The tenth edition of the annual Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) - Texas A&M University Conference was held yesterday at Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) in Education City.
The Qafco-sponsored event held under the patronage of HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada and in partnership with the American Chemical Society (ACS) Qatar Candidate Chapter, hosted experts from around the world.
The conference highlighted the pressing need for policymakers, industry and academia to work together to develop new knowledge and create scientific solutions that have direct impact on the world. 
HE Dr al-Sada said, “The series is significant because it places Qatar at the genesis of an expanding knowledge pipeline.”
This year’s conference focused on the theme “Emerging Frontiers in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.” 
The keynote speakers were Sir Fraser Stoddart, a 2016 Nobel laureate in chemistry and a faculty member at Northwestern University (US), and Dr Robert H Grubbs, 2005 Nobel laureate in chemistry and a faculty member at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech, US).
Qafco CAO Dr Hamed al-Marwani described the Qafco – Texas A&M Conference 2018 as a confluence of ideas.  “I believe such conferences can help give better insights into issues wherein institutional learnings of industry and academia can mutually benefit. I hope the conference becomes the platform for sharing ideas to find solutions for short and long-term issues facing us.”
Tamuq dean Dr César O Malavé said, “It is critical for industry and academia to work together to solve the real-world problems that will affect our future. For the past 10 years, Texas A&M at Qatar and Qafco have partnered to host the annual conference to encourage the exchange of knowledge, ideas and expertise that is essential to fuel innovation and new thinking. We are grateful to Qafco, our longtime friend and partner, for its visionary leadership in driving the success of this annual event.”
Qafco has been an exclusive sponsor of the conference series since 2007. Over the past decade, the conference has attracted a steadily increasing audience of chemists and engineers from all over the globe, covering a wide range of topics and discussions related to chemistry and chemical engineering.