Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I am very pleased to invite you all to take part in the 15th International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements (ICOBTE). The conference will be held during May 5th-9th 2019 in Nanjing, China.

Since the first ICOBTE held in Orlando, Florida in 1990, the ICOBTE has been a highly successful conference series and has grown to become one of the most important international meetings on the biogeochemistry of both essential and toxic elements. The general theme of the 15th ICOBTE in Nanjing is “Biogeochemistry of trace elements for improved environmental sustainability and human health”. This theme reflects the great challenges we all face in protecting our environment from contamination of toxic trace elements and in providing sufficient amounts of essential trace elements for human nutrition.

The conference will offer an excellent platform for scientists, regulators and environmental professionals working on trace elements across multiple disciplines to present the state-of-art research findings, exchange ideals, and discuss how the knowledge can be used for protecting our environment and for improving the ecosystem and human health.

Nanjing, located in the Yangtze River delta, is an ancient capital of China, serving as the capital city for six dynasties during its 2,500 years history. Nanjing not only has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, but also is one of the major research centers and higher-education hubs in modern China with particular strength in geoscience and environmental science. We feel greatly honored that the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB) has chosen Nanjing as the venue for the 15th ICOBTE.

I very much look forward to seeing you in Nanjing. Please look through our website regularly for any update and news on the conference.