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tend what conference organizers have dubbed AIHce EXP. (“Our education team listened to what our attendees have said and turned AIHce into an educa- tional EXPerience,” they explained.) Last year, 4,205 IH and occupational health professionals attended the conference in Baltimore and 227 exhibiting compa- nies’ personnel participated.
The main conference will take place June 4-7, while Professional Development Courses are scheduled for June 3-4 and June 8. Those PDCs are half-day, full-day, or two-day courses designed to broaden the attendees’ knowledge, enhance their technical competence, and provide prac- tical skills and tools for them to use.
The educational program is divided into a dozen tracks that include chemical and material hazards, safety, IH program management, environmental issues, controls, and emergency preparedness and response.
New this year to AIHce is a Labo- ratory Testing Track that offers nine Professional Development Courses (on aerosol sampling methods, lab hoods and exhaust ventilation, theory and ap- plication of four-gas/PID sensor tech- nology, nanomaterials and nanotech- nology, exposure monitoring for VOCs, and more), with the event’s website also listing 14 other PDCs that may be of in- terest to laboratory professionals. The courses and sessions have been devel- oped for lab personnel and those inter- ested in improving their knowledge of laboratory testing and analysis.
Of interest to attendees who are mem- bers of AIHA volunteer groups or com- mittees: Their meetings are scheduled in the early morning or late afternoon, free- ing them to attend educational sessions during the day.
This year’s IGNITE! talks, technical sessions, posters, keynotes, and luncheon discussions will address professional de- velopment through mentoring and inter- national work, scientific issues, manage- ment trends, and industry innovations.
Technical session topics will range from nanomaterials to GHS, notable confined space issues, beryllium, disinfectant use in health care, noise-induced hearing loss, predicting worker fa- tigue, asbestos, and many more worthwhile subjects.
Program highlights include the Jeffrey S. Lee Lecture (1-2 p.m. June 7), the Donald E. Cummings Award Lecture (11:15 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. June 6), and the Herbert E. Stokinger Award Lecture (2-3 p.m. June 5) and William P. Yant Award Lecture (3:15-4:15 p.m. June 5). Technical session topics will range from nanomaterials to GHS, notable confined space issues, be- ryllium, disinfectant use in health care, noise-induced hearing loss, predicting worker fatigue, asbestos, and many more worthwhile subjects.
Ken Jennings, who won a record 74 games on Jeopardy! and now is a pro- lific speaker and author, is scheduled to speak at the Monday Opening Session on June 5. His topic is “Life in the Form of a Question.”
Dr. John J. Medina of the Univer- sity of Washington School of Medicine is the keynote speaker for June 7’s clos- ing session starting at 2:15 p.m. “The Brains Behind Leadership” is his topic, with his talk described this way on the AIHce 2017 website: “Can the cognitive neurosciences inform us about what in the brain makes a great leader? What transforms a competent executive into a trailblazing boss is a combination of two seemingly contradictory skills: an intense focus on results coupled with strong social skills. Recent findings in the brain sciences have discovered the neurological basis behind these traits. Discover the behaviors that make great leaders and learn how to take the guess- work out of hiring or cultivating individ- uals with these characteristics.”
Virtual EXP
A virtual AIHce 2017—Virtual EXP is its name this year—is available. It con- sists of five days of educational sessions,
including the Jennings and Medina key- notes and technical sessions on preven- tion through design, fatigue, ergonom- ics, exposure monitoring, respiratory protection, nanotechnology, and more. Registrants for the virtual conference will pay fees ranging from $220 to $575 (member price) and $295 to $770 (non- member) to hear some or all of the ses- sions. Visit http://www.aihce2017.org/ plan/VirtualConference/Pages/default. aspx for virtual conference information and registration.
The Virtual EXP allows profession- als to get high-quality education and ac- quire CM credits while saving on travel expenses.
More than 3,500 industry professionals are expected to attend what conference orga- nizershavedubbedAIHceEXP.
Expo Hours
The chief facility for the conference is the Washington State Convention Cen- ter (www.wscc.com/), which opened in downtown Seattle in 1988. With its Con- ference Center, it is the largest meeting and event facility in the state and is locat- ed within walking distance of more than 12,300 hotel guest rooms. The convention center has 414,722 square feet of rentable space and is only 25 minutes’ drive from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
AIHce 2017 expo hours are:
■ 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 5
■ 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday
■ 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Wednesday
Jerry Laws is the editor of Occupational Health & Safety.
www.ohsonline.com
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