Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 141
Chapter 7
OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION
The issue addressed in this chapter is-how effective the university
community in the United States is in providing education and training in
electrochemical science and engineering for the personnel needed in this
field.
CURRENT STATUS
University departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, and
materials science and engineering are the principal sources of courses
and research in electrochemical phenomena. Most of the chemistry and
chemical engineering departments offer no formal instruction or research
in corrosion. Fewer than 20 percent of the chemical engineering
departments provide training in electrochemical syntheses and energy
conversion, either through course work or research. Few chemical
engineering textbooks and curricula offer electrochemical examples in
the core courses such as material and energy balances, separation
processes, transport phenomena, or reactor engineering. In addition,
over the past 10 to 20 years there has been a gradual disappearance of
electrochemical coverage in most physical chemistry courses. Exposure
of chemical engineering students to the general field of inorganic
chemistry has become increasingly weak. Topics such as electrolytes and
galvanic cells have been relegated to cursory treatment in freshman
chemistry. Therefore, most undergraduate students are ill-prepared in
inorganic electrochemistry, including chemistry relevant to corrosion
and to virtually all electrosynthesis and energy-conversion processes
and devices. Advanced presentation of these topics and others, such as
the nature of ionic conductors, electrified surfaces, or double layers,
occurs almost solely in conjunction with thesis research.
Most university efforts on electrochemical corrosion are located in
materials and metallurgy departments. As with the situation in chemical
engineering, only a small number have formal programs in this area. In
addition, curricula in materials science and engineering offer little or
no exposure to organic chemistry, an essential element in the under-
standing of corrosion inhibitors and bacterial corrosion.
141
OCR for page 142
142
The interdisciplinary nature of electrochemical phenomena involves
aspects of chemistry, physics, and materials. Substantive collaboration
is often required, for example, in the study of electrode reactions,
where expertise in surface structure and mass transport needs to be
effectively coupled with that in electrochemistry. Only a few univer-
sities have been successful in establishing major multidisciplinary
research programs. Reasons for this may include (a) the emphasis on
small, individual research; (b) the difficulty of engaging in collabo-
rative research at universities across departmental boundaries; and
(c) the high cost of facilities needed to provide adequate experimental
capabilities.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The federal government has recently placed emphasis on research
bridging different disciplines and technologies and on linking university
research with efforts at industrial and government laboratories (1~. This
emphasis presents an opportunity for universities to develop collabo-
rative research programs. The electrochemical field needs such an
approach and, indeed, could serve as a vehicle to develop it for other
broad fields. Such an approach would require joint support from the
universities as well as from government and industry in the following
areas:
· Faculty: There are too few faculty sufficiently familiar with
electrochemical technology and the underlying fundamentals to offer
appropriate courses. Therefore, the ability to offer courses will
require improving faculty expertise over a period of time. A reasonable
goal is to double the number of faculty who are cognizant and capable of
teaching electrochemical science and engineering.
· Faculty support: A summer "travel grant" program is vital to
encourage young faculty to visit research and development laboratories
with major capabilities in electrochemistry, electrochemical engineering,
or corrosion. The goal of this program would be to enhance the use of
new techniques and research methods. Such a program would foster
improved communication and collaboration between government and academic
efforts.
Undergraduate coursework: Usable information needs to be
developed for incorporation into existing courses, textbooks, and
reference handbooks in chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, and
materials, as well as new courses on electrochemical science and
engineering. The broad scope of the electrochemical field must be made
clear in such works. For example, the thermodynamic and kinetic
principles governing electrode reactions relevant in electrowinning,
OCR for page 143
143
fuel cells, and photogalvanic cells also apply to a broad range of
materials degradation phenomena. The mathematical description of charge
and potential distribution at electrode-electrolyte interfaces is
relevant not only to the description of the space charge region in
electrified solution-electrode interfaces but also at semiconductor
interfaces.
Progress in this area could also be enhanced by organizing special
workshops dedicated to the development of lectures and problems suitable
for incorporation in standard chemical engineering and materials science
and engineering courses (e.g., thermodynamics, reaction engineering,
heat and mass transfer, plant design) or into certain standard chemistry
classes (such as organic and inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry,
and solid-state physics). Particularly useful additions could be made
with respect to examples and fundamental principles in the area of
corrosion, electrosynthesis, and energy conversion and storage.
Most scientific and technological phenomena occur in heterogeneous
systems. Chemistry education, unfortunately, tends to have an over-
whelming emphasis on homogeneous reactions, thereby making it difficult
for students to deal later with heterogeneous systems. It would be in
the best interest of electrochemistry (as well as other fields of
surface chemistry and interracial phenomena) to encourage an increase in
the degree to which heterogeneous processes are covered in chemistry and
physics courses.
· Collaborative research in electrochemistry: There are a few
universities with faculty already oriented toward electrochemistry.
These existing groups should take the lead in developing collaborative
research programs with both industrial and government support. Federal
grants should have incentives for encouraging matching industrial funds
to promote mutual interests and to assist the transition of basic
research results into the commercial sector.
REFERENCE
1. Keyworth, G. A. An administration perspective of federal science
policy. The Bridge, National Academy of Engineering, 16~1), Spring
1986.
OCR for page 144
Representative terms from entire chapter:
energy conversion
