Kent Harrington
Kent is a videographer and professional storyteller. He regularly blogs for AIChE on ChEnected. See his latest posts below. You can also follow Kent on twitter @harringtonkent.
ChEnected contributions
Pioneers in Air Pollution Research Win Prestigious Environmental Prize
Two researchers, John Seinfeld, PhD, and Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD, whose groundbreaking work revealed the dangers of air pollution, have been awarded the 2012 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. They will also share the prize's $200,000 award.
Chevron's Huge Gorgon Project Takes Shape in Australia [VIDEO]
Chevron's ambitious Gorgon liquified natural gas (LNG) project in western Australia is now under way and is expected to supply 10,000 jobs in Australia alone at its peak. When Gorgon finally ramps up production in 2014, it will produce 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Check out the video in the panel at right for an overview.
Small Modular Reactors Closer to Reality
The Department of Energy's vision for the future of nuclear energy will probably combine light water fission reactors along with a panoply of small modular reactors (SMRs) currently in development.
Bill Gates and Steven Chu Discuss Global Energy Challenges
At the ARPA-E 2012 summit recently held just outside Washington, DC, Bill Gates and DOE Secretary Steven Chu sat down and discussed the world's largest energy challenges in front of a large audience. Watch in the window on the right.
Celebrate Pi With a Theme Song
Technically, a Pi Day song should never end, but that would crash YouTube. And probably bore most listeners. So the music video in the right hand window will get you started and then you can hum it as long as you want.
Spain's Gemasolar: The World's First Baseload Solar Power Plant
Located in the hot, dry Spanish countryside near the village of Fuentes de Andalucia,Torresol Energy's Gemasolar commercial-scale concentrated solar power plant (CSP) achieved a global milestone last summer by using an innovative storage system – molten salt – to provide uninterrupted power for an entire day, sunrise to sunrise.
US Oil-Product Exports Beat Imports First Time Since 1949
A new economic trend emerged during 2011. The United States actually began exporting more petroleum products than it imported for the first time since 1949.
ChemE Miles C. Barr Given Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for His Solar Innovation
Miles C. Barr, who recently received his PhD in chemical engineering from MIT, has just been awarded the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for developing an innovative solar technology. His innovation is a new way to print solar cells directly onto a variety of surfaces, such as paper.
Siemens Buys UK Tidal Energy Pioneer
Although tidal energy is a micro-niche market over-shadowed by wind and solar, global giant Siemens has recently upped its stake from 45 to 90 percent in tidal energy pioneer, Marine Current Turbines (MCT). Currently, the small, 25-employee, UK-based company has only one grid-connected prototype, which may not appear very auspicious.
Two US Colleges to Help India Create Global University for Polymer Technology
Indian plastics is a major growth industry, currently satisfying 4 percent of world demand, while growing prodigiously 12 percent a year.