Council. The Halász Medal Award and Csaba Horváth Memorial Award will both be presented during the opening ceremony.

An exhibition of instrumentation, columns, accessories, chemicals, and literature on various separation techniques is planned in connection with the symposium.

Alongside the symposium, a number of social events will be held to encourage networking by participants. Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe, and because Hungary is landlocked, Balaton is sometimes called the “Hungarian Sea”. The venue of the symposium, exhibition, and social programmes, Hotel Azúr, is situated on the lakeside. The high tourist season extends from June until the end of August and the average water temperature during the summer is 25 °C, which makes bathing and swimming very enjoyable. The attendance of young scientists is encouraged via travel grants.

Please contact the Symposium Secretariat if you have any queries.

E-mail:    diamond@diamond-congress.hu
Website:    www.balaton.mett.hu

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