Honeywell taps Ph.D. student winner of design challenge
A Lamar University research assistant studying how dynamic simulation can create safer and more-reliable chemical plant operations is the winner of Honeywell's annual student competition in the Americas. M.A. Kader Rasel, a chemical engineering Ph.D. student in Lamar University's College of Engineering, was announced the winner of the UniSim Design Challenge before attendees at the 2013 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Americas conference in Phoenix this week.
The competition, one of three held at Honeywell's global HUG customer conferences, recognizes some of the most-talented engineering students around the world. It challenges the students to solve real-world problems facing industrial processing plants using Honeywell's UniSim Design process simulation and design software, which is used by manufacturers around the globe. Winning students earn the opportunity to present their research projects to many of the world's top manufacturers, and potential employers, at HUG.
"One of the keys to maximizing productivity while maintaining safety lies in turning data into knowledge, and Kader Rasel's UniSim Design Challenge project illustrates that perfectly," said Vimal Kapur, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions' Advanced Solutions business. "This project shows how safe, reliable, and efficient operations mean more than simply running a process - it involves analyzing how that process performs and determining how an operator can do his or her job more effectively."
Rasel and Peyton Richmond, associate professor of chemical engineering, presented the project, Using Honeywell UniSim Design to Simulate Transitions and Faults. For this project, the two used UniSim Design to study the behavior of simple transitions - such as equipment and unit changeover - in process operation. Dynamic simulation allowed Rasel and Richmond to observe the effects of transitions on process variables and implement an effective fault-detection technique. The resulting tools can be used to improve an operator's ability to consistently follow procedures during transitions and thereby improve plant safety and reliability.
"The state of the process industry workforce is undergoing a great transition period of its own, but projects such as this prove the future of the workforce is very promising," Richmond said. "Competitions such as the UniSim Design Challenge play a pivotal role in developing this kind of talent because it shows up-and-coming engineers how advanced technology can help solve real-world problems today, and positively impact business."
Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com. Honeywell Process Solutions is part of Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions group, a global leader in providing product and service solutions that improve efficiency and profitability, support regulatory compliance, and maintain safe, comfortable environments in homes, buildings and industry. For more information about Process Solutions, access www.honeywellprocess.com.