Research brings rewards for high flyers
SCI Process Engineering
Group: Richardson Travel Awards
Richardson Travel Awards are presented annually by SCI’s
Process Engineering Group. They offer financial assistance
to high achieving researchers who wish to present at international
conferences. We asked five previous winners about their research
and future careers:
Andrew Harris, winner in 2002
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney,
Australia
- What are your areas of research?
I focus on green engineering and eco-technology — the
creation of products and processes that maximise resource
efficiency and energy usage, and have minimal environmental
impact. One example is the production of paper from agricultural
wastes, such as straw. Most of these processes make use
of advanced types of fluidised beds.
- What is the industrial/commercial significance of
your research?
The aim of my research is to develop new technologies that
are several degrees better than existing processes to bring
about improvements in economic and environmental performance.
- Is your research mainly experimental, theoretical
or a mixture of both?
It is about 60% experimental — eg designing and testing
new equipment — and 40% modelling. The modelling is
very important for scale-up where we take laboratory measurements
and apply them to industrial scale designs.
- What have been your main contributions to your research
field?
Publishing a series of design correlations for a type of
advanced fluidised bed that enables designers to scale up
with more accuracy than previously.
- Where do you see your career going — academia
or industry?
I think it is very important for academics to appreciate
the types of problems that engineers in industry routinely
face. So while I am currently leaning toward academia, I
will try and keep a foot in industry by continuing the process
design consulting work I have been doing. Recent projects
include designing a bio-diesel refinery and conducting a
feasibility study for a waste-to-energy plant in outback
Australia. This type of work lets me see the sorts of issues
that industrial engineers have and leads to interesting
targets for research.
Nicholas Dinsdale, winner in 2003
Crystal Science Group, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University,
UK
- My research area is crystal science. Along with others
in my group, I investigate the effect of using organic compounds
to induce inorganic crystal growth, often resulting in novel
crystal forms. The aim is then to understand the process
by which crystal nucleation can be controlled by organic
compounds. The inspiration behind this is the formation
of bio-minerals in living organisms, which use similar organic
systems as templates.
- It is estimated that over 90% of industrial chemical
processes involve a crystalline phase at some point, and
it is almost always desirable in crystallisation processes
to be able to produce crystals of uniform size and morphology.
Therefore research into the control of crystallisation is
important generally. However, ultimately, the greater specific
significance of this type of research is likely to be in
biological/medical fields, and it is hoped that advances
will be made in the synthesis of biomaterials, giving the
potential for replacement bones and teeth.
- My research is strongly experimentally based, as my aim
is to investigate and explain the effect of organic compounds
on crystal growth. Theoretical work includes the use of
crystallography software, which is used to predict crystal
morphologies and visualise the molecular structure of crystal
faces.
- I have obtained several new results in terms of the effects
of novel organic compounds, often assembled into supramolecular
systems, on the crystallisation of barium sulphate and calcium
carbonate (calcite). This work has been presented at two
international conferences of the Materials Research Society
(with the help of the Richardson Travel Award) and in a
proceedings paper.
- At this point (as a third-year PhD student) I would say
I am more likely to consider a career in the chemical industry
rather than academia. However, I know that this may well
change as my awareness of the possibilities increases, and
I am happy for this to happen.
Nishanth Gopinathan, winner in 2003
NSF Particle Engineering Research Centre, University of Florida,
US
-
At the University of Florida I am working on a 3D simulation
of triaxial shear tester for cohesive powder. In Leeds
I was working on a powder packing algorithm that could
pack materials of very complex shapes and structure.
-
Triaxial shear boxes are extensively used in powder handling
industries for better understanding of powder flow behaviours.
Packing of particles is a very important part of the problem
as most of the particles are very complex in shape and
behaviour.
-
I use extensive theoretical modelling. The modelling
that I do here is using DEM techniques.
-
Developing a synergistic approach in solving particle
packing problems combining shape acquisition system (X-ray
micro-tomography) and a 3D packing algorithm to develop
a better understanding of various problems in industry,
such as segregation, fluid flow through porous media and
thermal conductivity.
-
I can see a bright future in both academia and industry.
Though I prefer academia; there is still a wide field
open in industry where a lot of good quality research
is happening.
Peter Licence, winner in 2003
Clean Technology Group, Department of Chemistry, University
of Nottingham, UK
- We are looking at using supercritical fluids (SCFs),
in particular carbon dioxide as alternative solvents for
carrying out industrially important chemical reactions.
Current processes can produce large amounts of contaminated
organic solvents such as toluene or dichloromethane, which
can cause serious environmental and economic problems in
terms of waste disposal and product recovery. Not only can
these problems be reduced by the use of SCFs, but their
application can often lead to increased selectivities in
catalytic reactions.
- This project is significant in developing new synthetic
methodologies that offer the opportunity to prepare materials
in a much more selective, environmentally sensitive way;
very important in today’s changeable regulatory climate.
- My research is almost exclusively experimental, but I
always try to understand why things happen.
- Apart from playing a role in the development of cleaner
chemical reactions, I have had a significant input into
the development of new high-pressure apparatus. This has
allowed our group to make considerable advances in the areas
of continuous reactor technology, miniaturisation and fundamental
phase behaviour.
- I enjoy carrying out research and developing new ideas
about chemistry but have a passion for teaching and transferring
my enthusiasm to others, especially youngsters. I hope to
develop my academic career further and to continue to both
educate and innovate.
Peter Martin, winner in 2003
Satake Centre for Grain Process Engineering, Department of
Chemical Engineering, UMIST, UK
-
1 I am looking at mixing of bread dough in order to develop
a better understanding of the aeration processes and to
develop predictive models.
-
2 The large bread producers are moving to differentiate
their products and produce different types of bread —
for example speciality breads such as ciabatta. They are
also looking to use more homegrown wheat, which is of
lower quality since it has lower gluten making protein.
At the moment they rely on trial and error to find satisfactory
operating conditions for dough mixing whereas my research
gives them a model that enables them to optimise these
conditions for the particular product that they are making.
-
3 My research has a strong experimental component —
we have found the best place to do our experiments is
actually at the bakeries of our partner companies rather
than in our research labs. As well as experimentation,
we also use theoretical fluid mechanics to understand
bubble formation in soft solids.
-
4 We have developed a simple but effective conceptual
framework that provides a predictive model for aeration
of bread dough.
-
5 For the medium term I would say that my career lies
in academia [rather than industry].
If you like to apply
for an award, contact
Monica Iglesias, Awards Co-ordinator, T: +44 (0) 20 7598 1505, F: +44 (0)20 598 1545, E: monica.iglesias[ at]soci.org
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