Challenges and Opportunities for Process Systems Engineering in a Changed World

Changes have always been taking place on earth. However, the latest changes related to the climate, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural resources, pollution, to name a few, have changed our world and a new normal is emerging. The energy-water-environment-food-health nexus is becoming more complex. These challenges, however, also provide opportunities to tackle them and make scientific and engineering advances. PSE is well-placed through its core and expanding domain as well as its ability to apply a systems approach to meet current and future challenges. Many opportunities exist for the PSE community to take the lead in managing this complexity. This paper will provide an overview on some of the key challenges and opportunities where PSE could make immediate as well as long lasting impacts by developing sustainable and innovative solutions. Focus will be placed on the choice of problems to solve and the solution approaches that could make an impact and help to define the new normal for future generations.