Participants of the Pan American Convention of Engineers/Union Pan Americana de Asociaciones de Ingenieria (UPADI) 2006 can earn 3.3 continuing education units (CEUs) by attending the conference's technical sessions. The discussions will focus on mitigating natural disasters, managing reconstruction, examining business issues in the Americas, restoring areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina (including the New Orleans' levees), fostering sustainable urbanism and embracing energy efficiency in the wake of climatic changes.

Hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology, UPADI is scheduled for September 19-22, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia. The theme of the bilingual conference is "Building a Sustainable Infrastructure: Education, Technology Innovation and Economic Development." Along with technical discussions, the four-day conference will feature five plenary sessions focusing on transparency and global ethics, economic development, free trade, sustainability and education.

Georgia Tech joins a list of sponsoring organizations and societies including UPADI, American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Pan-American Federation of the National Associations of Consulting Companies in the Americas (FEPAC) and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations. The convention will be held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta.

Registration and conference details for UPADI can be found at http://www.upadi2006.com/english/index.shtml. Contact Diana Turner at 404-385-3510 for additional information.

Founded in 1949, UPADI represents a membership of approximately 2.5 million engineers from 26 member countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The goal of the organization is to advance science and technology to benefit humanity through hemispheric cooperation. The organization seeks to develop action plans, encourage outside funding and work for the economic development of the nations served. The UPADI conference was last hosted by the United States in 1990 in Washington, D.C.