Sweeney, O. R.

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 The Knowledge Bank at The Ohio State University Ohio State Engineer   Title:  Things Expected of the Chemical Engineer Creators:  Sweeney, O. R. Issue Date:  Apr-1918  Publisher:  Ohio State University, College of Engineering Citation:  Ohio State Engineer, vol. 1, no. 2 (April, 1918), 42-43. URI:  http://hdl.handle.net/1811/33950  Appears in Collections: Ohio State Engineer: Volume 1, no. 2 (April, 1918)   The Ohio State EngineerThings Expected of the Chemical EngineerBy 0. R. SWEENEJYProf, in Chemistry, Ohio State UniversityPerhaps no question is so interesting to the stu-dent in a technical course as is the one whichbears upon the things which are expected of himwhen he will have completed his college work andis ready to enter into the work in his chosen field.All this is best answered by studying the reasonswhich underlie a demand for men trained especial-ly to work in this field.Prior to the enormous development of modernindustries the manufacturers produced his waresin a small factory, employing men who were high-ly skilled in manufacturing one special article.The business developed so slowly that there wasalways a supply of men capable of meeting de-mands long before places were available for them.Raw material was drawn from the same sourceand was practically uniform, or its change was sogradual that the workmen easily accustomed them-selves to working it. With the great developmentin engineering, however, this was all changed.Civil engineers made sources of new materialavailable Which were fare remover and opened upnew markets to the sources of raw material whichcould previously only supply the local demand.This gave the manufacturer new markets, orforced him to look elsewhere for materials. Hesoon found, however, that the raw materials werenot uniform; those coming from different minesor mills had different impurities, or differenttreatments, all of which changed their properties.Furthermore mechanical engineers replaced theintelligent and skillful workman by a machine;often operated by an unskilled workman. The re-sult of this was the introduction of specifications;contracts which would insure a product whichwould meet the requirements of the manufacturer.When bids were received they were accepted withthe understanding that the materials would meetthe requirements of the manufacturer accordingto specifications. In order that the receiver couldbe sure that the raw material would meet his re-quirements before he unloaded it; and in orderthat the producer could supply a material with-out having it rejected, sets of tests were devised.Frequently those were mechanical in their na-ture, but more generally they were chemical an-alyses of the raw material. It was rare that acomplete analysis was necessary; if certain im-purities were below a defined value the materialcould be accepted. Even a complete chemicalanalysis does not always signify that a raw ma-terial will serve, however; frequently the previ-ous treatment is more vital to its properties thanare its constituents. With the growth of those in-dustries which use some chemical reactions to con-vert a material into a different form, there wasalso a demand for specially trained men to design,develop and operate them. This is the main func-tion of chemical engineering.Until quite recently this work was largely doneby mechanical engineers who were well trainedon the mechanical side, but were lacking in chemi-cal knowledge; or by chemists who were skilled inthe chemical work but were deficient in engineer-ing knowledge. The course in chemical engineer-ing—the youngest of the engineering courses—was added to supply men who would be suitablefor this work.The course as developed in most colleges isfairly uniform in the main points, though differ-ing somewhat in main details. Enough English isgiven to enable the engineer to write accurate re-ports of his investigations and recommendations.Reports and specifications writing is one of themost important things which the chemical en-gineer has to do. A thorough training is givenin inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry sothat new or unusual conditions may be met. Thetraining in analytical chemistry is such that thestudent can enter the works laboratory and quick-ly master the methods used at that place; the aimis, or should be, to give skill in manipulation anda training in general principles rather than amastery of the schemes used in any special lineof work. In teaching these points, however, it isgenerally thought best tc select most of the prac-tices from technically important substances, andto give as much technicaJ analysis as the time willpermit. In conjunction with the latter work, theproper interpretation of the analytical data isemphasized. The courses in technical chemistrycover, as much as possible, the methods used inchemical plant constructions; the types of ma-chines, ovens, cells, etc., that are in general use;and problems are given which will illustrate im-portant points, or will develop the students' re-search abilities. Enough technical drawing isgiven to enable the student to read the most com-plex technical trawing and to enable him to statehis ideas in such a manner that they can be in-terpreted in the foundry and the shop. In me-chanical engineering he is trained in such a man-ner as to be able to intelligently direct a powerplant; to calculate the power needed in his oper-ations and, after he has had a considerable prac-tical experience, to enable him to design units,and to assemble an entire plant. Enough electricalengineering is given to enable him to use intelli-The Ohio State Engineergently the generator, the motor and the currentand to adopt, or specify electric machinery suita-ble to his needs. One or two years of one of themore widely used foreign languages is includedto give him access to a technical literature writtenin a language other than his own. The courses inmachematics include a thorough training in thecalculus. The courses in physics are fundamental,and go well into advanced mechanics. In manyschools, it is thought wise to include enough mili-tary training to enable him to help defend hiscountry if it becomes necessary.While the above courses are the ones prescribedin the curriculum it is by no means all that thestudent is expected to get from his college train-ing. The young man who graduates without gain-ing an appreciation of music, literature and thelike and who has not fitted himself to be an en-joyable companion to others will have missed oneof the most important—if not the most import-ant—part of his college training. The matter ofpersonality is extremely important. Employersdemand this, and it is seldom that a man is se-lected for a position which has much of a futurewithout first having had some personal inter-course with the employer. One employer wrote:''Send me a man with whom I can be comforta-ble; I can soon teach him all he needs to knowmyself." Another wrote: "We expect to developthe person we select into a manager of our plant,and we want someone who can get along with ourmen."After graduation it is a problem to decide onthe kind of work to select, if one has a choice inthe matter. It is a deep seated conviction amongchemical engineers that the young chemical en-gineer should receive his initiation into the fra-ternity through the laboratory, where the routinework is done. Only a few years should be spenthere, however, and if the candidate cannot get outin a reasonable time he is "a square plug in around hole" and should enlist in some other en-deavor. While in the laboratory he will have anopportunity to familiarize himself with the work-ings of the entire plant. The "testing" or "con-trol" laboratory fits him for the positions whichthe chemical engineer generally fills. He may be-come the chief chemist. In this capacity he willbe expected to specify the kinds of raw materialwanted; to digest the tests which his assistantsmake, and to decide whether or not the materialsconform to the specifications. It is not an uncom-mon thing to accept, or reject, single consign-ments which are valued at hundreds of thousandsof dollars on the tests wThich are made in the lab-oratory. On the other hand the materials beingworked in the factory are carefully tested at vari-ous stages, and such information is supplied aswill enable the managers to produce a uniformproduct which will meet the specifications of itsbuyers. The chief chemist is also expected toselect the tests which are used, and to devise newones if necessary. It has come to be quite commonto select members of the sales department—themost important department from the manufac-turer's standpoint—from the laboratory. It isquite evident that products of a chemical naturerequire a trained chemist to properly exploitthem. The purchasing departments of manyplants are controlled by the laboratory. Managersof chemical and metallurgical plants are, at pres-ent, largely selected from the laboratory. Thispart of the work is very enjoyable, and the re-muneration is generally high. The research de-partment is perhaps the most popular amongchemical engineers. When an inquiry is made fora research man the effort is made by most collegesto supply one of the graduates of some previousyear who has had experience along the line forwhich the research is required. Inexperiencedgraduates are not generally successful in thisline of work, and it is best to approach this workfrom the testing laboratory. The research chemistis expected to improve old processes; cheapen theproduct or make it better; develop new processes;and perfect old machines or design new ones. Insome plants two or more of these departments areunder the control of a single man.The writer wishes to congratulate the editorsand managers of this magazine on their efforts;and to wish them the greatest success obtainable.

Things Expected of the Chemical Engineer

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Things Expected of the Chemical Engineer

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