Chemical Engineering August 2012 - 6

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6 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM AUGUST 2012
Education needs a reality check
Three years after receiving my B.S.Ch.E. degree from
Columbia University, and working in industry for a power
company and at a refinery, I was asked to give a talk to
the New York City chapter of the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers (AIChE) students' night on my early
experience in the field. One of my observations for the
audience was that when I arrived at my first job, a summer
program with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),
I did not know which way to turn a valve, or, for that matter,
anything else about an actual process plant. I was,
however, taught rigorous tensor analysis in a course called
Transport Phenomena. I was envious of the students from
the local and state universities who seemed to know their
way around far better than I did. I wondered out loud to
the audience, what had I borrowed all that money for?
In my remarks, I proposed that engineering schools
should offer two tracks - one for students likely to continue
through graduate school and one for students like me who
would be seeking jobs in industry. My big regret at that time
was that, other than a lab class (where much of the equipment
did not work), I was not taught much of anything that
I would consider practical. I remember this old, crusty guy
in the back row - at the time I thought he was ancient but
now I am probably close to his age - raised his hand when
I concluded and mumbled something like, " I've been waiting
thirty years for someone to say these things. "
Many of the engineers I have talked to over the years had
similar experiences, especially if they attended so called
" elite " or top tier engineering schools. To read in the June article,
Chemical Engineering Education Evolution, that " there
is a rising awareness, however, that university departments
must be connected more to industry... " and that " It's actually
quite remarkable that so little has changed in the chemical
engineering curriculum... " caused me to gasp out loud. " Really?
Another thirty years later, engineers are still molded
to turn tensors but not valves? " Then I realized these quotes
were from the chair of the department at my Alma Mater!
Fortunately, I was able to make a career out of another
gap in the engineering curriculum - communication
skills - and became an editor for an technical trade
journal and then a consultant. It sounds as if this gap
has been addressed, at least at my old school. Still, it
seems there's plenty of room for academia and engineering
schools to stake out some competitive advantages and
help their students in the jobs they need to pay back their
student loans.
Jason Makansi
President, Pearl Street Inc., St. Louis, MO
Postscripts, corrections*
July, Development Speeds Up In Catalysis, pp. 18-20: The
name of Dow's Cherie Wrenn was misspelled. Our apologies.
June, Draining Process Vessels, pp. 34-40, had two errors:
1. Equation (15) was not labeled
2. In Equation (32), the sign for the third term should be
(-) not (+).
■
* The online versions of these article have been ammended and can be
found at http://www.che.com/archives/extras/ps_and_corrections/
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Chemical Engineering August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2012
