Projects

2013 SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PROJECTS

 

PROJECTS

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

– Ben Davis, Professor of Chemical Engineering

Engineering Polymers: How Plastics are Made

This project provides budding engineering interns an opportunity to learn how chemicals are made and what sorts of processes are used to make them.  A necessary part of making these products is using energy and making waste – interns will learn about the different byproducts of these chemical plants.  Next interns will learn about polymers: how they are made, their compositions, and their uses.  Interns will be broken up into small groups and assigned a particular type of polymer (e.g. polyethylene, polycarbonate, polystyrene), do their own research report on it and give a preliminary presentation about their polymer to the class.  After that, we will learn more specifically about the chemical plants where these products are made; how to find out what amounts of raw materials and energy you would need to make each product, these wastes associate with its creation, etc.  Finally, interns will create their own design for a chemical plant which makes their polymer.

This project is primarily computational; interns will be expected to complete independent research using a computer and be able to use a spreadsheet to keep track of data.  There will be two-hands-on activities in the chemistry laboratory where interns will be able to make their own polymer material and see how the waste from creating these chemicals is treated.

Interns involved in this project should have had high school chemistry, have had algebra (and liked it, and are comfortable on a PC.

 

CIVIL ENGINEERING

–Joseph Cataldo and Vito Guido, Professors of Civil Engineering

Hurricane Sandy was one of the worst storms to make landfall in the northeastern United States in recent times.  The New Jersey coastline was decimated, lower Manhattan was flooded and without power for many days, Staten Island saw catastrophic loss of life and property as well as Coney Island the Far Rockaways.  No one was left untouched.  The combination of 90+mph winds and high tides created tidal surges which flooded lower Manhattan, tunnels and subways.  The project proposed for the civil engineering section is what measures can be taken to prevent storm surge damage and are feasible from both a constructions point of view and financially. The interns will study and design systems to reduce the vulnerability of the city to superstorms.

During the course of study, coastal engineering topics will be presented.  Beach composition and characteristics, breakers, impact of storms will be some of the topics discussed.  The fundamentals of wave motion and mechanics will be considered (local fluid velocity, acceleration and particle displacement).  Wave particle experiments using the wave generator in the hydraulic laboratory will be conducted by the interns.  From this basic knowledge of wave mechanics the interns will study remedial techniques like storm surge barriers (sea walls, bulk heads, and revetments), inflatable plugs, and an ecosystem approach to protect our cities from the super storms like Sandy.  This ecosystem approach will protect the shoreline from destructive wave energy and will provide shade from the sun, evaporative cooling, and runoff reduction to name a few.

 

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

– Robert Dell, Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director, Center for Innovation and Applied Technology

Saving the World: The Exploration of Sustainable Energy and Untapped Green Resources

This investigation will include creative problem solving, using sophisticated instrumentation and accepted engineering practices. Computer modeling, hands on fabrication, and group problem solving dynamics will be developed as the projects evolve from the initial concepts to finished working prototypes.

Participants will be able to identify potential methods of harvesting green energy while becoming familiar with data collection, basic heat transfer, energy measurement and infrared imaging. 

Potential green solutions can include cascade utilization, thermoelectrics, wind, waste heat, solar and organic energy resources.

 

 

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.