NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

BG/CH4901 ENGINEERS AND SOCIETY

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT PROJECTS

Instructions
1. Students in each Tutorial Group will work in Teams of 3-4 students on 3 assigned projects and present them orally to gain Continuous Assessment (CA) marks. 2. For Project (1), all Teams will submit the following at the start of their respective Tutorial classes in Week 4 : (a) A written answer (not more than 2500 words) to the project question. The answer should be written in essay style, typewritten (font 12) and appropriately referenced. A photograph of all Team members must be attached to the report. (b) A set (hard copy) of the oral presentation PowerPoints 3. For Projects (2) and (3), all Teams will submit only item 2(b) above. IMPORTANT NOTE All submissions of the written answer to Project (1) and the PowerPoints of Projects (1), (2) and (3) must have a cover sheet bearing: (i) Names and Matric numbers of the members of the Team. No mark will be given to any student whose name does not appear on the cover sheet. (ii) The Group no. and Team no. (iii) The Project no. and Question no. 4. Each Team will make its presentation in 10 minutes, to be followed by a short Q & A session. 5. Marking scheme for each project: Contents : 30 Marks Presentation and Q & A : 20 Marks Total : 50 Marks 6. The C.A. mark carries a weightage of 40% of the total course mark.

7. All members of each Team must participate in the teams preparation and presentation of all the 3 projects. 8. Attendance in all tutorial sessions is compulsory even when the Team is not making presentation. Attendance and participation will be taken into consideration in the final C.A. mark of each student. 9. Schedule Project No. 1 2 3 To be assigned in: Week 2 Week 4 Week 6 Teams A, B, C D, E, F G, H, I A, B, C D, E, F G, H, I A, B, C D, E, F G, H, I To present in: Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12

1st Project (50 Marks)

(The Tutor will assign the questions to the teams in Week 2 )
1) Isaac Newton said in 1676: If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Applying Newtons observation to yourself as an engineer in the modern era, identify these giants in your field (chemical/biomedical) and explain why they have indeed provided shoulders for you and other engineers to stand on.

2) A key purpose of studying the history of engineering is to make sense of the present and the future by understanding why things happened in the past. Critically assess the validity of this observation, citing appropriate examples of engineering developments to illustrate your view.

3) Research into three key breakthroughs of the Scientific Revolution. Discuss their significance and subsequent impacts in the field of Engineering. Critically comment on their value to mankind.

4) Evaluate three of the key technological developments of the Industrial Revolution and discuss how they have contributed to shaping the modern world of the 21st Century. Critically comment on their value to the world.

5) Scientific knowledge cannot be translated into products without engineers. Discuss this observation with reference to three significant engineering achievements in the modern era. What implications does this observation have on the role of engineers?

6) The explosion of British Petroleums (BPs) Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April 2010, which killed 11 workers and triggered a massive oil spill, has certainly gone down as the worst disaster in recent history of the oil and gas industry. Trace the key aspects of the disaster and identify the significant lessons that engineers can learn from them.

7) Today, the world is racing against the twin threats of climate change and the finite nature of non-renewable energy. Evaluate the significance of these twin threats, the current efforts and their limitations, and the role that engineers can play in this race.

8) Choose two examples of technological development and discuss the social, political, economic and ecological costs and benefits they have brought to society. What conclusions can you draw on the overall value of these developments, and what can engineers do to improve upon them?

9) What do you see as the most important impacts that recent technology-based innovations are having or likely to have on your future profession as a chemical/biomedical engineer? Discuss with reference to their positive and negative impacts and the extent to which they have changed the way people work and play.

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