A major International event devoted to Industrial Drying Processes was held during December 20-23, 2004 in Hotel Renaissance, Mumbai under the auspices of the Mumbai University Institute of Chemical Technology (MUICT). Entitled International Workshop and Symposium on Industrial Drying (IWSID-2004), this event attracted more than 250 participants from across 30 countries from as far as Canada, USA, Norway, Japan, France, Brazil, Hungary, Ukraine, Germany and Netherlands. Besides, Asia-Oceana region was equally represented through the participation from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Taiwan and Bangladesh. According to Professor Arun Mujumdar of National University of Singapore (NUS) who chaired the event, the workshop here was by far the most effective amongst over hundred such workshops he organized or lectured in and around the world. Professor Mujumdar is a world leader in thermal drying technologies and id often referred as the drying guru. A distinguished alumnus of MUICT, he was Professor of Chemical Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Canada before moving on to the national University of Singapore in 2000.

This event attracted participants from Pharmaceutical, food and Chemical industries as well as manufacturers of various types of industrial drying equipments. As drying consumes a very large amount of energy and it has important bearing on the quality of the product, it is not surprising that this conference attracted engineers and technologists as well as academic researchers from all over India as well as other countries. With rapid growth and global competition in all industry sectors, it was noted that understanding the fundamental principles and the latest developments in drying technologies is recognized to be crucial for economic development of any country. Countries like Canada, France, Germany and Denmark report energy used for drying in the order of 12-25% of their national industrial consumption- a massive amount in absolute terms. As India grows industrially it is clear that drying technologies will play an increasingly important role.

The vision and initiation of MUICT Director Professor J. B. Joshi and Dr. B. N. Thorat who did the organizational work must be commended for organizing this event for the benefit of Indian industry as well as academic researchers. A high point of IWSID-2004 was the outstanding performance by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma which was highly appreciated by both Indian and overseas delegates.