IChemE Blog Elf

What’s new in Chemical Engineering Matters?

As the 4^th edition of IChemE’s technical roadmap, Chemical Engineering Matters, is launched, we asked IChemE Vice President Learned Society, Alexandra Meldrum, what the document means to her and for her thoughts on why it is critical for chemical engineers to address the four challenge areas identified.

CENTENARY BLOG: IChemE at 100, a year of celebrations

As we near the end of our centenary year, IChemE President David Bogle reflects on the array of activities that have taken place to mark the centenary and expresses his thoughts on the important role chemical engineers will have in delivering sustainable development over the next 100 years.

CENTENARY BLOG: Inspiring Chemical Engineers

As 2022 marks IChemE’s centenary, we have been celebrating our profession and the members who have shaped it. IChemE Fellow and Deputy President Nigel Hirst chaired the centenary project’s working group who designed and implemented the ChemEng Evolution website and event programme. In this latest blog of our centenary series, Nigel reveals some of the chemical engineers who inspired our Past Presidents and shares his own views on inspiring the next generation of chemical engineers.

COP27: From Ambition to Implementation

In November 2022, negotiators will gather in Sharm El-Sheikh to progress the state of play on the Paris Agreement – our global response to the climate crisis. In the lead up to this meeting, IChemE Fellow Mary Stewart, an observer to the processes of the UNFCCC, the global body with oversight of the Paris Agreement, outlines the main themes of the conference.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Materials

Every month throughout our centenary year, we will be asking an IChemE member to write a blog about each of the centenary themes. The themes have been selected to highlight and celebrate the enormous contribution that chemical engineering has made to society over the last century.

IChemE member Joseph Bailey, who was part of the editorial panel looking at materials, picks out his choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

How can chemical engineers help create a greener, safer, cleaner world?

Our world is evolving rapidly. We are facing many global challenges, such as enabling a transition to affordable, sustainable energy sources to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

As we evolve, we’ll continue to face more challenges. So, what could the next 100 years of chemical engineering look like to combat the future challenges?

Meet a difference maker in…. health and wellbeing – Fotis Spyropoulos

In this blog series, which is part of our Sustainability Hub, we’re speaking to chemical engineers across the world making a difference to make sustainable practices and products a reality and more accessible to all for the wider benefit of our society and globe.

In today’s blog, Fotis Spyropoulos shares his work researching ways to create foods that are healthier – by reducing fats, sugar, and/or salt – but that still ensures their compounds and components are structurally-sound to make them commercially viable, as well as tasty and appealing for consumers. He gives an insight into the challenges he faces, as well as the critical chemical engineering skills to provide solutions ensuring the products hit the shelves.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Health

IChemE member Elizabeth Cheeseman, who was part of the editorial panel looking at health, picks out her choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Meet a difference maker in…. affordable energy – Sam Haig

Here, Sam Haig explains his role in the recycling and recreation of lithium-ion batteries, and why it’s important to improve the process of utilising the materials within them to ensure once a battery reaches the end of its life there is not significant waste harming the environment. He talks about the challenges of these hazardous materials within batteries and handling production in a sustainable way, while demand is ever-increasing.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Built Environment & Transport

IChemE member Dr Nasrin Aghamohammadi, who was part of the editorial steering committee member for ChemEng Evolution and chaired the Built Environment and Transport theme, picks out her choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Food & Water

IChemE member Dr Laura Malhi, who was part of the editorial panel looking at food and water, picks out her choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Processes & Safety

IChemE Fellow Ian Thomas, who was part of the editorial panel looking at processes & safety shared his choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Inside the Vaccine Taskforce

The UK Government Vaccine Taskforce (VTF) was established in April 2020 by the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, to drive forward, expedite and co-ordinate efforts to ensure that the UK population would have access to a clinically safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19.

Members of IChemE’s Covid-19 Response Team were approached to join the VTF to utilise their chemical, biochemical and process engineering expertise to enable delivery of the taskforce’s objectives.

We caught up one of the members, Vaughan Thomas, to find out more.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Energy

IChemE Fellow and Past President Dr Desmond King, who was part of the editorial panel looking at energy, picks out his choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Digital literacy for chemical engineers

Industry 4.0 and digital technologies are impacting how chemical engineers work and what they work on. It means chemical engineers need to be become competent in the widespread application of machine data, artificial intelligence, process automation and control, and more.

Therefore, IChemE’s Learned Society Committee (LSC) deemed digitalisation one of the priority topics for the Institution to focus upon a learned society for chemical engineers and managed by IChemE’s member-led Digitalisation Technical Advisory Group (DigiTAG). We must help share this knowledge among the membership and chemical engineering community to enable improvements in capabilities and the responsible application of digital tools to benefit the wider profession and society as a whole.

In a feature article in The Chemical Engineer three IChemE members explain why digital literacy is so important.

Meet a difference maker…in affordable energy – Dr Mauro Luberti

In this blog series, which is part of our recently launched Sustainability Hub, we’re speaking to chemical engineers across the world making a difference to make sustainable practices and products a reality and more accessible to all for the wider benefit of our society and globe.

To mark Earth Day today (22 April 2022) in this blog, Dr Mauro Luberti explains the two different gas separation processes he’s using and explains the specialised laboratory equipment he’s developed to predict separation performance of adsorption processes. He’s also looking at ways to capture carbon dioxide more efficiently from power and hydrogen plants, and the importance of decarbonising these industrial sectors.

Digitalisation for Pharma

Digital technologies are impacting how chemical engineers work and what they work on through the widespread application of machine data, artificial intelligence, process automation and control, and more.

This is why our Learned Society Committee deemed it one of the priority topics for us to focus on a learned society for chemical engineers; to share this knowledge and help members improve their capabilities in their responsible application of digital tools to benefit the wider profession and society as a whole.

In a feature article in The Chemical Engineer, Chartered Member Tony Margetts, Principal Consultant at digitalisation consultant and software provider Factorytalk Ltd, explains the pharmaceutical industry’s challenges around connecting and collecting data.

Meet a difference maker…in health and wellbeing – John Civardi

Today on World Health Day (7 April 2022), John Civardi talks about his experience as a water engineer, and how water is being contaminated with pharmaceutical waste, which could lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria. He also explains why it’s important for chemical engineers to help solve this issue for better treatment and cleaning of waterways, groundwater and other water sources to prevent future threats to humans, animals and the environment.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Social Experience

IChemE Honorary Fellow Dr Marlene Kanga, who was part of the editorial panel looking at social experience, picks out her choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Meet a difference maker…in clean water – Professor Philip Davies

In this new blog series, we’re speaking to chemical engineers across the world making a difference to make sustainable practices and products a reality and more accessible to all for the wider benefit of our society and globe.

This is part of our recently launched Sustainability Hub, which is a giving chemical engineers access to a growing suite of new on-demand training courses and knowledge resources to help them to embed sustainable principles and practices into everyday work and life.

Today on World Water Day (22 March 2022), Professor Philip Davies shares his work in water desalination, and particularly his unique process combining reverse osmosis with renewable energy sources to create safe drinking water from seawater in arid countries.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Education & Technology

IChemE Fellow John Kenez, who was part of the editorial panel looking at education & technology, picks out his choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Challenging perceptions in chemical engineering research

Chemical engineering is everywhere. Research plays an integral part in the development of solutions to help society.

IChemE’s recently formed Research and Innovation Community of Practice (R&I CoP) aims to identify and promote key areas of research and innovation in chemical engineering, as well as champion chemical engineering research through input into policy work and via materials that demonstrate the importance of chemical engineering research to everyday life.

But are there preconceived ideas about chemical engineering research? And how do the researchers themselves define their work, activities and contributions to society?

These are ideas that Owen Jones-Salkey from the R&I CoP’s Challenging Perceptions of Chemical Engineering Research Working Group wanted to dig deeper into. In this blog, he explains more on a survey conducted on this, the key findings and what’s next.

CENTENARY BLOG: Spotlight on Sustainability & Environment

IChemE member Dr Nikolay Cherkasov, who was part of the editorial panel looking at sustainability & environment, picks out his choices of elements to celebrate, communicate and inspire.

Behind the scenes: interviews for a TV documentary on engineering

Six IChemE members recently featured in the second series of TV documentary series, Disasters Engineered.

Aired on the National Geographic channel, the documentary examined various chemical, structural, and mechanical engineering incidents. Each episode looked at the causes of two incidents, why and how they happened, how they affected people, and what changes have been made in the industry as a result.

So, we caught up with three of the members – Zsuzsanna Gyenes, Fiona Macleod and Stephen Richardson – to understand how they felt to be part of the series, and why they feel it is important for the public to see chemical and process engineers giving expert accounts of safety incidents.

23,000 pieces of knowledge at your fingertips

Part of our job as a professional body is ensuring members are equipped with an abundance of technical knowledge so they can continue creating impactful and safe solutions to help society and the environment.

That’s why we created our Knowledge Hub – a central hub from which members can search, browse and access IChemE’s technical resources.

CENTENARY BLOG: Celebrating a century of achievements and a future of success

As 2022 marks IChemE’s centenary, we are celebrating our profession and the members who have shaped it. IChemE Fellow and Past President, John McGagh, chaired the centenary project’s volunteer committee who have developed a year-long programme of activity to celebrate this incredible milestone. In the first blog of our new series to mark the centenary, John talks about how the celebrations evolved into the packed programme which kicks off this month.

Five things to consider for transferring sectors

The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have caused a shift in job opportunities for chemical engineers, particularly for those in more traditional carbon-based industries.

This may lead some to wonder what opportunities there are to move from these sectors to emerging ones and how to best to utilise and showcase their transferable skills in applications and interviews to make the switch.

In two recent articles for The Chemical Engineer, recruitment consultant James Colley offers his expert opinion. As Director of Consilium Recruit he has worked closely with chemical engineers and recruiters over the years to help find suitable matches and recognises the wealth of transferable skills chemical engineers can bring to different sectors.

So, here are five of his many tips on switching sectors.

Your career in chemical engineering – Executive leadership

For the final in this six-part blog and video series, Your career in chemical engineering, we spoke to executive leaders and IChemE Fellows Jane Cutler, Professor Carl Schaschke and Chris Woodroofe to learn about their career experiences in various sectors including in oil and gas, overseeing engineering degrees, and airport operations.

They also provide advice to those starting out in their career and share what helped them transition to senior leadership roles.

The full series gives an insight into how 18 chemical engineers got to where they are in their careers today, the key engineering skills that have helped them succeed and practical tips for job hunting.

Your career in chemical engineering – Senior engineering managers

For the fifth of this six-part blog and video series, Your career in chemical engineering, we spoke to senior engineering managers Rachel Cooke, Simon Farrar and Helen Ramsay.

Find out more about their career paths through different sectors, the engineering skills that have helped them become successful managers and why they applied for their current roles at tech firm Amazon, regulating dangerous goods at WorkSafe Victoria and creating devices for diabetes at Abbott below.

Your career in chemical engineering – Engineering managers

For the next in our new blog and video series, Your career in chemical engineering, we spoke to Yasmin Ali, Thaddeus Anim-Somuah and Tommy Isaac who explain what they enjoy about their roles in energy policy, chemicals manufacturing and hydrogen energy production. Plus, they give advice to those seeking career progression to managing people and large scale projects.

Their stories are in one of a six-part blog series sharing the career journeys of 18 chemical engineers, the key engineering skills that have helped them succeed and their practical tips for job hunting.

Your career in chemical engineering – Experienced engineers

For the third instalment in our blog and video series, Your career in chemical engineering, we chatted to experienced engineers Sam Grayson, Sarah Morris, and Dhammy Parameswaran for more on their experiences in risk management, water, and pharmaceuticals, respectively.

They share the day-to-day challenges they face and how they obtained their roles. Plus, they provide practical tips for graduates applying for jobs in the video below.

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