Enjoy a series of 12 blog posts on ChEnected about who ChEs are, what we’re doing, and where we’re going. I’ll look at trends, consider the wide range of our abilities and achievements, and write about some of the core and new directions we are seeing. These topics are especially important right now because it looks like we are in the early stages of a new Golden Age of Chemical Engineering.
Entering a New Golden Age of Chemical Engineering
This post is the first in a series of 12 posts about who ChEs are, what we’re doing, and where we’re going. 2013 AIChE president Phil Westmoreland looks at trends, considers the wide range of chemical engineers' abilities and achievements, and writes about some of the core and new directions emerging.
ChE-style Manufacturing Moves into the Spotlight
The first basis for asserting a new Golden Age of Chemical Engineering is manufacturing’s shift to emphasize processes and properties – that is, it’s shifting toward aspects of manufacturing where ChEs are leaders.
More ChE Manufacturing: Rebuilding the Body
Tissue engineering is potentially a new area of custom ChE-style manufacturing, illustrating how our approaches to manufacturing go beyond the popular view that manufacturing is making products with machinery or assembly lines.
Shale Gas in the Middle of the Worldwide Energy Drama
The second basis for asserting a new Golden Age of Chemical Engineering is the new abundance of hydrocarbon resources in the US. In this post, we focus on the worldwide impacts of fracking and shale gas.
The New Energy Mix: Abundance and Sustainability?
The US’s surge in production of natural gas is by methods that are spreading around the world. As oil begins to be abundant, too, can we have the benefits and still move toward sustainable energy?
Biology and ChE: Applying a Molecular Science (Part I)
Biology has become a molecular science and an important part of chemical engineering. That began by use of non-bio-specific tools, and now it is influencing ChE directly.
Biology and ChE: Applying a Molecular Science (Part II)
Bioscience has become an important part of chemical engineering. This post reflects on how bioscience and ChE have changed each other and what changes are in store.
ChE Computing Becomes Cyberinfrastructure
Computing and communication networks have become a ubiquitous “cyberinfrastructure” for our personal and professional ChE lives.
Massively Parallel Computing and Massive Impacts for ChE
In this week’s post about the new Golden Age of ChE, Phil Westmoreland writes about “Massively parallel computing and massive impacts for ChE.”
From Big Data to Smart Manufacturing
In this week’s post about the new Golden Age of ChE and the role of computing, Phil Westmoreland writes about “From Big Data to Smart Manufacturing.”
Embracing the Breadth and the Unity of ChE
In this week’s final post in the series about a new Golden Age of ChE, Phil Westmoreland writes about the breadth of chemical engineering and how the many different areas of our profession are linked by a common background and problem-solving approaches.
Seizing the Future of ChE
In this week’s final post in the series about a new Golden Age of ChE, Phil Westmoreland writes about our profession’s opportunities and challenges.