Pipe rack from TCAT-Harriman students will help Roane State chemical engineering technology students

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Students in the Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Harriman built equipment to help train students taking Roane State’s chemical engineering technology courses.

They’ve made a pipe rack to be used as part of the program. With the pipe rack, “students will be able to set up elements of chemical processing equipment such as pumps, valves, pressure gauges and regulators, and observe how the equipment can be used to regulate flow and pressure,” said Markus Pomper, dean of Roane State’s Division of Mathematics and Science.

Established with the assistance of UCOR, CNS, Tate and Lyle, and additional partners, Roane State’s chemical engineering technology program trains students to work as chemical operators. A chemical operator monitors, controls, and troubleshoots automated chemical processes.

An information session about the new program will be held on Thursday, March 28, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the college’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Check-in will be held in the lobby of the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building.

Students in TCAT-Harriman’s welding program welded the pipe rack frame, while machining students did some precision machining of the individual pieces “so that they fit together interchangeably like Lego blocks,” Pomper said.

“It was an opportunity to harness the strengths of the two institutions and collaborate on workforce development,” Pomper said.

“Historically, TCAT-Harriman and Roane State Community College have co-existed and thrived near each other,” said TCAT-Harriman President Danice E. Turpin. “This positive co-existence benefits both the graduates of our higher education facilities and the employers in our area.”

“This was an exciting hands-on project that involved design and problem-solving skills where students and faculty of multiple disciplines collaborated. I am pleased to see the resulting pipe rack used for a training aid in Roane State’s training.”

“Once again, President Turpin and TCAT-Harriman have demonstrated what great partners they are to Roane State,” said Chris Whaley, Roane State president. “The pipe rack TCAT students welded and machined will greatly enhance the educational experience of Roane State chemical technology students. We are very grateful to TCAT Harriman students and staff and for industry partners such as UCOR, Y-12, and Tate and Lyle.”

For more information about the program, visit roanestate.edu/chemtech or contact program director Laura Hofman at (865) 354-3000, ext. 2220, or [email protected].

More information will be added as it becomes available.

This story was submitted by Owen Driskill.

 

 

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