Chemical Engineering Expertise in Academe and as Sought by Industry
Session #97 (Plenary) Monday November 4 11 am-12:30 pm
Grand Ballroom A (Hilton)
Chair: John C. Chen (Lehigh University)Co-chair: James C. Hill (Iowa State University)
Sponsored by: AIChE Council of Fellows AIChE Keynotes & Plenaries AIChE Education Division Council for Chemical Research
Introduction
This plenary session seeks to
(1) Examine the evolving distribution of faculty interests and strengths in US ChE departments
(2) Highlight the chemical engineering expertise and talents sought by industry.
Presenter:Dr. James C. HillUniversity ProfessorIowa State UniversityPast Director, AIChE
2
Introduction to the session
● Conceived by John Chen for the AIChE Fellows Council
● Industry leaders were concerned about apparent shift in ChE faculty expertise
● Are needs of industry being met now & in the future?
Introduction to the session
Basic idea for this session:●Survey ChE depts to determine degree of shift (or broadening?) of faculty expertise●Survey traditional & non-traditional industry regarding ChE needs & faculty expertise
Introduction to the session
What we don’t have time for today:
●Determine the driving forces for such shifts in faculty expertise
●Determine if there are significant changes in ChE curricula supporting such shifts
Participants
Dr. James C. Hill, University Professor, Iowa State University, Past Director AIChE, member AIChE Council of Fellows
Dr. John C. Chen, CR Anderson Professor and Dean of Engineering, Emeritus, Lehigh University, Past President AIChE, member AIChE Council of Fellows
Dr. Rui Vogt Alves da Cruz, Associate Director of Research and Development, Dow Chemical Company
Dr. Ashok Krishna, Vice President of Technology, Downstream & Chemicals , Chevron Corporation
Dr. Steven Poehlein, Principal, Elixia Pharma Consulting, LLC
Dr. Jennifer S. Curtis, Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean, University of Florida, Past Director AIChE, member Governing Board CCR
Thanks to Kristine Chin (AIChE) for help in arranging the session
Program of the session:
Introduction: James C. Hill (Iowa State University)
(97a) Evolving Distribution of Faculty Strengths in Chemical Engineering Departments; John C. Chen (Lehigh University)
(97b) Chemical Engineering Skills for the Global Chemical Industry;Rui Cruz
(97c) Petroleum Industry's Need for Chemical Engineering Talent;Ashok Krishna
(97d) Chemical Engineering Skills Sought by Pharmaceutical Industry;Steve Poehlein
Discussion: Moderator -- Jennifer S. Curtis (University of Florida)
Evolving Distribution OfFaculty Strengths In
US Chemical Engineering Departments
Dr. John C. ChenC. R. Anderson Professor and Dean of Engineering, Emeritus
Lehigh UniversityPast President, AIChE
Dr. Chen has professional experience in the process industry, national laboratory and academia. His research on multiphase transport phenomena has been accorded awards by AIChE, ASME, Humboldt Foundation, Max Plank Institute, Association of Engineers Australia, and French Society of Chemical Engineers. He has served as Director on the Boards of the Chemical Council for Research, the AIChE, the Engineering Conferences International, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He served as AIChE President in 2006.
8
9
Evolving Distribution ofFaculty Strengths in
Chemical Engineering Departments
John C. ChenC. R. Anderson Professor and Dean of Engineering, Emeritus
Lehigh UniversityPast President, AIChE
AIChE Annual MeetingSan Francisco, November 2013
10
Premise
The collective interests, expertise and strengths/weaknesses of the faculty in departments of chemical engineering hassignificant influence on the capabilities and quality of theirgraduates and ultimately on the future of the profession.
Objective
Examine the current state and evolution of facultyinterests, expertise and strengths in US departmentsof chemical engineering.
11
Data BaseSample of 40 Departments, 708 FTE Faculty
Range of Departmental Characteristics: Public and Private Universities Undergraduate enrollment: 110 to 900 Graduate enrollment: 15 to 220 G/UG ratio: 0.06 to 0.81 Faculty FTE (current): 5 to 34 Emeritus Faculty FTE: 2 to 9 Rank by NRC for PhD programs: 1 to >20 Rank by USNWR for ChE: 1 to >60
12
Six “Baskets” of Subject Areas
UOUnit OperationsThermodynamicsTransport PhenomenaSeparationsParticle Technology& Related
REReaction EngineeringKineticsCatalysis& Related
AMAnalysis/ModelingSimulationProcess Control& Related
MatMaterial ScienceSurface SciencePolymers& Related
BioBio TechMedical ScienceLife Sciences& Related
NanoNano TechnologyNano Applications& Related
13
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
Strengths Among Current Faculty(620 FTEs in 40 Departments)
Conc
entr
ation
Am
ong
Facu
lty
FTE Concentration Relative Strength
Bio 28% 5 Mat 20% 4 UO 16% 3
AM 15% 2 RE 14% 2
Nano 7% 1
14
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% 30-40% >40%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5 Concentration in Bio
% of Current Faculty in Bio
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 61.5 % Collective Avg 28.5 %Avg Lowest 8.6 %
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
Concentration in Nano
% of Current Faculty in Nano
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 15.2 % Collective Avg 6.8 %Avg Lowest 0.0 %
Distribution among Departments ?
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5Concentration in UO
% of Current Faculty in UO
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 47.6 % Collective Avg 16.0 %Avg Lowest 0.0 %
15
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Concentration of Faculty StrengthsVarious Groupings
All 40 Depts
Highest 10 in USNW
Highest 10 in G/UG
Stre
ngth
in F
acul
ty
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Concentration of Faculty StrengthsEffect of UG Size
All 40 Depts
Smallest 10 in UG
Largest 10 in UG
Stre
ngth
in F
acul
ty
Differences for Sub-Groups ?
16
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
Faculty Strength in RE
Evolution over Time --->
% in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Faculty Strength in AM
Evolution over Time --->
% in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Faculty Strength in Mat
Evolution over Time --->
% in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Evolutionary Trend ?
17
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Faculty Strength in Bio
Evolution over Time --->
% in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
5%
10%
15%20%
25%
30%35%
40%
45%50%
Faculty Strength in UO
Evolution over Time ---->
% in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Emeritus Professor Associate Prof. Assitant Prof.0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Faculty Strength in Nano
Evolution over Time --->
5 in
Eac
h Ra
nk
Evolutionary Trend ?
18
Concluding Observations
Significant differences among departments exist in concentration of faculty strengths for 5 of the 6 subject areas (UO, RE, AM, Mat, Bio), varying from 0% to >30%.
Exception is the newer subject area of Nano, where no department has concentration >20%, and ~ ¾ of departments have <10% of their faculty expertise.
The concentrations for current faculty in all departments, show greatest strength in Bio – where a collective 29% of faculty is concentrated, with a number of depts having >62%.
The second strongest area is Mat – with a collective concentration of 19%.
For the “cores” areas of UO, RE, and AM, the collective strengths among currentfaculty are uniformly moderate – with concentrations in range of 14% to 16%.
Departmental ranking, size, or emphasis on graduate education do not appear to effect distribution of faculty strengths, significantly.
The most significant evolutionary changes of faculty strength are the substantial and continuing growth in Bio and the decline in UO.
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Implications for Discussion
Quality and relevance of ChE education
Competence of graduates
Preparation of young professionals
Choices for advanced studies
Future directions for ChE profession
Next
Engineering managers from three of the most important industries will discuss the strengths they seek in their chemical engineering staffs.Each will rate the importance they ascribe to the six subject areas, for thechemical engineering functions in their specific industry. How do theseratings compare to distribution of faculty strengths?
Chemical Engineering Skills for the Global Chemical Industry
Dr. Rui Vogt Alves da Cruz Director of Research and Development
Dow Chemical Company
Dr. Cruz has worked at both international and national locales for Dow. His responsibilities have ranged over Human Resources, Technical Services, Customer Services, and Research and Development, for several different products and technologies.Most recently, he was Group Leader for Polygcols and Surfactants R&D, before assuming role of Associate Director for R&D for Epoxy Process, Amines and Chelants and Plastic Additives. Dr. Cruz has been responsible for the recruitment of chemical engineering PhDs for the Materials Division of Dow Chemical Company since 2011.
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Chemical Engineering Skills for the Global Chemical IndustryCurrent and Future Needs
Rui Vogt Alves da CruzThe Dow Chemical CompanyR&D Director
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Chemical Engineers in the Chemical Industry
Engineering and Design
Manufacturing Research and Development
Marketing,Sales,
Finance,IT
Supply Chain,Business
Management
23
And some of the projects they work on
Engineering and Design
Manufacturing Research and Development
•Design and build a new cracker
•Develop tools for equipment specification
•Start-up and run the first world scale plant using a new process
• Implement process improvements to reduce waste generation
•Develop a process to produce a new molecule
•Screen new catalysts for improved yield and selectivity
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93 respondents (ChemE recruiters
and leaders)
Skill
Average Relative
Importance 1-5
UO: unit operations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, separation processes * 4.6
RE: reaction engineering, catalysis, kinetics. 4.0AM: analysis, modeling, simulation, process control * 4.0
MAT: materials, surface science, polymers * 3.2BIO: biotechnology, medical and life sciences 2.1NANO: nanotechnology and its applications 1.8
DOW RESTRICTED - For internal use only
* main perceived gaps between importance and proficiency by new hires
Survey on importance of skills
Manufacturing49%
Engineering22%
R&D29%
25
Additional competencies and specific skills
SkillRelative
Importance 1-5
Communication and presentation skills ** 4.7
Project management ** 4.3
Process and lab safety ** 4.2
Equipment design and instrumentation 3.9
Design of experiment and statistics ** 3.8Programming skills 3.4Analytical methods 3.3
DOW RESTRICTED - For internal use only
** major perceived gaps between importance and proficiency by new hires
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Main concerns and opportunities
•Coursework and project opportunities around application of chemical engineering fundamentals
•Foster learning and collaboration with other sciences and departments
• Industrial internships and co-op assignments
• Intimacy with equipment and mechanical skills
•Particle technology and solids handling
•Applied statistics and experimental design
•Problem solving skills•Communication, especially on technical matters
•Process safety, especially on reaction engineering
•Finance, process economics
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A fascinating control problem
The Future
Assessment of current skills
Forecasting of skills needed
Assessment of current skills
Identification of Gaps
Action Plan
Development of curriculum and
faculty
Implementation of changes
First bachelors under new program
First PhDs under new program
28
Conclusions – Needs of the Chemical Industry
• Solid fundamentals in Unit Operations, Reaction
Engineering, and Analysis and Modeling are critical
• Multidisciplinary interests, versatility and problem solving
skills
• Industry and Academia must collaborate fast on
implementing the changes needed to prepare students for
future challenges
Petroleum Industry’s Need for Chemical Engineering Talent
Dr. Ashok KrishnaVice President of Technology, Downstream & Chemicals
Chevron Corporation
Dr. Krishna is responsible for development and deployment of non-IT technologies in Downstream & Chemicals for Chevron Corporation. Prior to his current appointment, he served as General Manager of Technology for Global Refining, and as Managing Director of Technology Marketing. Dr. Krishna has held technical leadership positions for most petroleum refining processes, including FCC, Thermal Processing, Rheniforming, Alkylation, and all aspects of Hydroprocessing. He is a member on the Boards for joint ventures between Chevron and Grace Davison, CBI Lummus, and Weyerhaeuser.
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© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 31
Chemical Engineering Skill Sets, Status, Needs, and Trends
Ashok KrishnaChevron Global DownstreamVice President, Technology
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)2013 AIChE Annual Meeting November 4, 2013
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 32
Escravos Gas-to-Liquids Plant in NigeriaChevron Richmond Technology Center in Richmond, California
Chevron Sites
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 33
The Skill Sets As We Define Them
UO: Unit operations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, separation processes, and related
RE: Reaction engineering, catalysis, kinetics, and related
AM: Analysis, modeling, simulation, process control, and related
MAT: Materials, surface science, polymers, and related
BIO: Biotechnology, medical and life sciences
NANO: Nanotechnology and its applications
PE: Process engineering/design and process safety
BS: Business skills, technical writing, presentations, and communications
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 34
Relative Importance of Skill Sets to Us
SkillRelative
ImportanceDegree of
Preparation
BIO Low Medium
NANO Low Medium
RE Medium-High Medium
MAT Medium-High Low
BS High Medium
AM High Medium
UO High High
PE High Medium
UO: Unit operations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, separation processes, and related
RE: Reaction engineering, catalysis, kinetics, and related
AM: Analysis, modeling, simulation, process control, and related
MAT: Materials, surface science, polymers, and related
BIO: Biotechnology, medical and life sciences
NANO: Nanotechnology and its applications
PE: Process engineering/design and process safety
BS: Business skills, technical writing, presentations, and communications
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 35
Relative Importance of Skill Sets to Us
UO: Unit operations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, separation processes, and related
RE: Reaction engineering, catalysis, kinetics, and related
AM: Analysis, modeling, simulation, process control, and related
MAT: Materials, surface science, polymers, and related
BIO: Biotechnology, medical and life sciences
NANO: Nanotechnology and its applications
PE: Process engineering/design and process safety
BS: Business skills, technical writing, presentations, and communications
• New Materials/Catalysis will continue to be very important• We see a gap in process safety in general• Process Control education has to evolve as well
BIO
Nano
RE
MAT
BS
AM
UO
PE
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Degree of Preparation
Relative Importance
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 36
Where We Use These Skill Sets
Note that it is common to start in Downstream and move to Upstream.
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 37
Control Rooms 30 Years Ago!
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 38
Control Rooms Today
Future Trends Need improved engineering economics knowledge (The Energy
Equation and needing ALL forms of energy), and a keen awareness of the evolving regulatory landscape and climate change.
We will continue to provide a majority of the energy that the world needs as developing countries improve their economies for decades to come, and need ChE skills.
Global Energy Mix, MMBOED
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
© 2013 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. All rights reserved. 40
Conclusions
With Integrated Oils, there is going to be a significantly higher demand for engineers in Upstream than
in Downstream
In downstream, hiring fell off in 2008-10 due to the global economic turndown, but has since recovered;
hiring rates will be healthy over the next decade as we replace an aging workforce and backfill behind
the retirement wave that is coming, transfer larger numbers of well-trained engineers to our Upstream
operations (for Integrated Oils), and support growth in the petrochemical industry
We will continue to need chemical engineers that are taught basic Unit Ops, and process design;
process safety training will become increasingly important as PSM will dominate our industry
Catalysts will continue to improve and provide yield benefits while increasing unit cycle lengths,
needing graduates to be well equipped in reactor science and catalysis
Increasingly, advanced automation and process control, safety instrumented systems, and real time
optimization will become more important. Engineers need to be taught not only the basics of process
control, but also be familiar with the latest in the hardware and the process control network.
Consumer-driven technology (handhelds, ruggedized tablets, wearables, etc.) will become commonly
deployed; luckily the younger generation of engineers comes well equipped in this regard
Future engineers will need to be well-versed in business skills and communications even more, be
aware of environmental regulations, and learn to operate as team members in a collaborative fashion
with operators, mechanics and optimization engineers in a central control room setting
Chemical Engineering Skills Sought by
Pharmaceutical Industry
Dr. Steven PoehleinPrincipal
Elixia Pharma Consulting, LLC
Dr. Poehlein has held various management positions at Merk, including that of Director for Technical Operations at several plants, Senior Director and Executive Director for Pharmaceutical Tech Operations, and Vice President for Global Technical Operations. He has been responsible for the technical support of some 80 manufacturing sites in more than 20 countries. The work of several hundred engineers and scientists in his organizations has ranged from process development, to manufacturing and packaging, to statistical modeling and analysis. He is an active member of the advisory committees for a number of chemical engineering departments at US universities.
41
Chemical Engineering Skills Sought by Pharmaceutical Industry
Steven Poehlein, PhDPrincipal, Elixir Pharma Consulting LLC
Previous – VP Global Technical Operations, Merck
Landscape of Pharma IndustryDiversity of unit ops, processes and products is large
and growing considering processes used for:Active Pharmaceutical IngredientsExcipientsFormulated ProductsPackages
Challenges abound in the industry including need to:Cut process development and manufacturing costs to
fund research and improve access to medicinesDevelop safer, more effective drugs and vaccinesMaximize returns during shrinking patent exclusivity
period
Landscape - continuedSupply chains can be complex given global
nature of business and manufacturing expertise
Process control strategies vary from fully automated to highly manual
Regulatory agencies increasing demands for FIRST principle understanding of manufacturing processes as related to true product quality attributes
Conclusion – Chemical Engineers remain highly relevant and necessary for pharma success
What does pharma need in today’s ChE Graduates?It’s all about the fundamentals, the entry
ticket!Demonstrated ability to apply fundamentals
to new unit operations and control strategiesLiteracy in process economics and cost
structuresAbility to work cross functionallyAbility to translate process technology to
either manual or automated plantsDeeper understanding of analytics and
measurements
Ancillary and Soft SkillsProcess safetyStatistical and empirical methods6 Sigma and analytical problem solvingLEAN ManufacturingCommunicationLeadershipDiversity and cross cultural exposure
Fundamental Gaps Still ExistPowder and Solid Processing
BlendingFlow and segregationGranulationTablet Compression
Stability of Formulated ProductsBioavailability as a function of product attributes
and controllable process parameters
Knowledge in these areas will improve the safety and efficacy of new and existing drug products.
A Challenge to ChE Faculty and Industry ExecutivesChE Faculty – Given limited curriculum real estate
and time, how do we:Introduce relevant new processes/unit ops into course
framework without compromising the fundamentals?Expose students to the power of cross functional
collaboration?Further develop the student’s soft skills?
Industry Executives – Given shrinking budgets, how do we:Support continued learning of soft and hard skills
throughout career?Increase partnerships with academia to improve
fundamental understanding of pharma processes?
Expertise Required of Chemical Engineers in Pharmaceutical Industry
UO (unit operations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, separation processes, and related)
RE (reaction engineering, catalysis, kinetics, and related)
AM (analysis, modeling, simulation, process control, and related)
MAT (materials, surface science, polymers, and related)
BIO (biotechnology, medical and life sciences)
NANO (nanotechnology and its applications)
Importance (1 – 5)
5
5
4
3
4
2
Open Discussion
Questions and comments are invited fromthe assembly.
Please come to the floor microphones and
state your name and affiliation.
Moderator:Dr. Jennifer S. CurtisDistinguished Professor & Associate Dean of EngineeringUniversity of FloridaPast Director, AIChE
50
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0
1
2
3
4
5
Relative Importance of Subject Areas
ChemicalPetroleumPharmaceuticalCurrent FacultyAssistant Prof
Impo
rtan
ce
Current Faculty Assistant Profs Chem. Industry Petroleum Industry Pharma Industry(40 depts) (40 depts) (Cruz, Dow Chem) (Krishna, Chevron) (Poehlein, Merk)
UO 3 1 5 5 5RE 2 3 4 4 5AM 2 2 4 5 4Mat 4 3 3 4 3Bio 5 5 2 2 4
Nano 1 1 2 2 2
Chemical Engineering Expertise in Academe and as Sought by Industry
Session #97 (Plenary) Monday November 4 11 am-12:30 pm
Grand Ballroom A (Hilton)
Chair: John C. Chen (Lehigh University)Co-chair: James C. Hill (Iowa State University)
Sponsored by: AIChE Council of Fellows AIChE Keynotes & Plenaries AIChE Education Division Council for Chemical Research
Other sessions of possible interest:
Session #513 “Responding to Industry’s Needs”Sponsored by Education Division & YP CommitteeChair: Donald P. Visco Jr. Co-chair: Nemoy RauWednesday 12:30 pm—Union Square 24 (Hilton)
Session #140 “Effective Industry-University Partnerships ” Sponsored by Council for Chemical Research, AIChE Keynotes & PlenariesChair: Jennifer S. Curtis Co-chair: Clare McCabeMonday 12:30 pm—Grand Ballroom A (Hilton)
54
Additional Slides(Use in discussion as appropriate)
55
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
Strengths Among Current Faculty(620 FTEs in 40 Departments)
Subject Areas
Conc
entr
ation
Am
ong
Facu
ltyCurrent distribution of faculty expertise and strengths ?
UO RE AM Mat Bio Nano0
1
2
3
4
5
Relative Importance of Subject Areas
ChemicalPetroleumPharmaceuticalCurrent FacultyAssistant Prof
Impo
rtan
ce
Observations:
• Mat --- fairly good correspondence between industry and academe.
• UO, RE, AM, Nano – all more important in industry than academe; greatest disparity is UO, where young faculty are week.
• Bio --- disparity shown, more important to academe than to industry.
57
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Concentration in UO
% of Current Faculty in UO
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 47.6 % Collective Avg 16.0 %Avg Lowest 0.0 %
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5Concentration in RE
% of Current Faculty in RE
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 31.5 % Collective Avg 14.0 %Avg Lowest 2.5 %
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Concentration in AM
% of Current Faculty in AM
Frac
t. of
Dep
ts
Avg Highest 30.3 % Collective Avg 14.9 %Avg Lowest 0.0 %
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% >30%0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Concentration in Mat
% of Current Faculty in Mat
Fra
ct. o
f Dep
ts
Avg Highest 36.8 % Collective Avg 19.7 %Avg Lowest 1.1 %
Distribution among Departments ?