SHPE - Spring08 - (Page 30)

CAREERS & EMPLOYMENT T By Patty Enrado ¡Viva Verde! SECOND IN A SERIES W ith growing concerns about the environment, sustainability is vital to all engineering disciplines. While “green engineering” is not a separate field of practice, its high public profile has drawn far more attention to environmental and social parameters than ever before. Julie Zimmerman, assistant professor of green engineering at Yale University, hopes the term will eventually be removed from the vocabulary. “All engineering is going to be green,” she said. “Our first inclination is to train good engineers. The second is to think out of the box in a green way. We make sure that green engineering is not separate from engineering.” The most important contribution green engineers can make, according to Zimmerman, is to innovate and provide viable options for companies. Green engineers need to be good communicators about how innovation is going to keep companies competitive. Businesses must understand the economic implications of green engineering decisions. ArcelorMittal: The Next Generation of Green Steel As the market leader in providing steel to major global markets such as automotive, construction and household appliances, ArcelorMittal has also taken a leadership position in green initiatives. The company, which boasts 1,300 people in a global R&D department with an annual budget of $250 million, has been working on new steel developments for green applications for more than 10 years, according to Dick Sussman, general manager of R&D. ArcelorMittal has been developing affordable, higher strength steels that reduce the weight and improve the safety and efficiency of steel components and automotive passenger compartments. The reduction of steel weight means less energy is required for automobile engines to function. Windmills and windmill stantions using more advanced steel grades and designs generate less friction and therefore require less energy. The company has begun developing steel that controls light reflection for roofing at airports and other urban areas and steel which provides greater strength and insulating properties for construction and guard rail applications. Light, reflective special guard rails eliminate the use of reflective tape normally used and create a safer driv30 ArcelorMittal windmills, such as these on its property in Lackawanna, New York, feature more advanced steel grades and designs which generate less friction and therefore require less energy. ing environment. The company is also creating a generation of “quiet” steel for trunk lids. With an organic layer in the middle, this type of steel deadens sound. While the R&D department hires seasoned engineers trained in the fundamentals of metallurgy, advanced thermodynamics and kinetics to work on these projects, Sussman pointed out that green engineering and environmental engineering are helpful in developing applications, including those for construction. Research engineers follow a concept through to launch as well as work with clients to find appropriate applications for the steel products. ArcelorMittal anticipates developing new steel and combinations of steel, plastics and organics to produce building products for energy-neutral houses. “We’re always thinking about the next generation of steel,” Sussman said. Shell: Partnering for Environmental Changes Shell’s multiple green initiatives include reducing the environmental footprint of its manufacturing plants’ operations and its Like many of Shell's green initiatives, its Eco-Marathon embodies developing technology for sustainable mobility to help manage the world’s growing energy demand. energy use to improve client service. In 2005, the American Chemistry Council awarded the Shell Chemical LP Deer Park, Texas, chemical plant its energy efficiency award for “exceptional success in conserving energy, improving the environment and increasing economic productivity.” The Deer Park plant’s use of Shell Global Solutions’ energy-efficiency program resulted in the plant’s reduction of energy consumption in 2004 by 2.1 percent, an annual savings of 80,000 tons of SHPE R Spring 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Spring08

SHPE - Spring08 Contents President’s Letter Browser Letters to the Editor Calendar of Events The Magic of Thinking BIG Five Steps to Easier Fundraising Designing Women ¡Viva Verde! The Education and Training of Ramon Flores Breakthroughs in Mobile Military Communications The Retention Doctor Success at School Begins at Home STAR Nominations Do Good Things Come to Those Who Wait? Programs & Services Regional Roundup Advertisers Index

SHPE - Spring08

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