Education has been a key part of the AFS mission since our founding. One hallmark of this mission is our well-known selection of short courses at all our conferences, and as official host, we are bringing this suite of courses to World Filtration Congress 13.

Our half-day short courses, which kick off the Congress on Wednesday, October 5, include 12 options for fundamental filtration and separation instruction. Opportunities to learn about these topics are difficult to find, especially at this level of expertise. Leading scientific experts and industry veterans in filtration and separations are the course instructors, and access to these professionals is uncommon.

For professionals interested in earning the AFS Certified Professional (AFSCP) Designation, all required courses are being offered in August. These include 20 hours of AFS education in three basic filtration courses: Introduction to Air/Gas (8 hours in 4 parts), Introduction to Filter Media (4 hours in 2 parts) and Introduction to Solid/Liquid Separation (8 hours in 4 parts).

The four parts of Introduction to Air/Gas Filtration will be offered on August 2, 4, 9 and 11, and will be taught by Dr. Thad Ptak. The course provides fundamental information on air filtration principles, filter media and filters, applications and testing. More information about each course and Dr. Ptak is available here. 

The AFS membership recently voted on a new cohort of leaders: six members of the Board of Directors and the 2nd Vice-Chair, a four-year elected position that progresses from 2^nd Vice-Chair to 1^st Vice-Chair, Chair and ultimately to Past-Chair. We are pleased to announce that Leonard Castellano has been elected as 2^nd Vice Chair, and the following have been elected to the Board of Directors for two-year terms running September 2022-2024: Saravanan Andan, Tinoush Dinn, Martin Lehmann, Godwin Severa, Steve Westbrook and Lin Zhao.

Leonard Castellano is the Chief Engineer at Parker Hannifin Filtration Innovation Center. He has 40 years of experience in R&D in polymeric membranes, melt blown macro and force spun nanofibers in markets including air, fuel & chemicals, food & beverage, biopharmaceuticals and transfusion medicine. Len has expertise in leading the development of novel materials for filtration, separation and purification in macro, micro, nano and ultrafiltration technologies.