Education in Process Systems Engineering: Why it matters more than ever and how it can be structured

This position paper is an outcome of discussions that took place at the third FIPSE Symposium in Rhodes, Greece, between June 20–22, 2016 (http://fi-in-pse.org). The FIPSE objective is to discuss open research challenges in topics of Process Systems Engineering (PSE). Here, we discuss the societal and industrial context in which systems thinking and Process Systems Engineering provide indispensable skills and tools for generating innovative solutions to complex problems. We further highlight the present and future challenges that require systems approaches and tools to address not only ‘grand’ challenges but any complex socio-technical challenge. The current state of Process Systems Engineering (PSE) education in the area of chemical and biochemical engineering is considered. We discuss approaches and content at both the unit learning level and at the curriculum level that will enhance the graduates’ capabilities to meet the future challenges they will be facing. PSE principles are important in their own right, but importantly they provide significant opportunities to aid the integration of learning in the basic and engineering sciences across the whole curriculum. This fact is crucial in curriculum design and implementation, such that our graduates benefit to the maximum extent from their learning

Validation of a microsimulation of the port of Dover

Modelling and simulating the traffic of heavily used but secure environments such as seaports and airports is of increasing importance. Errors made when simulating these environments can have long standing economic, social and environmental implications. This paper discusses issues and problems that may arise when designing a simulation strategy. Data for the Port is presented, methods for lightweight vehicle assessment that can be used to calibrate and validate simulations are also discussed along with a diagnosis of overcalibration issues. We show that decisions about where the intelligence lies in a system has important repercussions for the reliability of system statistics. Finally, conclusions are drawn about how microsimulations can be moved forward as a robust planning tool for the 21st century

Adams Memorial Library Children\u27s Room

The library spaces that were deemed most successful by the education students were those completed by the Robin Hood Foundation, which frequently rehabilitates underutilized spaces in inner-city schools to insert interactive, colorful and children-friendly library and learning spaces. Some shared suggestions to ensure such children- friendly accessibility were low bookshelves with book covers facing outwards, engaging and lively color schemes and comfortable furnishings

Recombinant Spidroins Fully Replicate Primary Mechanical Properties of Natural Spider Silk

Dragline spider silk is among the strongest and toughest bio-based materials, capable of outperforming most synthetic polymers and even some metal alloys.1,2,3,4 These properties have gained spider silk a growing list of potential applications that, coupled with the impracticalities of spider farming, have driven a decades-long effort to produce recombinant spider silk proteins (spidroins) in engineered heterologous hosts.2 However, these efforts have so far been unable to yield synthetic silk fibers with mechanical properties equivalent to natural spider silk, largely due to an inability to stably produce highly repetitive, high molecular weight (MW) spidroins in heterologous hosts.1,5 Here we address these issues by combining synthetic biology techniques with split intein (SI)- mediated ligation for the bioproduction of spidroins with unprecedented MW (556 kDa), containing 192 repeat motifs of the Nephila clavipes MaSp1 dragline spidroin. Fibers spun from these synthetic spidroins display ultimate tensile strength (), modulus (E), extensibility (), and toughness (UT) of 1.03 +/- 0.11 GPa, 13.7 +/- 3.0 GPa, 18 +/- 6%, and 114 +/- 51 MJ/m3, respectively-equivalent to the performance of natural N. clavipes dragline silk.6 This work demonstrates for the first time that microbially produced synthetic silk fibers can match the performance of natural silk fibers by all common metrics (, E, , UT), providing a more dependable source of high-strength fibers to replace natural spider silks for mechanically demanding applications. Furthermore, our biosynthetic platform can be potentially expanded for the assembly and production of other protein-based materials with high MW and repetitive sequences that have so far been impossible to synthesize by genetic means alone

Galaxy evolution by color-log(n) type since redshift unity in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We explore the use of the color-log(n) plane (where n is the global Sersic index) as a tool for subdividing the high redshift galaxy population in a physically-motivated manner. Using a series of volume-limited samples out to z=1.5 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) we confirm the correlation between color-log(n) plane position and visual morphology observed locally and in other high redshift studies in the color and/or structure domain. Via comparison to a low redshift sample from the Millennium Galaxy Catalogue we quantify evolution by color-log(n) type, accounting separately for the specific selection and measurement biases against each. Specifically, we measure decreases in B-band surface brightness of 1.57 +/- 0.22 mag/sq.arcsec and 1.65 +/- 0.22 mag/sq.arcsec for `blue, diffuse' and `red, compact' galaxies respectively between redshift unity and the present day.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, to be published in A&A (accepted 29/10/08

Bars in early- and late-type disks in COSMOS

We investigate the (large-scale) bar fraction in a mass-complete sample of M > 10^10.5 Msun disk galaxies at 0.2 < z < 0.6 in the COSMOS field. The fraction of barred disks strongly depends on mass, disk morphology, and specific star formation rate (SSFR). At intermediate stellar mass (10^10.5 < M < 10^11 Msun) the bar fraction in early-type disks is much higher, at all redshifts, by a factor ~2, than that in late-type disks. This trend is reversed at higher stellar mass (M > 10^11 Msun), where the fraction of bars in early-type disks becomes significantly lower, at all redshifts, than that in late-type disks. The bar fractions for galaxies with low and high SSFRs closely follow those of the morphologically-selected early-type and late-type populations, respectively. This indicates a close correspondence between morphology and SSFR in disk galaxies at these earlier epochs. Interestingly, the total bar fraction in 10^10.5 < M < 10^11 Msun disks is built up by a factor of ~2 over the redshift interval explored, while for M > 10^11 Msun disks it remains roughly constant. This indicates that, already by z ~ 0.6, spectral and morphological transformations in the most massive disk galaxies have largely converged to the familiar Hubble sequence that we observe in the local Universe, while for intermediate mass disks this convergence is ongoing until at least z ~ 0.2. Moreover, these results highlight the importance of employing mass-limited samples for quantifying the evolution of barred galaxies. Finally, the evolution of the barred galaxy populations investigated does not depend on the large-scale environmental density (at least, on the scales which can be probed with the available photometric redshifts).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, updated to reflect version accepted by MNRA

Accretion in the Early Kuiper Belt I. Coagulation and Velocity Evolution

We describe planetesimal accretion calculations in the Kuiper Belt. Our evolution code simulates planetesimal growth in a single annulus and includes velocity evolution but not fragmentation. Test results match analytic solutions and duplicate previous simulations at 1 AU. In the Kuiper Belt, simulations without velocity evolution produce a single runaway body with a radius of 1000 km on a time scale inversely proportional to the initial mass in the annulus. Runaway growth occurs in 100 Myr for 10 earth masses and an initial eccentricity of 0.001 in a 6 AU annulus centered at 35 AU. This mass is close to the amount of dusty material expected in a minimum mass solar nebula extrapolated into the Kuiper Belt. Simulations with velocity evolution produce runaway growth on a wide range of time scales. Dynamical friction and viscous stirring increase particle velocities in models with large (8 km radius) initial bodies. This velocity increase delays runaway growth by a factor of two compared to models without velocity evolution. In contrast, collisional damping dominates over dynamical friction and viscous stirring in models with small (80--800 m radius) initial bodies. Collisional damping decreases the time scale to runaway growth by factors of 4--10 relative to constant velocity calculations. Simulations with minimum mass solar nebulae, 10 earth masses, reach runaway growth on time scales of 20-40 Myr with 80 m initial bodies, 50-100 Myr with 800 m bodies, and 75-250 Myr for 8 km initial bodies. These growth times vary linearly with the mass of the annulus but are less sensitive to the initial eccentricity than constant velocity models.Comment: 45 pages of text (including 5 tables), 31 pages of figur

Starbursts and High-Redshift Galaxies are Radioactive: High Abundances of 26^{26}Al and Other Short Lived Radionuclides

Short lived radionuclides (SLRs) like $^{26}$Al are synthesized by massive stars and are a byproduct of star formation. The abundances of SLRs in the gas of a star-forming galaxy are inversely proportional to the gas consumption time. The rapid evolution of specific star formation rate (SSFR) of normal galaxies implies they had mean SLR abundances ~3--10 times higher at z = 2. During the epoch of Solar system formation, the background SLR abundances of the Galaxy were up to twice as high as at present, if SLR yields from massive stars do not depend on metallicity. If SLRs are homogenized in the gas of galaxies, the high SSFRs of normal galaxies can partly explain the elevated abundance of SLRs like $^{60}$Fe and $^{26}$Al in the early Solar system. Starburst galaxies have much higher SSFRs still, and have enormous mean abundances of $^{26}$Al ($^{26}$Al/$^{27}$Al ~ $10^{-3}$ for Solar metallicity gas). The main uncertainty is whether the SLRs are mixed with the star-forming molecular gas: they could be trapped in hot gas and decay before entering the colder phases, or be blown out by starburst winds. I consider how variability in star-formation rate affects the SLR abundances, and I discuss how SLR transport may differ in these galaxies. The enhanced $^{26}$Al of starbursts might maintain moderate ionization rates ($10^{-18}$ -- $10^{-17}$ s$^{-1}$), possibly dominating ionization in dense clouds not penetrated by cosmic rays. Similar ionization rates would be maintained in protoplanetary discs of starbursts, if the SLRs are well-mixed, and the radiogenic heating of planetesimals would likewise be much higher. In this way, galaxy evolution can affect the geological history of planetary systems.Comment: Published in MNRAS, 12 pages, 3 figure

A Case Study of Convectively Sourced Water Vapor Observed in the Overworld Stratosphere over the United States

On 27 August 2013, during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys field mission, NASA's ER2 research aircraft encountered a region of enhanced water vapor, extending over a depth of approximately 2 km and a minimum areal extent of 20,000 km(exp 2) in the stratosphere (375 K to 415 K potential temperature), south of the Great Lakes (42N, 90W). Water vapor mixing ratios in this plume, measured by the Harvard Water Vapor instrument, constitute the highest values recorded in situ at these potential temperatures and latitudes. An analysis of geostationary satellite imagery in combination with trajectory calculations links this water vapor enhancement to its source, a deep tropopausepenetrating convective storm system that developed over Minnesota 20 h prior to the aircraft plume encounter. High resolution, groundbased radar data reveal that this system was composed of multiple individual storms, each with convective turrets that extended to a maximum of ~4 km above the tropopause level for several hours. In situ water vapor data show that this storm system irreversibly delivered between 6.6 kt and 13.5 kt of water to the stratosphere. This constitutes a 2025% increase in water vapor abundance in a column extending from 115 hP to 70 hPa over the plume area. Both in situ and satellite climatologies show a high frequency of localized water vapor enhancements over the central U.S. in summer, suggesting that deep convection can contribute to the stratospheric water budget over this region and season