Homework Assignment for Intro to Engineering 100 - Chemical Engineering

For this assignment you will find information on a topic chosen from the list at the bottom of this assignment description. Find materials in the library and its online resources (a book, a reference book, one journal article) and find information on the web. Write a short paper (less than one page) on the topic. References written in the AIChE format must be included.

Your assignment is due to your professor when class meets:

• Dr. Fried October 11, 2004
• Dr. Guliants October 11, 2004

You will need UCLID/OhioLINK (the online catalog) to complete the assignment.
Access UCLID/OhioLINK through
           six workstations in the Engineering Library, or
           sixteen workstations in the Information Commons, or
           the Engineering PC and Unix labs.

Assignment

1. Choose a topic from the list below.

2. Find a book with information on topic.

• Connect to UCLID from the Engineering Library homepage.
• Search by keyword for your topic.  Use the help information at the bottom of the search page.
• Browse the list of books found and select the most appropriate records for review.
• Note the call number and subject headings for the most relevant book for the assignment.
• Find the book on the shelf and read pages with information on your topic.
• Hint: email the UCLID/OhioLINK record to yourself for printing or editing.  It has all the information you need for citing it for your paper.  Select Export this Record, then View Marked Records. Choose Full Display format.

3. Find a reference book:

• From the Engineering Library homepage, click on Reference Guides select either the Chemical Engineering or Chemical Engineering Business guide.
• Review the titles listed in the section of the guide entitled HANDBOOKS and ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
• Use the call numbers provided to find the books in the Engineering Reference collection, or use the same call number from the relevant book titles you found in Step 2 above.
• Find specific pages in the Reference book with relevant information.
• You may also try Knovel handbooks online.

4. Find an article on your topic in a journal (magazine, periodical).    Choose one of the following three sources.

• Computers and Applied Sciences Complete
• From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - C, then Computers and Applied Sciences Complete .
• Search by keyword or subject for your topic.
• Choose the record that is most appropriate. If no full-text link is available, use the "Find It! " or ArticleLinker buttons to find the article.   Read the article.
• The entry contains all the information you need for citing.
• If you want to export the record to your email, click the Add (to folder) button. Then click on the folder for emailing or exporting options.the brief format (for citing) or detailed format (to examine subject headings).
  This information is essential for citing your reference properly.

OR

• LexisNexis Academic
• From the Engineering Library homepage,  select Databases Online - L - LexisNexis Academic .
• Select News - General News. Set Source to Major Newspapers or Magazines and Journals.  Read article.
• OR select Business - Industry & Market - Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber from Industry pull-down menu.  Read article.

OR

• Academic Search Complete
• From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - A - Academic Search Complete .
• Find your terms using the Default Fields. Read full-text of article.

5. To find a website:

• Choose a search engine such as "Google," "Alta Vista," or even "Dogpile" for a metasearch engine.
• Search for your topic. (Use the Help feature for details on forming a search query.  For example in a Google Advanced Search you can designate synonyms or phrases, limit to .edu domains, etc. In AltaVista you can use quotation marks to identify a phrase, a "+" sign before a word or phrase to ensure it will be included, and domain:edu to limit to educational sites only.)
• Select non-commercial sites with current pages and clear authorship. There is a lot of wrong information on the  web!

6. Write up your findings.

• In your own words, write a short summary on your topic based on your findings.  DO NOT cut and paste information from the abstracts or articles you found.  Without proper citing of quoted material, this would constitute plagiarism.
• At the end, cite each source (books, journal article and web site) you used in preparing the summary.  Use the AIChE format to cite your sources.  To cite a web site for this assignment, provide the location (URL beginning with http://), the title of the web page, who is responsible for it, the date if any, and [URL beginning with http:// and the date accessed in brackets]. (Use the same style as for the other references.)
• Be sure to include page numbers for the reference book and journal article.  Include the relevant subject headings and call numbers for the books you found in brackets [] after each source cited.

Topics to research

• How to manufacture Plexiglas (thermoplastic poly(methyl methacrylate)-type polymer)
• How to manufacture, or synthesis of, bovine growth hormone (somatotropin or BST)
• Intelligent gels
• Production of ultra pure water for microelectronics industry
• Oxygen separating membranes
• Oxygen enrichment by membrane processes
• Membrane separation of air into nitrogen/oxygen
• Flat panel image display (FPD's)
• Fuel cells for transportation
• Acetic anhydride from coal
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Catalysis and polymerization reactions
• Fertilizers
• Liquid Fuels
   
• Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MBTE), also known as tert-butyl methyl ether.
  This is a gasoline additive which substitutes for lead alkyls in gasolineblending. It's currently used to reduce air pollution from cars. Find out more about this compound and recent controversies regarding its use as mandated by the EPA (including in northern KY). What is the petrochemical industry's response to the EPA mandates? Positive or negative?
   
• Erythropoietin (EPO).
  This is blood protein produced by recombinant DNA technology. It is used to treat anemia. It simulates maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This is perhaps the most successful biotechnology drug, and is produced by Amgen Corp. Find information about when this drug was first sold in the U.S. and how its sales compared against predictions.
   
• Polystyrene.
  This is a commonly used plastic. Find information about cases where polystyrene containers and cups have been replaced by paper or reusable dishes. Does eliminating use of polystyrene in containers really reduce environmental problems?

10/1/04
03che100.html
updated 7/20/07

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