Held in Dresden, Germany, for the first time, September 11-14, the international Cryogenics conference attracted 150 participants from 23 nations with 54 lectures and 28 posters presented. The exhibition comprised 18 companies. Students from the European Course of Cryogenics, sponsored by TU Dresden, which was held in the city at the same time, also took advantage of the opportunity to attend.

The conference was moved from its usual April date so as not to interfere with ICEC/ICMC, which was held in May in Fukuoka, Japan. From the US, Bakhtier Farouk, Drexel University and Jacob Leachman, Washington State University, gave presentations.

New challenges for cryogenics in the fields of power engineering, biotechnology and particle physics were discussed. New horizons were opened for the use of low temperature physics and technique, according to sponsor ILK Dresden.

Topics included cryogenics in particle physics and fusion, superconductivity and its applications, very low temperatures and their applications, cryocoolers and their applications, cryotherapy and cryobiology, liquefaction and separation of industrial gases, liquefied natural gas, cryogenic energy storage and cryogenic fuels and industrial applications of cryogenic gases.

Dr. Christoph Haberstroh, TU Dresden, reports that “Traditionally this conference was always seen as a link between cryogenics in western and in eastern countries.”

While the distinction seems to be fading, it “is still visible by more or less unique contributions from Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, rarely found in other international conferences.” He concluded that the conference was “quite successful and well-organized.”