Coschem - Annual Report 2015 Coschem Annual Report 2017 | Page 28

Scientific Committee Members 2017: Wayne van Wyk Chairperson Luda Grobler Karen Keyter Liesl Keulder Gillian Kuhn Martin Mason Sonja Steyn Liezanne van der Walt Rose Westbrook CosmetiX- What is Next ? 13-14 September 2017 Finding a theme every year involves the Scientific Committee going through various brain storming sessions, and 2017 was no different. We all did however agree that we wanted to explore what the X factor of Cosmetics is all about, and take the conference from basic science to in-depth technology, trying to find the Next development and opportunity. 2017 was also a special year as the Society celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Council decided to reduce conference rates to afford companies better opportunities to send more of their Chemists, inclusive of their junior Chemists. The aim and the focus of the conference is to provide and enhance scientific knowledge, and to create a networking environment that is conducive to dialogue and learning. The conference was well attended, taking into account the business pressures and costs associated in trying to run a conference of this size. We were privileged to have Prof. Randall Wickett from the University of Cincinnati as the Key Note speaker. He also delivered a presentation on postnatal development of the Skin Function, which showcased the level of research that is being performed globally. The Academia Platform that was created in 2013 to allow students from various Universities the opportunity to present, has shown valuable research from Academia and young and upcoming Masters Students. I was very excited and proud to see the work that Dr. Lester Davids is doing on human skin growth, and the progress that they have made on the treatment of burn patients is amazing. The poster session which was created in 2014 and grew fairly well was unfortunately not well supported in 2017.