Showcasing practical applications, innovative methodology, and business solutions for increasing efficiency, building market share, enhancing product design, and a whole lot more.

Note to Technical Divisions: There are opportunities for multi-disciplinary, multi-venue program that cuts across industry, academia, research and government. If you are interested in co-sponsoring a session please contact Jack Whitehead, Track Chair. Sessions must meet the following criteria:

• Needs relevance, application (not theory)
• Must fit the market segment theme/timely topic driven effort - see COP/examples
• Not a place for "overflow" items - should focus on core technologies, best practices, innovation, applications and/or leadership
• Panels, tutorials/workshops, link to tours/exhibits

Watch the program take shape in these areas…

Biomedical and Safety Systems
This Track will integrate the critically important areas of safety and biomedical design towards improved human health and well being. In the areas of automobile safety and crashworthiness, designs and test procedures that enhance passenger safety will be explored. For sports equipment, efforts to better understand the dynamics and biomechanics of sports injuries and orthopedic impact will be examined as these relate to design for the reduction of sports related injuries. In the area of broader based rehabilitation engineering systems, the latest designs of mechanical support systems that enhance function of individuals experiencing impact injuries will be examined.

Design and Manufacturing
This Track will address the product driven technology roadmaps defining the expectations for the evolution of design and manufacturing technologies. Changing technology, materials processing methods, production techniques and management practices will be discussed. New approaches will be explored having potential for improvements in product quality, cost and time-to-market. These may include consideration of interchangeability, recycling and remanufacturing. There will be opportunity for small and medium sized companies to learn best practices. Efficiencies attributed to computer simulations, finite element analysis, and rapid prototyping will be included in review.

Early Career Development
Track will focus on hot topics of interest to Chicago area industries and universities. Plans are to package technical panel sessions with a mini-career fair and area industry tours. Themes to be defined based on Chicago area investigations.

Energy
This Track will have national experts discuss issues affecting our national and global energy strategies such as global climate change, international developments, national security, energy industry restructuring and the politics of energy, including the hydrogen economy. Members of industry, technology developers and research leaders will address the future of nuclear, coal, natural gas, oil, solar and renewable energy. Developments in energy efficiency, engine technology and innovative power systems will be reviewed.

Engineering Business Management
This Track assembles the diverse perspectives of managers and engineers from various sectors and disciplines in a central set of contiguous, themed sessions. Sessions address management theory, knowledge, and skills that cut across all engineering disciplines as well as all types of business activity. The importance of past experience that affects management roles in industry and handling of rapidly emerging technologies will be explored. Focus will be on the themes of new product development, management transition, management opportunities for early career engineers, global management issues, entrepreneurship, and legal and ethical issues.

Homeland Security
This Track will examine the technologies being used to ensure the safe and reliable operation of energy, communications, transportation and other infrastructures. The challenge is to operate more secure without compromising productivity. There will also be need to have guidance on how to provide security resources in the most feasible and economically viable manner. This involves examination of the nature of risk, areas of critical concern, and effective selection of robust methods of protection. Focus will be on non-sensitive areas of security sensing/measurement, sources, data processing and protection, systems security and implications/applications.

Infrastructure and Disaster Response
This Track will focus on the technologies needed for response to the world disasters such as the tsunami in Asia and hurricane Katrina in the US. The challenge spans a wide range of disciplines. The effort extends beyond forecast and warning systems to issues of deployment, saving lives and rebuilding. Restoration of the urban landscapes and human support systems touches on issues of infrastructure support including sustainability, energy, pollution control and flexibility in area access. Process, structure and design levels of projects will require engineering contributions to be in compliance with environmental regulations.

Multi-Scale Electrical and Mechanical Systems
This Track will highlight three of the hottest high-tech research & development topics of our time for commercial applications. These are: (1) MEMS-miniature devices combining electrical, mechanical, optical, chemical and/or biological components fabricated via integrated circuit or similar manufacturing techniques, (2) Nanotechnology-examining the science and engineering of applying nano building blocks and nano processing, and new discoveries addressing design, processing, packaging and assembly of multiscale systems, (3) Electronic Systems and Photonic Design-Focusing on the tools needed for the design and manufacturing process of micro (MEMS), nano scale, and photonics technologies. Mechanical engineering roles in digital imaging, data storage, and high performance computing will be explored'

Transportation
A Transportation Track is proposed for ASME International's IMECE 2006. The track will feature invited speakers and technical sessions to address multidisciplinary problems across automobiles, aircraft, and rail. This track will cover a wide range of ASME Divisions and Groups. Technical and panel sessions will cover topics of current interest relevant to crashworthiness, nanomaterial applications in transportation, and the roles of ASME Environment and Transportation Group divisions in addressing transportation needs.

Program is subject to change.