Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science introduces new undergraduate program
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science has introduced a
new process engineering program to satisfy the needs of various
processing industries, including oil and gas, and mineral
processing.
The bachelor of engineering, major in process engineering, program
is built around green and clean engineering, and graduates of the
program will be safety- and environmentally-conscious engineers,
who will contribute towards sustainable engineering development
– a priority for the process and allied industries.
Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is the
only school in Canada to offer this unique program. While other
Canadian universities offer a chemical engineering program, which
focuses on the processing of chemicals, process engineering places
emphasis on the processing rather than the chemicals. It will look
at the processing of petrochemical, oil, gas, minerals, food and
any other material used to obtain valuable products.
The program is a diversified one in that it encompasses new
development, design, optimization, and operation of sustainable
processes for human needs. A process engineer uses biological,
chemical, and physical processing of substances to modify their
nature, their properties, and/or the composition of mixtures to
produce useful products, such as petrochemicals, gasoline, diesel,
metals and alloys. This requires a thorough knowledge of materials,
chemical and physical sciences, and mathematics and an ability to
apply this knowledge in an economical and sustainable way to
engineering development.
The program, which will be taught by a multidisciplinary team of
faculty members including experts of metallurgical processes,
geological engineering, electro-mechanical engineering,
environmental engineering, safety and risk engineering, and oil and
gas engineering, is designed to provide students with a
specialization in the areas of minerals and metals processing and
downstream oil and gas processing.
Throughout the program, and within each area of specialization,
emphasis will be placed on green and clean processes that are
environmentally-benign and inherently-safe. Graduates will be able
to implement this knowledge in a sustainable manner to large-scale
industrial development.
Dr. Faisal Khan is the chair for this new discipline and said the
new program means long-term benefits for the Faculty, Memorial, and
the province as a whole.
“It is the program of the 21st century based on
sustainability engineering development. It focuses on green and
safe processing. Process engineering will provide highly-qualified
personnel and research and development to support the economic and
technological development of our province including new initiates
such as the Hebron development, petroleum refinery, and metal
processing. This program will also attract national and
international students," he said.
"Furthermore, researchers in process engineering will help to solve
some of the unique challenges faced by these industries, such as
operating in harsh climatic conditions, asset integrity, safety and
environment management, as well as day-to-day operational issues
such as process scheduling and maintenance," he adds.
Students entering term one of engineering in the fall of 2008 will
be the first group of students with the option of choosing process
engineering as their major, which begins in fall 2009.
