In addition to the four experiments, every individual had their own design project based off of an experiment that was performed in the lab. My design project was based on the continuous distillation experiment. The objective of the design was to properly size and cost a distillation column that can process a specified amount of feed. The feed was at a given composition and the desired composition of the product was also specified. After countless hours in Stocker, my design was complete and I presented it to three of my professors.

Now that Unit Ops I is complete, I am looking forward to Unit Ops II.

Also, a chemical engineering alumnus, Dwight McVey, came to talk to a few senior ChEs. Dwight graduated from OU a couple years ago and now works for Chemineer which specializes in mixing technology. Dwight talked to us about searching for a job and interviewing for said job. He explained the importance of having a relevant resume for the job in which you are applying for as well as a specific cover letter for each job. One useful piece of advice he mentioned was to look at an interview as a time to sell yourself to the company. I think that this advice will be very useful as I start interviewing for potential jobs.

This quarter I decided to take ice skating with my roommate. The class meets twice a week at the ice rink. Mostly we free skate and practice basic skills, but sometimes we play games like sharks and minnows or capture the flag. The course is a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from my engineering classes. Also, I can now skate forwards and backwards without falling.

At the regional conference, one of the main events is the Chem-E-Car competition. Each team is required to make a shoe box-sized car that runs off of an electrochemical device (OU uses a fuel cell that runs off of hydrogen from ammonia). I am not on the Chem-E-Car team, but I have a lot of experience with this because I took an electrochemical engineering elective last winter and our project was the same task. Our car (shown below) ran off of a copper-zinc battery using a gel electrolyte. Maybe if the team needs a few ideas, I could help them out.

For our first lab experience this quarter, my unit ops team worked on running the distillation column, a three story tall piece of equipment designed to separated methanol from water. A feed stream is divided into two streams, one rich in methanol and the other in water, as the mixture passes through 12 trays. Although it was a little confusing at first, remembering which valves to turn and when to turn on the flow, I learned a lot about a common engineering process.

This was the first summer that I was placed into an engineering group, Manufacturing Technology. My most important project involved updating and standardizing building drawings using AutoCAD, something that I have never used before. The hardest obstacle to overcome was that I had no formal education in drawing, so it took some getting used to. Once the drawings were updated, I mapped out all of the fire sensors to help the fire department in the event of an emergency.

I also worked on a couple support projects including a solids study using new microwave technology and preparing the lab for the 5S audit. I really enjoyed the real-world experience that this opportunity has given me and hopefully it will all pay off when my job search begins.