Canonsburg-Based Aquatech Awarded Seawater Desalination and Industrial Water Reuse Projects in Egypt

Canonsburg-based Aquatech has been awarded a contract to design and supply a seawater desalination system for the Abu Qir Thermal Power Plant in Egypt.

The client, West Delta Electricity Production Co., specified Aquatech’s Multiple Effect Distillation (MED) technology for uninterrupted water supply to boilers after carefully studying all available desalination technology options, the company said.

The desalination facility at Abu Qir comprises two MED units, each with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per day, and will supply 10,000 cubic meters of fresh water a day to the power station's boilers and other users, the company said.

Aquatech’s MED technology has been developed and improved over decades of in-house research and onsite experience worldwide and will provide an environmentally friendly solution keeping in mind a reduced carbon footprint.

Located near Alexandria, Egypt, the plant will use seawater from the Mediterranean Sea to produce fresh water, and will use plant steam to provide energy to operate the desalination units.

Earlier this year Aquatech was awarded an industrial wastewater reuse project for a chemical facility by TCI Sanmar Chemicals LLC, located at Port Said, also in Egypt. The system will be for the treatment and reuse of various wastewater streams generated from the process units.

The reuse system consists of the patented High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis (HERO™) process which can withstand various impurities such as oil, grease, and organic constituents. The system will have a capacity of 8,500 cubic meters per day, and will recover over 90 percent of the water suitable for use within the complex for various processes.

Aquatech has previously demonstrated the advantages of its HERO™ technology in projects for the recycle and reuse of water from effluents of refineries, power plants, petrochemical complexes, oil field produced water, and treated sewage, with recoveries exceeding 94 percent in some installations.

Aquatech is a global leader in water purification technology for industrial and infrastructure markets with a focus on desalination, water reuse, and zero liquid discharge. The company is headquartered in Canonsburg and has offices throughout North America and significant presence worldwide through subsidiaries in Europe, the Middle East, India, and China.

Go to the company's website at www.aquatech.com.


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Vietnam Ambassador Hails Universities, Sustainability Lessons Among Pittsburgh's Most Valuable Exports

Pittsburgh's colleges and universities, and the intellectual force behind them, represent one of the region's most valuable assets and most desirable export commodities, in the opinion of Michael W. Michalak, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, who visited the city recently to meet with leaders of the academic, energy and technology communities.

"I was very impressed with the (city's) educational platform, with the whole educational park (in the Oakland area), where you have a number of universities, all with cross-registration programs and very strong international commitments," he said at the end of his visit earlier this month, which was hosted by GlobalPittsburgh. "That could represent a great export opportunity for Pittsburgh."

Vietnam is suffering from a lack of high-quality education programs, Michalak said, and is seeking to develop western-style university programs to improve economic and social opportunities for its citizens.

The Ambassador said he has encouraged representatives of local higher learning institutions to send a small delegation to an education conference in Vietnam scheduled for mid-January. Several local universities already are working to develop partnerships with universities in Vietnam.

Also of interest to Vietnam are Pittsburgh's lessons on environmental transformation, Michalak said.

"There would be short-term and long-term opportunities to take Vietnam down a more sustainable path," he said. "Vietnam's environmental consciousness is in the process of being raised. We have seen more citizen protests, and they are looking at how to tighten up their own regulatory frameworks to stem the tide of pollution and become more sustainable."

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GlobalPittsburgh arranged numerous meetings for Ambassador Michalak, including sessions with top leaders from key corporations and research institutions, as well as with heads of many of Pittsburgh’s colleges and universities, according to GlobalPittsburgh President Roger Cranville.

"Vietnam is interested in creating partnerships with and learning lessons from Pittsburgh in the field of education, as well as in the energy and technology sectors," Cranville said. "Welcoming Ambassador Michalak to Pittsburgh is a very important step in developing these partnerships, which will be of great benefit to the Pittsburgh region."

Ambassador Michalak started his visit with a morning session at Chatham University with regional academic leaders to discuss the Ambassador's focus on education in Vietnam, including opportunities to build bridges between Vietnamese and American institutions of higher learning, and to explore opportunities for student recruiting and exchanges, cooperation and collaboration. Vietnam is now the fastest-growing foreign student market in the United States and currently ranks 20th among all countries sending students to the United States.

Later in the day, the Ambassador delivered a lecture titled “U.S.-Vietnam Relationships, Education Links, and Technology Opportunities” at the University of Pittsburgh. The lecture was presented by the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh in conjunction with numerous other campus departments.

Ambassador Michalak offered his ideas on the U.S.- Vietnam political and economic relationship, as well as the importance of educational links between the U.S and Vietnam. He discussed faculty & student exchange, executive training, and university collaboration. Other topics will include priority technologies, products and service needs in Vietnam, including intellectual property security.

A career foreign service officer with extensive knowledge and experience in Asia, Michalak was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam on August 10, 2007. Prior to that, he served as the U.S. Senior Official to APEC, Bureau of East Asia Pacific Affairs.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Ambassador Michalak received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Physics from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., respectively. He received a second Master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He speaks Chinese and Japanese.

GlobalPittsburgh works with the U.S. Department of State and other international organizations to arrange and coordinate visits by foreign individuals and delegations interested in learning more about Pittsburgh’s centers of excellence, including energy, technology, health sciences, green design and education, and in studying the region’s economic and environmental transformation.

For 50 years, GlobalPittsburgh (formerly the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors) has welcomed volunteers and hosts to act as tour guides, dinner hosts, home stay hosts and drivers for visiting delegations and individuals. For more information about GlobalPittsburgh programs, visit www.GlobalPittsburgh.org, call 412-392-4513 or send email to info@pciv.org.

For further information about Ambassador Michalak’s visit, contact Thomas Buell, Jr., VP-Communications, at 412-720-2218 or tcbuell@versopartners.com. READ FULL ARTICLE

Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration for GlobalPittsburgh, Formerly Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors - Dec. 21, 2009 at LeMont Restaurant

Please join us for the 50th Anniversary celebration for the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, now called GlobalPittsburgh, on Monday, December 21, 2009 at LeMont Restaurant on Mt. Washington.

This event will look back at the rich history of the organization and provide an evening of music and cultural entertainment. We will celebrate PCIV’s 50 years of hosting international visitors and its new expanded role as GlobalPittsburgh. You will be able to catch up with old friends and meet many new ones, all with a grand view of the city skyline and a delicious dinner. This will be a great networking opportunity!

This will be a very special evening for our host families, International Bridge Award winners, supporters, donors, and guests as we celebrate together the first 50 years of global civic engagement and community connections. Tickets for the 50th at LeMont will be $50 per person with a cash bar.

You won’t want to miss it, so please act now since seating is limited. Please see the attached flyer for details and ticket information, and call Gail Shrott if you have any questions at 412-392-4513.

CLICK HERE for printable reservation form (PDF) READ FULL ARTICLE

Obama Meets Students in Shanghai; Says World Urgently Watching US-China Talks

SHANGHAI - President Barack Obama declared Monday the world is urgently watching for a "meeting of the minds" between the U.S. and China as he meets with President Hu Jintao on the globe's biggest issues — climate change, economic recession, nuclear proliferation and more, the Associated Press reported.

Obama also prodded China about Internet controls and free speech, but his message was not widely heard in the country because his words were drastically limited online and shown on just one regional television channel.

In his first visit here, Obama is strongly suggesting that China, now a giant in economic impact as well as territory, must take a bigger role on the world stage — part of "burden of leadership" it shares with the United States.

"I will tell you, other countries around the world will be waiting for us," Obama said in an American-style town-hall discussion with Chinese university students in Shanghai, where he spent a day before flying to China's capital for a state visit with President Hu.

"I believe cooperation must go beyond our government. It must be rooted in our people — in the studies we share, in the business that we do, the knowledge that we gain, and even in the sports that we play," the U.S. president said.

Obama said the United States is not seeking to impose any system of government on any other nation, "but we also don't believe that the principles we stand for are unique to our nation."

"These freedoms of expression and worship, of access to information, and political participation, we believe are universal rights," he said. "They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any other nation."

The town hall meeting showed how difficult it is for the governments to work together. The U.S. initially requested a larger venue and a live broadcast on a major network. In the end, Chinese officials put the event on the eastern fringes of the city. Only local Shanghai TV carried it live, though it was streamed on two popular Internet portals and on the White House's Web site, which is not censored.

Eager to achieve a successful summit, the two leaders were likely to avoid public spats on economic issues. With America's budget deficit soaring to a yearly record of $1.42 trillion, China is the No. 1 lender to Washington and has expressed concern that the falling price of the dollar threatens the value of its U.S. holdings. READ FULL ARTICLE

New Canadian Consul General Visiting Pittsburgh This Week, Highlighting Key Relationships With Region

Marta Moszczenska, Canada's new Consul General for the region including Pittsburgh, will travel to the city this week to visit local officials, companies and organizations with interests in Canada.

Moszczenska replaces Consul General Steve Brereton, who has assumed a new post as Canadian Consul General in Atlanta. She has most recently served as Ambassador of Canada to Romania, with concurrent accreditation to Bulgaria and Moldova, and High Commissioner to Cyprus.

"We are honored to have Consul General Moszczenska coming to Pittsburgh," said Roger Cranville, Honorary Consul to Canada for Western Pennsylvania. "The relationship between Canada and the Greater Pittsburgh region is a very significant one, and one that provides great benefits in terms of jobs and economic impact."

This area exports more than $2.1 billion worth of goods and services to Canada every year, which results in tens of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in related business activity, Cranville said.

Recent trade figures show that Canada remained by far the largest customer for Pennsylvania exports, with more than $9.2 billion worth of goods shipped north of the border each year.

Exports from Pennsylvania to Canada exceeded shipments to the next seven countries combined – Mexico, China, Japan, Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands.

Some other recent trade facts:
- 295,250 Pennsylvania jobs are supported by Canada–U.S. trade
- Canada buys more than a third of Pennsylvania’s exports
- Canadians made more than 696,900 visits to the state, spending $118 million

Moszczenska is based in the Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo, which administers immigration, trade, consular and public affairs programs across Upstate New York, western and central Pennsylvania and West Virginia. CLICK HERE to visit the Consulate's website.

She joined the Canadian Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce in 1977 as a Commercial Officer. In 1985, she became a Foreign Service officer with the Department of External Affairs and International Trade and later served abroad in Milan and in Boston as a Trade Commissioner.

In Ottawa, she had several assignments in trade policy and with the Program for Export Market Development. She also served as Departmental Assistant to the Minister for International Trade and as Deputy Director, Trade Development Liaison and Special Projects Division.

From 1994 to 1996, Moszczenska was Director, Rotational Administrative Personnel Division. Between 1996 and 1999, she served as Counsellor (Commercial) and Consul at the Embassy of Canada in Indonesia. From 1999 to 2002, she served as Canada’s Ambassador to Hungary, with concurrent accreditation to Slovenia. From 2002 to 2006, she was Director of the Central European, Baltic and Eastern Mediterranean Division.
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GlobalPittsburgh® Coordinating Local Visit of U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Nov. 10-11

GlobalPittsburgh® will host the Honorable Michael W. Michalak, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, for a two-day visit to Pittsburgh Nov. 10-11, 2009, highlighted by meetings with leaders of the academic, energy and technology communities.

GlobalPittsburgh has arranged numerous meetings for Ambassador Michalak, including sessions with top leaders from key corporations and research institutions, as well as with heads of many of Pittsburgh’s colleges and universities, according to GlobalPittsburgh President Roger Cranville.

"Vietnam is interested in creating partnerships with and learning lessons from Pittsburgh in the field of education, as well as in the energy and technology sectors," Cranville said. "Welcoming Ambassador Michalak to Pittsburgh is a very important step in developing these partnerships, which will be of great benefit to the Pittsburgh region."

Ambassador Michalak will start his visit with a morning session at Chatham University with regional academic leaders to discuss the Ambassador's focus on education in Vietnam, including opportunities to build bridges between Vietnamese and American institutions of higher learning, and to explore opportunities for student recruiting and exchanges, cooperation and collaboration. Vietnam is now the fastest-growing foreign student market in the United States and currently ranks 20th among all countries sending students to the United States.

Later in the day, the Ambassador will deliver a lecture titled “U.S.-Vietnam Relationships, Education Links, and Technology Opportunities” at the University of Pittsburgh. The lecture is presented by the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh in conjunction with numerous other campus departments.

Ambassador Michalak will offer his ideas on the U.S.- Vietnam political and economic relationship, as well as the importance of educational links between the U.S and Vietnam. He will discuss faculty & student exchange, executive training, and university collaboration. Other topics will include priority technologies, products and service needs in Vietnam, including intellectual property security.

A career foreign service officer with extensive knowledge and experience in Asia, Michalak was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam on August 10, 2007. Prior to that, he served as the U.S. Senior Official to APEC, Bureau of East Asia Pacific Affairs.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Ambassador Michalak received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Physics from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., respectively. He received a second Master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He speaks Chinese and Japanese.

GlobalPittsburgh works with the U.S. Department of State and other international organizations to arrange and coordinate visits by foreign individuals and delegations interested in learning more about Pittsburgh’s centers of excellence, including energy, technology, health sciences, green design and education, and in studying the region’s economic and environmental transformation.

For 50 years, GlobalPittsburgh (formerly the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors) has welcomed volunteers and hosts to act as tour guides, dinner hosts, home stay hosts and drivers for visiting delegations and individuals. For more information about GlobalPittsburgh programs, visit www.GlobalPittsburgh.org, call 412-392-4513 or send email to info@pciv.org.

For further information about Ambassador Michalak’s visit, contact Thomas Buell, Jr., VP-Communications, at 412-720-2218 or tcbuell@versopartners.com.

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Town Meeting Tonight to Cover Health Care Issues in U.S. and Other Countries; Free, but Registration Required

Seldom has a national debate so captured the public's attention as the Washington maneuverings on health care, which comprises about one-seventh of the nation's economy. The effort to overhaul the country's health-care system reaches into every home, with potentially profound effects on businesses, hospitals and families.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's fourth town meeting is designed to shine a light onto not only how Americans finance their health care but also how other countries do so. With a top-level panel of experts and writers, this evening's event will be informative--and provocative.

Wednesday, November 4 • 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Heinz History Center
Free Admission • Registration is Required
Call 412-263-3850 to Register

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Introduction by Jim Rohr, Chairman & CEO, PNC

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Moderator: David Shribman Executive Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Executive editor since 2003. Former assistant managing editor, columnist and Washington bureau chief at the Boston Globe. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.

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Panelists:

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	T.R. Reid Author, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care Washington Post correspondent and New York Times bestselling author T. R. Reid explores health-care systems around the world in an effort to understand why the U.S. remains the only first world nation to refuse its citizens universal health care. His book dissects the rhetoric surrounding the health care debate and finds models around the world that Americans can borrow.
	Robert Kormos, M.D. Director, UPMC Artificial Heart Program Co-Director, UPMC Heart Transplant Program A native of Canada, Dr. Kormos completed residencies in neurosurgery, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Toronto General Hospital and provides Canadian health care perspective. In addition to director of UPMC's heart transplant program, he is professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and medical director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
	Leslie C. Davis President, Magee-Womens Hospital Provides national perspective as president of Magee and as an executive at medical centers including Mt. Sinai Medical Center (NY), Thomas Jefferson University, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Tenet Pennsylvania. She also serves as Vice President of Women’s Health Services at UPMC and is UPMC's representative to the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania.
	Mark Roth Staff Writer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Returned to full-time writing in 2005 after 20 years as an editor at the Post-Gazette. Was the newspaper's first science editor, and 1988-2005, served as city editor, assistant managing editor for news, and as an editor in charge of special issues, investigative stories and long-term projects. His monthly series The Thinkers focuses on the region's brightest researchers and progressive leaders.

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PARKING:
Alco lot with entrance at 12th and Smallman across from the restaurant Eleven. Parking: $4

EVENT LOCATION:
Mueller Education Center, 5th floor

QUESTIONS:
Question cards will be distributed to attendees and collected during the program. PG editors will select questions to be asked of panelists.

REGISTRATION:
Attendance is free but registration is required. Call 412-263-3850 to register.

TOWN MEETING SERIES:
PNC and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will host a series of five town meetings this year. This series will examine the new era and its promise in the Pittsburgh region across a wide range of areas, from politics to the economy, from the arts to education, from health care to technology, from demographics to diversity. This yearlong series of free town meetings will help shape the conversation of Pittsburgh as we move into a new age. Whether it's called an exercise in community education or participatory democracy, the Post-Gazette hopes readers will call each Town meeting a date to circle on their calendars as each is announced.

Presented By:

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/aboutpg/townmeeting.asp#ixzz0VtocuzUh

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