The World Engineers' Convention (WEC 2004)

In recent years, great progress in engineering has been achieved, and significant contributions from engineering, together with science & technology, to society are being made. Engineering, compared with science & technology, has most direct responsibilities to human society, and thus needs more concern and understanding from the public.

The World Engineers’ Convention (WEC 2004), sponsored by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and UNESCO and organized by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Shanghai Municipal Government, was held on November 2-6, 2004 in Shanghai, China.

WEC 2004 was conceived in response to the global challenges faced by engineers and managers in all nations and themed "Engineers Shape the Sustainable Future". The convention was designed to provide a platform for engineers and students to interact and to discuss issues and problems of common concern.

The Chinese State leaders and the leaders of some important international organizations attended the Convention and addressed the audience at the opening ceremony. Mr. Ju HUANG (vice premier of China), Mr. Liangyu CHEN (Secretary of the Shanghai Party Committee), Mr. Zheng HAN (Mayor of Shanghai Municipal Government), Yee-Cheong LEE (WFEO President 2003-2005), Mr. Morris Strong (UN Vice Secretary General and representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan) et al. attended the Opening Ceremony. 12 keynote speakers gave presentations at the plenary sessions. A Project Show for Future Engineers, a Video Show of Great Engineering Projects from All Nations, web forums on three subjects, technical visits on six different sites as well as an accompanying exhibition in collaboration with the Shanghai International Industry were also offered during the Convention.

"Biological Engineering & Health Care (Session B)" was one of the seven panel sessions of WEC 2004. The International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) has endorsed the Session B. Dr. Joachim H. Nagel (President of IFMBE), Dr. Ratko Magjarevic (Secretary General of IFMBE) Dr. Dov Jaron (Past President of IFMBE), Dr. Depei Liu and Dr. Zibin Yang represented the IFMBE at the Convention

The session included the following 7 topics:

  1. Engineering Technology, Prevention and Control of Major Diseases
  2. Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Replacement Surgery
  3. Interventional Medicine and Minimally Invasive Medicine
  4. Medical Facilities/Equipment, and Rehabilitation Engineering
  5. Bioengineering and Pharmacology
  6. Traditional Medicine
  7. Tele-medicine, Tele-education and Information Technology in Hospital Management

Prof. Zibin Yang, former member of the administrative council of IFMBE and academician of the International Academy on Medical and Biological Engineering of IFMBE, chaired the plenary presentations of Session B. The eight invited keynote speakers were:

  1. Dr. Joachim H. Nagel (President of IFBME, Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany)
    Speech title: Biological effects of ultrasound: health hazards and future therapeutic applications
  2. Dr. Depei Liu (Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences)
    Speech title: Constructing Gene Regulatory Networks in the Postgenomic Era: Opportunities and Challenges
  3. Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa (President, Science Council of Japan)
    Speech title: Perspective: Science and Technology for the New Century
  4. Dr. Jay Howard Glasser (Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, USA)
    Speech title: The Collaborative Role of Health Professions and Engineering in Water Borne Disease Prevention and Ensuring Sustainable Safe Water
  5. Dr. Andrei Issakov (Coordinator, Health Technology and Facilities Planning (TFP), Department of Health System Policies and Operations (SPO), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland)
    Speech title: Healthcare Technology and Health Systems - Global Challenges and Response from a WHO Perspective
  6. Dr. Yilin Cao (Professor, Vice President of Shanghai No.9 People Hospital, China)
    Speech title: Progress of Tissue Engineering
  7. Dr. Zhengguo Wang (Professor & Academician, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China)
    Speech title: A Survey of Road Traffic Injuries
  8. Dr. Dov Jaron (Calhoun Distinguished Professor of Engineering in Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems, Drexel University, USA)
    Speech title: Biomedical Engineering: Leading Research and Health Care Delivery in the 21st Century

In addition to the keynote speeches, there were 85 papers from 10 different countries for scientific exchange in Session B. Among them, 40 were for oral presentation and 45 for poster presentation. Three sub-sessions were available for Session B. One of the sub-sessions with the theme "Micro and Nano Technologies in Biomedicine" was elected specially for the World Academy of Biomedical Technology (WABT)