Glow Scotland

Higher Chemistry pupils need to know about the Chemical Industry.
Unit 3, part a, is all about the Chemical Industry.
Other chemistry classes will want to hear about career prospects.

Chemical Engineers, Gavin Smith and Gordon Hardie, will be covering this Higher Chemistry topic, and giving a flavour of the life and rewards of a chemical engineer on Thursday, 18th March at 13.45 in a Glow Meet in the National Sciences Glow Group.  Last year, 8 schools took part in the live Glow Meet. Many more are able to take advantage of this Glow Meet opportunity this year. Make sure your pupils can benefit!  If you are not familiar with using Glow Meet, click here.

A career in the chemical industry is exciting and well-rewarded, but both the study required, and the job itself, can be hard work and dangerous. Listen to Gavin, who has decades of experience, and Gordon, a recent graduate recruit, retell their experiences. Kincorth Academy, Aberdeen, is hosting the event, so pupils there will be able to ask Gavin and Gordon questions directly, but classes from around the country will also be able to see and hear the engineers, and ask questions of them via Glow Meet’s tools. Ask them questions about the chemistry, and their jobs.

If you think you will be able to bring your pupils into the Glow Meet, leave a note in the National Sciences Glow Group.

  What pupils need to know:

• The UK chemical industry is a major contributor to both the quality of our life and our national economy.
• Stages in the manufacture of a new product can include research, pilot study, scaling-up, production and review.
• A chemical manufacturing process usually involves a sequence of steps.
• A feedstock is a reactant from which other chemicals can be extracted or synthesised.
• The major raw materials in the chemical industry are fossil fuels, metallic ores and minerals, air and water.
• Chemical manufacturing may be organised as a batch or as a continuous process.
• Process conditions are chosen to maximise economic efficiency.
• Manufacturing costs include capital costs, fixed costs and variable costs.
• The UK chemical industry is, by and large, capital rather than labour intensive.
• Safety and environmental issues are of major importance to the chemical industry.
• Both historical and practical factors affect the location of chemical industries.
• The efficient use of energy is significant in most chemical processes.
• Factors influencing the choice of a particular route include cost, availability and suitability of feedstock(s), yield of product(s), opportunities for the recycling of reactants and marketability of by-products.

April 29th saw the first national Glow Meet for chemistry classes. It was hosted in Aberdeen Grammar School thanks to P.T. Chemistry, Susan Davis, and Aberdeen City’s Principal Officer (Education ICT), Richard Elliott, but classes from around Scotland benefitted: St John’s HS, Dundee; Stirling HS; Marr College, South Ayrshire; Lenzie Academy, East Dunbartonshire; and several from Aberdeenshire – Fraserburgh Academy, Aboyne Academy and the Gordon Schools.

Craig Burnett, a recent entrant to the profession, described his path from Banchory Academy to his current postion with Talisman Energy, and also took the audience through the Higher Chemistry content statements about the Chemical Industry.
Gavin Smith shared his vast experience in various areas of the chemical industry with the pupils, and showed the huge responsibility that can weigh on engineers’ shoulders in terms of making sure that plants (including oil rigs) are safe – from design through to everyday procedures.
Some of the teachers who accessed the Glow Meet with their classes have left feedback in the National Sciences Glow Group:

“I used Glow Meet for the first time this morning and I really enjoyed it! I thought the presentation worked very well and I thought Gavin and Craig were very interesting and covered the topic well. I found Glow Meet very easy to use and I was happy to find that you could still join in the discussion just by typing. Thanks for giving me opportunity to join in this morning. I will be keeping an look-out for more Glow Meet events.”

“First experience of Glow Meet a very positive one. Gavin and Craig excellent at giving the pupils a wider perspective on the applications of Chemistry after school/university.
We found Glow Meet easy to use, no problems with set-up.
We didn’t have a microphone and so had to type all questions in – found this a bit restrictive and slowed things down a bit, making the Glow meet not quite as interactive as we had anticipated.
Would definitely participate again.”

“I am trying to push the use of Glow in SHS and it is events like this that are going to make it happen. The feedback from both Chemistry staff and pupils has been great. Thanks to Gavin and Craig and more please!”

If you have ideas for future Glow Meets for chemistry or any of the other sciences, leave a note in the National Sciences Glow Group, or by leaving a comment on this blog.

Unit 3, Topic a, of Higher Chemistry looks at the Chemical Industry. A Glow Meet involving two chemical engineers, covering the Higher Chemistry Content Statements in this topic area, and giving an idea of the career opportunities available in the field, will take place on Wednesday 29th April at 9.25 – 10.30 in the National Sciences Glow Group

The engineers are Gavin Smith, Process Engineering Manager, Altra Energy and Craig Burnett, Operations Reservoir Engineer, from Talisman Energy Ltd. Gavin has 17 years’ experience in many industrial chemistry fields and Craig is recently qualified, with fresh memories of the decisions pupils are about to make regarding their future careers. They kindly responded to a plea for volunteers to assist Higher Chemistry classes in this way, issued through the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Aberdeen Grammar School chemistry department is hosting the event, so pupils there will be able to ask Craig and Gavin questions directly, but classes from around the country will also be able to see and hear the engineers and ask questions of them via Glow Meet’s tools.

Richard Elliot of Aberdeen’s ICT Support Team is coordinating the Aberdeen end.

The Glow Meet room will be open from 9.00am on Wed 29/4/09, with the session getting underway in earnest at 9.25 until around 10.30.

Click here to find out more about using Glow Meet.

If you are planning on joining the Glow Meet, you can let the Glow Team and other participants know by leaving a note of your school and local authority on the discussions area in the National Sciences Glow Group as a reply to the post there.
Bring your chemistry classes in to this novel event where experienced industrial chemists can give pupils an insight into how chemistry and the topics they have to study, fit into the real world.