Chemical Engineering
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Chemical Engineering
[Name of Student]
[Name of Institution]
Chemical Engineering is a profession that combines principles of engineering and chemistry hence forming a bridge between manufacturing and science. It is involved in change of raw materials into valuable products. The career dates back in 1805, when Dalton printed weights of atoms of elements that enabled chemical equations to be balance. In 1824, Carnot studied thermodynamics of combustion. This was later developed by Rudolf who applied the principles into chemical systems. This was followed by the first ever introduction of chemical technology in school in 1882 at the university college of London. Edward Armstrong later offered a chemical engineering course at the imperial college in London in 1885. Lewis Norton began the same program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1888. Later on, George Davis introduced a handbook of Chemical Engineering. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers was established in 1908 (Colin, 2000, p 50). This paper discusses the chemical engineering career.
Chemical engineers are involved in a variety of work. Essentially, they work in settings that involve conversion. These include the designing of equipment, large-scale development of chemical processes, establishing methods of production, treatment of byproducts as well as taking charge of manufacturing processes. In all their work, they favor economic processes by ensuring planning and control of processes. This is usually the application of physical science to biological science with the help of economy and mathematics. Chemical engineers are involved in many fields, which include environmental health, electronic, medicine, biotechnology and the business community. They are usually specialized in various fields such as the oxidation, reduction etcetera. In the manufacturing industry, chemical engineers need to know the effect of chemicals to the environment to control pollution as well as effects to human beings. Moreover, chemical engineers have careers in many fields such as automotive, aerospace, food and beverages as well as fuel industries. However, graduates usually work under more experienced staff and are mostly given process development work. As they grow, they are able to handle processes that are more complex. Machines, compounds, and equipment surround the working environment of chemical engineers. It is sometimes stressful for them and they are required to be on call at all times (Green & Perry, 2008 p564-589).
The chemical engineering field requires a mastery of concepts in physics and mathematics at high school level, to attain admission into the undergraduate program. Chemistry is also of essence foe admission. This is since the chemical engineering environment deals with these subjects both directly and in directly. Additionally a chemical engineer needs to possess certain traits that will put him/her at an advantage over the rest. They must be detail oriented. This skill will enable good research in a bid to look for all necessary details of a specific problem. They need to have strong problem analytical and solving skills that will enable them to tackle any problems in their field of practice (Colin, 2000 p33-67). They need to be computer literate to enable in computer analysis of chemicals as well as research. They need to be good mathematicians. This skill is important to ensure accuracy in chemical processes. They need to understand technical terms and concepts that are in use in the chemical engineering environment.
In addition to being competent in both personality and educational skills, scholars in any engineering course need to be strong and flexible enough to climb great heights in order to get things done. Engineering courses will mostly involve working in overalls hence scholars should be psychologically prepared. A bachelors program takes four years in most universities in the United States. Topics offered include thermodynamics, chemical process optimization, ethics and technology, process control, chemical reaction engineering, transport and energy solutions among others. Additionally, scholars will be involved in the laboratory environment hence they need to be prepared to deal with laboratory processes and field visits. This course is offered in universities in the United States such as Princeton University, and MIT (Dilip, 2004, p100).
They also have to possess an understanding of processes and specialties that are involved in chemical engineering such as oxidation. Chemical engineers are also required to possess good writing and speech skills. Their ability to work in groups with people with different cultural and