Chemical Engineering Professional Advancement

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Chemical engineering professional advancement

· AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers)

Benefits of membership; Free membership for U.S. chemical engineering undergraduates. Includes free subscription to Chemical Engineering Progress on line.
Continuing education Short courses, in-house courses, on-line courses, webinars, CDs on a wide range of topics relevant to chemical engineering
History and evolution of chemical engineering; First 100 years of the AIChE; Fifty early eminent ChEs (AIChE Senior Members in the first half of the 20^th century)

· Society of Biological Engineering

· Chemical Heritage Magazine (wonderful interesting source of historical information)

· The future of the chemical industry Significance for the chemical engineering profession, locations of new plants.

· What's important to practicing chemical engineers: Results of an international survey in 2004. Results for the USA reveal that the 4 most important qualities are:

· Ability to communicate effectively

· Ability to work effectively as a member of a team

· Ability to analyze information

· Ability to solve problems

· To become a licensed professional engineer: NCEES (can download Reference Handbook free); New York State. Take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE) this year while everything is fresh in your mind! The FE exam is given twice a year, in April and October, with the registration deadline before that. A reference handbook, sample questions & solutions, and an on-line diagnostic exam are available at NCEES study materials. Also google "Fundamentals of Engineering Examination Review". FE economics problems (how to solve and free example questions). On-line example questions (not free). Clarkson's site .

· Ethics for engineers, including case studies, codes, philosophy, and guidance:

Distance Learning for credit.
AIChE Code of Ethics
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE): Code of Ethics; Board of Ethical Review Cases; Ethics in Employment (Committee Report at Ethics Resources)
Online Ethics Center at the National Academy of Engineering.
Whistleblowing: Whistleblower examples and the law; Whistleblower Support; The Whistleblower Program of OSHA; Sarbanes-Oxley legal requirements
Bribery to obtain business: Etiquette of bribery; Alstom; Halliburton; Siemens ; Fluor's Crime Fighter

· Intellectual Property protection. IP is usually the most important factor in the growth and survival of a company. Google to find information on the following:

Patents. Best for products. Much less useful for processes (how products are made). An important criterion for salary increases and advancement in an organization. Following is the process:

· Keep good records, e.g. a bound lab notebook. Particularly important pages should be signed, dated and witnessed.

· Invention disclosure before public disclosure in a publication, presentation, etc.

· Internal evaluation based on economic as well as novelty considerations. Is the invention probably of commercial importance? Is it really new? Can it be defended or enforced?

· Patent preparation with a patent attorney. Requires reference of the prior art (especially related patents), drawing up of claims, example(s) of reduction to practice, drawings.

· Submission for U.S. and often international patents. Systems and requirements vary widely.

· Response to objections by the patent office.

· Granting of patent.

· Most patents make no money. It is said that really valuable patents are not valid until they are tested in court.

Secrets. Even when something is patented, it is usually not sufficient protection. For this reason, secrets are kept: patents don’t tell everything, plant tours are carefully controlled or prohibited, publications and presentations tend to be designed to promote sales rather than transmit information, employees are sometimes prohibited from attending professional meetings, information transfer even within a company may be forbidden except when there’s a “need to know,” security is sometimes provided for key employees, foreign travel may be prohibited, e-mail is monitored, lawsuits are filed against other companies hiring key employees, “non-disclosure agreements” are required for consultants, vendors, and collaborations between companies, etc.
Industrial Espionage. Done for commercial as well as national defense motives. Outsiders spy, information systems are hacked, and employees sell secrets.

· Graduate School and fellowships (see the excellent advice at Planning for Graduate Work in Chemistry)

Step 1: Take the Graduate Record Examination. Required to apply to many (but not all) graduate programs and fellowships. Similar to SAT. Given at many sites throughout the year. Register early on-line, as test stations are limited.
Step 2: Identify universities with research you're interested in:

· ASEE Directory of Engineering Colleges A huge amount of information provided by engineering schools.

· Engineering Village search by research topic, faculty member and/or university to see who's been active.

· ACS Directory of Graduate Research An excellent data base of chemical engineering, chemistry and biochemistry faculty members, searchable by name, university, research specialty, state, etc. For each faculty member lists education, research interests, and recent papers and theses directed.

· Web pages for universities (remember that these are sales pitches)

Step 3: Obtain $$. Apply to chosen universities by February 15; earlier for fellowships from agencies and foundations.

· Universities themselves offer a variety of financial aid, on the order of $21,000 per year plus tuition. Applicants are normally considered automatically for these without the necessity for separate applications. The usual types are:

· Teaching assistantships, requiring on the order of 12 hours/week for assistance with undergraduate courses.

· Research assistantships, funded by professors’ grants and contracts for specific research projects, the results from which are used for the students’ MS and PhD theses.

· Fellowships funded by companies, foundations, individuals, governments for that particular university.

· National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships: $30,000 per year stipend plus exemption from tuition and fees. Very prestigious and gives you greater flexibility in choice of research projects. Apply on-line by November.

· National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships: $30,500/year stipend. Apply on-line by January.

· Department of Homeland Security Fellowships: $27,600/year + tuition. Application deadline probably early February.

· National Academies directory of scholarships, fellowships and grants

· National Academies Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships $20,000/year

· EPA Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study Up to $37,000/year

· Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowships: Application period begins in August for the following year.

· The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative/Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: Due in April for the following fall. Up to $45,000 over 18 months.

· Do you need an MBA?

· Job Hunting Advice

· Resume advice

· E-mail advice

· How to stand out at a job fair

· Salaries and wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By area and occupation.

· Salaries and jobs. Salary data often not comprehensive or up to date. Current job openings.

Disclaimer: The material on these pages is intended for instructional purposes by Clarkson University students only. Neither Clarkson University nor Professor Wilcox is responsible for problems caused by using this information.

Last updated November 9, 2009. Comments and corrections should be sent to Professor William R. Wilcox