October 11, 2001
Weston Conference Centre
University of Manchester Institute
of Science and Technology (UMIST)
Manchester, UK
Dear Colleague:
If you ever visit Manchester, UK, be forewarned that it’s not what you think it is. To many the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, the city certainly reminds visitors of this part of its heritage with the many interesting sights and museums. You will learn how the factories and mills procured wealth for the city, but also brought it an industrial underclass, a plight not shared by nearby towns such as York and Chester.
But today, Manchester is a confident, pleasant cosmopolitan city that is ranked first runner-up by Financial Times as UK’s best Second City. It is home for UMIST, rated by the same newspaper as one of the top ten universities in UK. This and 8-9 other major universities and colleges give Greater Manchester a total student population of 50,000 full-time students and another 50,000 part-time students, the largest concentration of students in any European city.
The city also boasts the world famous Manchester United football club. Next year, just ahead of ICEE-2002, athletes from around the world will gather in the city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Already, colorful banners are hung prominently in Manchester’s bustling international airport, displaying warm messages in many languages, welcoming visitors back to next year’s Games. Walking around town will give you a global feel, with 30 nationalities of the finest cuisines ready to intrigue your palate.
You will be struck by the city’s history and cultural diversity, and marvel at how friendly the people are. This is also true in regions around Manchester.
Not far from the city is Chester, awash with history, famed for its black-and-white half-timber buildings, and surrounded by charming, breathtaking countryside. The Romans built the still walkable city wall 2,000 years ago. During the Dark Ages, the Vikings came to Chester in their longships. There is also York, the cathedral city with over 30 museums and galleries, and evidences of ancient Vikings tenure, that was also the military capital of Roman Britain. If you like Emily Bronte’s ”Wuthering Heights”, be sure to visit Yorkshire, especially the village of Haworth, the heart of Bronte country. And don’t forget Liverpool, celebrated around the world as the birthplace of the Beatles, with the most famous waterfronts in England.
In this part of UK, it is not uncommon to see a local family of four traveling together on a train, with the mother, grandmother (the ”Nana”), and great grandma chatting up with other passengers while tending to the 6-month old baby girl. Where is the proverbial ”aloofness” of the British people?
On the a platform in the train station in Chester, a tall, big, somewhat sullen looking, young man with clean-shaven head volunteered to help a misguided stranger with the correct information on which platform and train to take for the journey back to Manchester. As tough as he looked, the young man turned out to be a softie who confided that he was living with his mother in a modest house in a mall town not far away, and that while still a teenager, he joined the army, but later decided to quit because he would rather use his love for martial arts to help people, instead of hurting them. So, now he worked for Fitness First.
Seating himself at a table in a busy eating establishment known as ”Yates’s” in York, a visitor waited for service that did not seem to materialize. The couple at the next table broke the stalemate by explaining the local custom, which was that one must note the table number, go to the bar, order the food and pay for it, and the order would be brought to the table. While he was waiting for the food, the couple continued to provide tips about the city, all the more to ensure that the stranger would have an enjoyable stay.
If you are interested in some of the photos taken during my trip to the ISC 2001 meeting in Manchester, go to the iNEER website at: http://www.ineer.org. On the main page click on ”Photo Albums” and then on item under ”ICEE-ISC Photo Albums”.
I have mentioned to Peter Hicks and Brian Chalmers that perhaps they could consider including some information on the ICEE-2002 website listing information on possible tours that ICEE-2002 attendees could take to sample the delightful hospitality, history, cultures and sights of Manchester and its surroundings.
It was in this setting that the ICEE International Steering Committee (ISC) met at UMIST from October 7-9, 2001. Even though initially Peter Hicks and I had some concern about the potential impact of the 9-11 attacks in the U.S., twenty-five persons from twelve countries attended the meeting.
Sincerely,
Win Aung, Ph.D., P.E., Dr.h.c.
Secretary General
iNEER/ICEE-ISC
October 11, 2001
Weston Conference Centre
University of Manchester Institute
of Science and Technology (UMIST)
Manchester, UK
Dear Colleague:
The ISC meeting, held during October 7-9, 2001 at UMIST was a success, thanks to the joint leadership of C.H. Wei, Chair of iNEER/ICEE-ISC, and Peter Hicks, UMIST Dean and General Chair of ICEE-2002. John Garside, Principal and Vice Chancellor of UMIST, personally attended and welcomed the group with special remarks in which he stressed the importance of ICEE-2002 for UMIST and the international community, and emphasized his strong support for UMIST as a host next year.
In Manchester just ahead of the ISC meeting, the iNEER/ICEE-ISC Secretariat reached agreement with the International Journal for Engineering Education (IJEE) to publish an annual iNEER/ICEE-IJEE Special Issue. This initiative will help elevate the quality of papers for both ICEE and IJEE. More details will be forthcoming in the near future.
The ISC meeting kicked off on Sunday October 7 with a tour of the Quarry Bank Mill situated on the outskirts of Manchester. Founded in 1758 by Samuel Greg, a Belfast merchant, the textile mill was operating until 1959. In 1978 it became a museum.
C.H. Wei hosted a sumptuous lunch in Chinatown, followed by an even more sumptuous reception that evening and a banquet at the end of the following day, both hosted by Peter Hicks. We thank these two colleagues for their generous hospitality.
The ISC meeting itself began on Monday October 8 and focused on a review of ICEE-2001 and the plans for next year’s ICEE-2002. Members were gratified and heartened to see the evident progress in planning made by Peter Hicks and his associates. The support of the international community, as seen from the numerous suggestions and offers of help to organize technical sessions, is very encouraging and much appreciated.
ISC members accepted all of the proposals for technical sessions that came in to the iNEER/ICEE-ISC Secretariat, all after the 9-11 attacks. These included specific Calls for Papers on:
The only way to ensure that you will be co-chairing a session is to draft a Call for Papers using the proper format, which was sent to you in September. If your proposal is not included in the list above, it may be that you have not put it into the required format and you will need to do that. In that case, please contact me in the next few days. Peter and his associates are taking steps to integrate these Calls into their planning and will contact the organizers who made these suggestions prior to publishing them.
We encourage your participation. You can submit an abstract electronically now by accessing the ICEE-2002 website at: http://www.meeting.co.uk/icee
For more information about past conferences go to: http://www.ineer.org
If you have not made a suggestion for a session and wish to volunteer to organize one, please send your proposed Call for Papers to me by e-mail at waung@ineer.org on or before November 10, 2001. I will try my best to work with Peter Hicks and Brian Chalmers to include it in the ICEE program next year.
We will try our best to ensure that people who attend ICEE-2002 will walk away with something valuable in the technical, cultural and partnership aspects. We will highlight the fact that ICEE provides good value and is different from a regular conference.
Peter and his associates will also highlight the opportunities to explore the cultural, historical and tourist attractions offered by Manchester and the surrounding regions.
If you have any comments and suggestions, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Win Aung, Ph.D., P.E., Dr.h.c.
Secretary General
iNEER/ICEE-ISC