SHPE - Winter 2008 - (Page 28) CAREERS & EMPLOYMENT and a free music concert for the school’s entire student body by developing and implementing a real-world environmental project on their campuses. Ten finalists were chosen from more than 100 proposals, and the winning team, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, implemented a biodiesel processing and filling station. That kind of commitment to reach out to college students reflects GE’s corporate philosophy: “Green is green,” said Steve Canale, manager of GE’s recruiting and staffing services. In other words, by being a more environmentally conscientious company, it makes and saves money. GE’s corporate headquarters is in Fairfield, Connecticut, but the 300,000employee company has facilities in 100 countries. GE recently outfitted its headquarters with 840 solar panels it manufactures, which will provide 5 to 8 percent of the facilities’ energy. Engineers that work in plant operations look for ways to reduce fossil fuel and electricity consumption. “The savings drop to the bottom line,” said Canale. The majority of engineers that GE hires, however, work on customer solutions and commercial products, trying to optimize the performance of the product while reducing emissions and environmental impact. The company’s water purification and filtration products address the shortage of freshwater by transforming salt water into drinking water as well as purifying water used in industrial processes. Engineers work to improve engine fuel consumption and lower noise pollution. They continuously improve on the design of jet engines, steam turbines and wind turbines to be more efficient. In the case of GE’s latest-generation locomotive, the Evolution, the energy stored in its batteries will reduce fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 10 percent compared to most of the freight locomotives in use today. “When it comes to energy, it’s all about efficiency, emissions and renewables,” Canale added. GE’s work to help the environment resonates well with students. “One of the things we’ve learned is that students want to work for a company that’s socially responsible and has strong values,” he said. “They want to work on technology that will help to improve society.” Yet while green engineering programs are becoming the trend at universities across the country, 28 a quantifiable environmental benefit for customers or the final consumer. Rittenhouse said the company has expanded the focus on how to bring new solutions to market using resources that cannot be depleted. One key area of R&D at DuPont is biomaterials: using biological processes and plants such as corn, soybean, sugar cane, wheat and other renewable sources to create materials and fuels in an effort to reduce the environmental footprint of the products as well as dependence on petroleum. “It’s about doing more good versus just doing less bad,” she said. “It’s really important for our future – how we can bring new products to the market that are providing solutions that the world needs.” DuPont wants its engineers to think about sustainability from a broad perspective and make decisions that take into account using less energy and water and reducing waste and emissions, according to Rittenhouse. Engineers are shrinking the footprint of how a product is processed while delivering value to the customer at a reasonable cost. The rise of consumer demand for environmentally friendly products has not been lost on the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM). “The demand for green products presents a great opportunity for ADM and for potential employees,” said Derek Weber, ADM’s college relations representative for engineering. ADM has built its reputation developing a biodegradable plastic using its extensive experience in corn processing. The company is currently building a biodegradable plastics plant in Clinton, Iowa. ADM’s engineers will have the opportunity to work in bio-products once the plant is completed and production commences. ADM is hiring engineers interested not only in food and feed processing but also renewable fuels and bio-products. While ADM hires many chemical engineers, the company also looks for engineers with agricultural, mechanical and electrical disciplines. “Engineers who have a strong interest in process engineering and want to work in a hands-on environment are a great fit for ADM,” Weber said. As part of the company’s plant management team, engineers require leadership and communication skills. “It is important to our business to recruit for diversity in backSHPE R Winter 2008 Courtesy of Duke Realty Corporation In the last four years, Duke Realty has received more requests for green buildings, such as thise one in Bloomington, Minnesota, which require designing structures that efficiently use energy, water and materials. GE’s Evolution locomotive will use battery power to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 10 percent. Canale emphasized that GE has always been actively hiring good engineers with a passion for innovation – period. Innovation has always been a trademark of everything DuPont does. In the late 1980’s, the science-based products and services company established a set of goals to reduce its operational environmental footprint. Process engineers worked on-site to reduce waste and emissions as well as consumption of energy and water at facilities globally. In 2000, DuPont established a mission of sustainable growth and began to look at developing greener products, said Dawn Rittenhouse, director of sustainable development. Product development engineers were tasked with designing new processes to make products that promote energy efficiency for customers and final consumers as well as materials for alternative energy solutions like solar and biofuels. Recently, engineers also have been involved in helping customers use DuPont products in such a way as to achieve better efficiency and performance. In October 2006, DuPont committed to a set of 2015 sustainability goals which included a commitment to double investment in R&D to provide products that have Courtesy of GE
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