Chemical Engineers saving the environment

Written by Seungyeon Lee

Not only making products that are useful to human is crucial, but also making them eco-friendly, which are not harmful to environment. By looking up some of the news articles and websites that are related to chemical engineering, chemical engineer's actions towards saving the environment were shown from several sources.

Among those according to the Chemical Engineers in Action website, http://chemicalengineering.org/enviro/index.html, it shows what they do to make the environment better. As what other chemical engineers do, they develop technologies, monitor devices, and model engineering techniques. However, what they do differently is first, minimize the toxicity of pollutants produced that might affect the environment, such as, air and soil. Second, devise how to enable the waste to be reused. Also, they contribute to water management to purify the water that are edible for human.

One of the achievements they made is saving the earth in terms of a transportation. It is within bounds to say that transportation, vehicles, trucks, trains, airplanes, and buses are essential in nowadays life. Nevertheless, it is recommended to be less used since the exhaust from those transportation's engines cause the air pollution.

They devised two major ideas that helps reduce the pollution.

• Catalytic Converters

Catalytic converters are known as one of most important contributions of controlling air-pollution. Chemical engineer John Mooney and the chemist Carl Keith used this converters to allow it to maximize the catalyst-coated surface area. It helps the exhaust produced to be less likely to be exposed and to harm the air. The converters also does not require a lot amount of metal to operate which makes it cost effective.

• Cleaner-burning fuels

Cleaner-burning fuels, which is based on advanced petroleum refining techniques, also help reduce the air-pollution. These engineering techniques allowed it reduce the pollutants. These made it possible to devise improved engines with more efficient air management systems and these systems destroy and reduce pollutants.

Resources: http://chemicalengineering.org/enviro/index.html

Intro to MATLAB

written by Yiran Li

MATLAB(Matri X Laboratory) is first designed by Cleve Moler in the 1970s. It's first adopted to control engineering but it spread to other fields rapidly. MATLAB works mainly with linear algebra, numerical analysis and image processing. The basic element of MATLAB is an array that does not require dimension. In industry, MATLAB is the tool of choice for high-productivity research, development, and analysis.

The simple in programming MATLAB contains setting Variables and functions, calculations of vectors and matrices and plotting graphs. From the MATLAB, it's easy for users to deal with thousands of data. For instance, if you want to calculate the standard deviation of temperature of a city in 5 years, you can first set a function and its inputs and outputs, then type in the equation of calculating standard deviation based on your input and get your answer. Based on the simple calculation, MATLAB can help you with advanced computations in many fields. It also has debugging system that can help the user to correct their mistakes in the programming step by step. Also, there's interesting Easter Egg in the MATLAB, including hidden pictures and jokes. EGR102 talks about the programming in MATLAB in detail.

Reference: https://www.math.mtu.edu/~msgocken/intro/intro.html

Types of Engineering

Written by Callaghan TysonMayer

Since I am an undecided engineering major, I'd like to use this week to explore the different types of engineering. Before taking an engineering course I had no idea that there are actually 11 different fields. Each one has a different focus and creates very different job opportunities.
Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering is focused on the research and development of medicine.  Bioengineers work to create new procedures and research new methods for solving medical problems. This research is usually focused on artificial organs, monitoring patients, therapeutic and surgical devices, lab design, imaging systems, and sports medicine.
Biosystems Engineering emphasizes two different areas; bioprocess engineering (microbiology) and ecological engineering (ecology). The main purpose of this field is to use green processing technologies to improve sustainability for water, energy, and food systems.
Chemical Engineering is based within 3 fields of science: chemistry, physics, and math. Some of the responsibilities of chemical engineers include; research and development of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, synthetic fibers and films, and many other products.
Civil Engineering revolves around the design, maintenance, and construction of systems to improve the atmosphere of civilization. This means they work on projects such as bridges, transportation systems, buildings, water systems, and ports.
Computer Engineering focuses on hardware, software, and other technologies in order to design communication systems, networking systems, and designing digital systems.
Electrical Engineering is a pretty broad field that covers anything from generation of electricity to small electrical circuits. These engineers work on tasks like communication system design, control systems, power generation, and telecommunications.
Environmental Engineering is focused on cleaning up environmental contamination and preventing future contamination. The main goal for this field is to develop solutions to environmental problems like safe water, hazardous wastes, efficient energy uses, and valuing resources.
Industrial Engineering is about the design and improvement of systems. These engineers do work like analyze work processes, develop models for how systems operate and interact, and analyze how machines and people work together.
Materials Engineering deals with the properties and production of materials. Examples of this type of work includes plastic found in bullet proof vests, and ceramic spark plugs to optimize engine performance.
Mechanical Engineering can be described as machine design and manufacturing.

Source: Stephan, Elizabeth A. Thinking like an Engineer: An Active Learning Approach. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.

Plan A: Engineering Degree

Written By: Adam Tarrant

            Without a doubt, every student attending college has been asked what field they are studying at one point or another. I realize there are endless answers to this question, but there is a decent chance it will be a form of engineering.

            Engineering has so many different fields which an individual can pursue, making it a huge program at any college or university. It makes sense too. The world will always need more engineers. The world will always need new buildings and bridges. The world will always need new and improved machines and computer systems. 

            Engineering is stated to be one of the most fastest growing disciplines today, leaving jobs available to the significant number of students graduating with engineering degrees. This is what appealed to me when I was weighing my options of majors and careers. Knowing that once I struggle through years of homework and exams, there will a job waiting for me. Don’t get me wrong, the competition between engineering students is still fierce but the number of fields within engineering eases some of that pressure. 

            To anyone still undecided on what they are going to do with the rest of their life, I recommend considering engineering as an option because of its job availability and the endless number of things one can do with an engineering degree.