As promised in the previous post, I will do a brief module review on as many Technical Electives as I can. I do not know the full details, what is covered and the mode of grading for some of them but I will give a review based on feedback from friends who took the module. I will do Module Reviews for TEs on Sem 1 at a later time.
CN4201R: Petroleum Refining
This module is a good exposure for those who want to go into the oil & gas industry because the lecturers are all external lecturers (From SRC I believe) and they will share really valuable information on the petroleum process itself. I believe that the examinations are closed book and you will need to conceptualize the things learnt. My friends who took this module say that it is very interesting and you will learn much more advanced forms of separation processes, the post-processing and probably the mass/energy balances performed for the necessary calculations. A rather popular module too. Strongly recommended if you like this industry and do speak with the lecturers to gain deeper insight into the industry itself
CN4205R: Pinch Analysis and Process Integration
This is by far one of the most difficult TEs as even my dean-lister friend faced much difficulty in mastering the concepts. However, the payoff for him was good because he gained very important process knowledge which is useful for not only your design project but also for industrial purposes. This module has 3 tests, 1 project and no finals. The first part of pinch analysis is taught by Prof Rangaiah while the second part is taught by Dr. Sachin. You will learn Pinch Analysis, Process Integration and data reconciliation as well. Not recommended for the weak unless you are willing to take the challenge.
CN4211R: Petrochemicals and Processing Technologies
This module's lecturer is now changed to A/Prof Hong Liang. Therefore, I do not have any information and will have to see in this semester what is being taught and whether it is consistent with the previous information I have.
Previously this module focuses on refining, steam cracking, steam reforming, polymerization, heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis.
CN4227R: Advanced Process Control
This module is taught my A/Prof Chiu Min-sen who was also your lecturer for CN3121. He will go much deeper into process control by teaching you the various advance techniques of modelling the controllers such as using the Nyquist diagram as well as some exposure to how modern industry programs such feedback controllers. Probably good for people who intend to take a process control related FYP, especially if you are under him.
CN4246R: Chemical and Bio-Catalysis
This module is taught my A/Prof Kawi and is based on both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. You will learn the structure, cycle, material, kinetics, reaction mechanisms of the various catalysts (In particular zeolites). My friend didn't recommend this module because it is rather concept heavy and I guess because he was doing a biology-related FYP, he didn't find it useful. However, this module is probably useful depending if you are doing a catalyst-based FYP (Usually the professors who offer such FYPs are Zhao Dan, Yan Ning and Kawi) or if your Design Project require some catalysts for the reactor section. Thus, I recommend this module only if it is relevant to your FYP/Design Project. I think the mode of grading is probably a project, a midterm and finals, need to double check and will update when I get the information
CN4248: Sustainable Process Development
This module it taught by 3 professors, Prof Lee Jim Yang, Prof Neoh KG, Prof Farooq. They will mainly cover Green Chemistry, Sustainable Engineering Concepts, Product Life Cycle. Green Chemistry is mainly a very popular branch, especially in Japan and Europe, where they emphasize on the renewablility of the materials and waste minimization, youtube has some examples so you can go watch and read up more on this field, I really find it very interesting. Sustainability concepts are based on risk assessment, environmental impacts and assessments and finally Life Cycle is similar to what you learnt in CN3135 but in greater detail and probably with some calculations. The module has 3 tests (15% each), 45% project and 10% class participation. This module was said to be very heavy, close to project engineering. For those who are unaware, Prof Lee and Prof Farooq have very good "smoking" detectors and so don't try to play around because you will end up getting "self-fragged",
so you need to be cautious in your project.
CN5173: Downstream Processing of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Products
This module is supposedly a part 2 of CN5172 Biochemical Engineering. CN5172 deals with the upstream process while CN5173 deals with the downstream (as suggested by the title). It will be taught by the same lecturer A/Prof Loh Kai Chee. In terms of content, there is not much new concepts to be learnt because most of it is derivations from the question and you need a strong foundation of your previous fundamentals such as Heat/Mass Transfer, Reactor Kinetics, Separation and most importantly Mass & Energy Balances. Thus, if you take this module, your fundamentals of chemical engineering principles must be strong otherwise you may face some struggles while doing the tutorials and examination questions. A/Prof Loh is known for setting extremely difficult finals of which most people tend to be only able to do about 2 out of 4 questions, thus be prepared for a tough finals. Otherwise, he is a very passionate and engaging lecturer and most people enjoy taking his module even though the finals can be quite a killer. I would not recommend this unless you are sure you are capable of handling your fundamentals, do take a look at the exam papers for CN5173 in the NUSlibrary too for a feel of what type of exam questions he set. Trust me, this module is not "muggable", you must know your stuff or you won't even be able to start the question at all.
Sunday 3 January 2016
Year 3 Semester 2 (AY 14/15)
The modules taken were in AY 14/15, in addition, I was doing my Industrial Attachment (EG3601) during this period and hence I was only able to take 2 modules. I will review the other night modules as well. In addition, I will be posting a module review for AY 15/16 Technical Electives (TEs) and some of my thoughts on it. I am NOT taking any of those TEs because I've cleared my requirements and I would not like to subject myself to more existential absurdities and existential crisis doing those modules (Yes, it is that exhaustive for me).
Module 1: CN4223R (Microelectronic Thin Films)
Brief Overview:
This module is one of the very few modules in Chemical Engineering that deals with semiconductors. Most of the professors in Chemical Engineering deal with mainly process engineering, biomolecular/biochemical engineering, thus if you are very interested in semiconductors I strongly recommend this module. Alternatively, I believe you are eligible to take cross-faculty TEs from EEE/Mech Eng for semiconductor-related, you need to email the relevant professors to confirm this as well as the attain the department's approval (for both taking the cross-TEs and mapping it as part of your undergrad requirements for clearing TEs)
1) Film Deposition in Vacuum & in Atmospheric Conditions
2) Physical & Chemical Vapour Deposition
3) Cleaning Technologies
4) Dielectrics (Low and High k)
5) Thin Film Growth
6) Metals and Metal Silicides
Mode of Grading:
2 x 20% CA (1 20-MCQ Test, 1 Structured Question Test, Both Open Book)
60% Finals
Lecturer:
Adjunct Professor Simon Chooi
Comments:
This module is taught by an external lecturer who has a lot of experience in the semiconductor industry. Prof Simon is a very engaging and excellent professor who is really passionate about teaching this module and does his best to help you conceptualize the content. If you are really interested in the industry as well, you can approach him to ask industrial related stuff in both semiconductors and petroleum (He is working in Shell, in 2015 when I took this module, in a safety-related field I believe).
Most of his questions including the tests and exams are closely related to the tutorials, so as long as you listen in class and do his tutorials, it should be very manageable. One downfall of this module is that it is now conducted on saturdays from 2pm-5pm which is very exhausting for people like me who took IA during that semester. It used to be on Friday night until Project Engineering took over. Anyway, this module is good for people who are interested in semiconductors as well as for clearing your TE requirements because there is no project and it has a rather light workload. In addition, the professor is a very great lecturer so you will at least be entertained on your saturday afternoon!
Module 2: CN5191 (Project Engineering)
Brief Overview:
This module is extremely good if you are interested in joining a design-based engineering firms and even as a process engineer, it is good that you learn these fundamentals now so that should you ever take up a position as project engineer, you are aware of how to manage and handle such stuff
1) Role of Project Engineer & the other various heads
2) CPM and PERT Analysis
3) Project Planning and Cost
4) Project Execution (Various stages in the project, the types of contract/bidding etc.)
5) Procurement (PNID, PFD, Ordering of Materials etc.)
6) Health, Safety, Environment
7) Commissioning & Setup
Mode of Grading:
2x 20% MCQ Tests (Closed book and negative marking)
60% Project
Lecturer:
Mr Satendra Singh (External Lecturer from Foster Wheeler)
Prof I.A Karimi
Comments:
This module is very intensive for the project because you must ensure that your team members are aware of the process and know how to do the various things like constructing the PFD/PNIDs as well as the mechanical designs of the various piping/valves/columns etc., material balancing, HAZOP, HAZID, Plot Plan, QRA, Control Philosophies, Costing etc. Yeap, its very tough if one or two of your members are either (i) Freeloaders and Blur or (ii) Likes to argue with you and gets no work done, additionally screws up his part. As you have guessed, that was what happened for our project group, so it was sort of a 4-man effort to construct the whole report plus the PFDs, PNIDs. Thankfully, the 4 of us managed to split the additional workload and support each other throughout the 13-weeks of hell. It was worth it in the end because you learn a lot of things from doing this that has EXTREMELY valuable experience for your CN4123 (Design Project). If you think this module is difficult, then CN4123 is going to be 10x harder (I kid not). Take this module only if you have 5 other competent members who are willing to put in effort. I strongly recommend taking it if you have a team because this is very good for Year 3s who are going to do design project. If you are doing design project, I suggest not taking this module unless you are absolutely sure you can balance your workload.
For the tests, it will mostly be from the notes. Thankfully I had some industrial relevant experience and knowledge so I didn't need to study for the tests. For the project, you are expected to submit an interim report, a presentation of your project and of course a written report. So to summarize, this module has extremely heavy workload but you will reap the benefits for your design project and if you intend to go to process/design-related industries.
Module 1: CN4223R (Microelectronic Thin Films)
Brief Overview:
This module is one of the very few modules in Chemical Engineering that deals with semiconductors. Most of the professors in Chemical Engineering deal with mainly process engineering, biomolecular/biochemical engineering, thus if you are very interested in semiconductors I strongly recommend this module. Alternatively, I believe you are eligible to take cross-faculty TEs from EEE/Mech Eng for semiconductor-related, you need to email the relevant professors to confirm this as well as the attain the department's approval (for both taking the cross-TEs and mapping it as part of your undergrad requirements for clearing TEs)
1) Film Deposition in Vacuum & in Atmospheric Conditions
2) Physical & Chemical Vapour Deposition
3) Cleaning Technologies
4) Dielectrics (Low and High k)
5) Thin Film Growth
6) Metals and Metal Silicides
Mode of Grading:
2 x 20% CA (1 20-MCQ Test, 1 Structured Question Test, Both Open Book)
60% Finals
Lecturer:
Adjunct Professor Simon Chooi
Comments:
This module is taught by an external lecturer who has a lot of experience in the semiconductor industry. Prof Simon is a very engaging and excellent professor who is really passionate about teaching this module and does his best to help you conceptualize the content. If you are really interested in the industry as well, you can approach him to ask industrial related stuff in both semiconductors and petroleum (He is working in Shell, in 2015 when I took this module, in a safety-related field I believe).
Most of his questions including the tests and exams are closely related to the tutorials, so as long as you listen in class and do his tutorials, it should be very manageable. One downfall of this module is that it is now conducted on saturdays from 2pm-5pm which is very exhausting for people like me who took IA during that semester. It used to be on Friday night until Project Engineering took over. Anyway, this module is good for people who are interested in semiconductors as well as for clearing your TE requirements because there is no project and it has a rather light workload. In addition, the professor is a very great lecturer so you will at least be entertained on your saturday afternoon!
Module 2: CN5191 (Project Engineering)
Brief Overview:
This module is extremely good if you are interested in joining a design-based engineering firms and even as a process engineer, it is good that you learn these fundamentals now so that should you ever take up a position as project engineer, you are aware of how to manage and handle such stuff
1) Role of Project Engineer & the other various heads
2) CPM and PERT Analysis
3) Project Planning and Cost
4) Project Execution (Various stages in the project, the types of contract/bidding etc.)
5) Procurement (PNID, PFD, Ordering of Materials etc.)
6) Health, Safety, Environment
7) Commissioning & Setup
Mode of Grading:
2x 20% MCQ Tests (Closed book and negative marking)
60% Project
Lecturer:
Mr Satendra Singh (External Lecturer from Foster Wheeler)
Prof I.A Karimi
Comments:
This module is very intensive for the project because you must ensure that your team members are aware of the process and know how to do the various things like constructing the PFD/PNIDs as well as the mechanical designs of the various piping/valves/columns etc., material balancing, HAZOP, HAZID, Plot Plan, QRA, Control Philosophies, Costing etc. Yeap, its very tough if one or two of your members are either (i) Freeloaders and Blur or (ii) Likes to argue with you and gets no work done, additionally screws up his part. As you have guessed, that was what happened for our project group, so it was sort of a 4-man effort to construct the whole report plus the PFDs, PNIDs. Thankfully, the 4 of us managed to split the additional workload and support each other throughout the 13-weeks of hell. It was worth it in the end because you learn a lot of things from doing this that has EXTREMELY valuable experience for your CN4123 (Design Project). If you think this module is difficult, then CN4123 is going to be 10x harder (I kid not). Take this module only if you have 5 other competent members who are willing to put in effort. I strongly recommend taking it if you have a team because this is very good for Year 3s who are going to do design project. If you are doing design project, I suggest not taking this module unless you are absolutely sure you can balance your workload.
For the tests, it will mostly be from the notes. Thankfully I had some industrial relevant experience and knowledge so I didn't need to study for the tests. For the project, you are expected to submit an interim report, a presentation of your project and of course a written report. So to summarize, this module has extremely heavy workload but you will reap the benefits for your design project and if you intend to go to process/design-related industries.
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