The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 06, 1988, Image 4

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Page 4
The Battalion
Tuesday, December 6,1988
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•OLIVER A COMPANY Q
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April 15 Could Be The Most
Important Day of Your Career
Why April 15? Because that's when you can take the
Fundamentals of Engineering examination and become
qualified as an engineer-in-training . .. the first step in
becoming a Professional Engineer.
If you’re an engineering student consider this. P.E.
registration allows more career flexibility and
choice. Professional Engineers aren't locked out
of a career path; jobs are theirs for the choosing
in government, industry, construction and pri
vate practice. Many employers require
registration for advancement to senior
engineering positions.
It will never be easierto take the exam than
now, while courses are still fresh in your
mind. The test, developed by the Nation
al Council of Engineering Examiners,
will be administered on April! 5 at sites
selected by the Texas Board of Land
Surveying. The cut-off date for
exam applications is Feb. 15. For
more information, call the state
board at (512) 452-9427.
Clip and return the coupon below for
a free brochure on how to become a
P.E.:
^ Please send me the free brochure, "Why Become a P.E.? ^
The NCEE Guide to Registration."
Name:
College:.
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Return to:
The National Council of Engineering Examiners
Student Information
| P.O. Box 1686 • Clemson, S.C. 29633-1686 |
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Scientists expect hydrogen
to serve as alternate energy
By Timothy J. Hammons
Statf Writer
In the face of the oil embargo
during the mid-70s, researchers be
gan looking for alternatives to crude
oil. One of the alternatives is a hy
drogen economy.
Hydrogen can be used in fueling
automobiles and jets and creating
electricity.
William B. Craven, manager of
Texas A&M’s Center for Electroche
mical Systems and Hydrogen Re
search, said there is an abundant
supply of hydrogen and a limited
supply of crude oil.
The center, a department of the
Texas Engineering Experiment Sta
tion, is recognized as the leading in
stitute in the United States in hydro
gen research.
Craven said Prudoe Bay, Alaska
was supplying one-third of the
United States’ oil two years ago. In
four years Prudoe Bay will be pro
ducing little, if anything, he said.
Knowing this, an alternative will
be necessary. Craven said hydrogen
is the best alternative for supplying
energy needs.
“We can take hydrogen and use it
anywhere that hydrocarbons, gaso
line and diesel fuels are used,” Cra
ven said.
Hydrogen is an abundant me
dium of energy and a type of fuel ev
erybody can use, he said. Hydrogen
is obtained from water through a
process called electrolysis.
Craven said the best fuel to use is
hydrogen. There is an abundant
supply of hydrogen and it burns
much cleaner than hydrocarbons, he
said.
Texas A&M is currently working
on a hydrogen car with plans to help
bring about the hydrogen economy.
For transportation purposes, hy
drogen can he used in automobiles
in two ways.
The first is in the internal com
bustion engine, the same way gaso
line is used. The second is through
the use of fuel cells.
David Swan, director of the pro
ject at Applied Research Corpora
tion, said hydrogen is a renewable
medium. He said hydrogen is a me
dium because it takes electricity to
produce it, whereas coal and natural
gas are energy sources.
Applied Research has a hydrogen
fuel car — a Chrysler LeBaron con
verted to run on hydrogen along
with gasoline.
Swan said they have run into seve
ral problems with the LeBaron. One
problem is that the hydrogen causes
the car to backfire through the in
take manifold. He said this problem
has been partially corrected. The
other problem is a 60 percent to 70
percent power loss, he said.
Another problem with the LeB
aron is cost if gasoline. When equa
ting the cost of hydrogen to gasoline,
it comes to about two dollars a gallon
of gasoline. Swan said. The price is
calculated through the conversion
process at local electricity costs, he
said.
This expense is the reason Ap
plied Research is looking to use hy
drogen in vehicles with a fuel cell.
The fuel cell would make the vehicle
about three times more efficient
than the internal combustion engine
and would produce no air pollut ion.
The fuel cell works in the reverse
of electrolysis. Hydrogen is pumped
in, and through a chemical reaction,
electricity is produced.
Swan said the idea is to develop a
cat powered partly by the fuel cell
and partly by batteries. This is why
Applied Research also has several
battery-powered cars.
Swan said they have two Dodge
vans, a Lynx Ev and a General Mo
tors Ev that are battery powered.
With the exception of theGM
they are all owned by theUniven
Swan said he lias talked to
companies who have used L
powered vehicles and thecomi,
is always the same: Thebatterie
inefficient.
I he Lynx Ev can only travel:'
25 miles before it has to kt
charged, he said. Thisisequi
to one gallon of gasoline.,It.
about live hours to recharge tit
teries.
Ibis high inefficiency is ait
reason why Applied Reseattlj
looking to use a battery-fuel,
combination. The combifiationt
up with one luel cell and several
teries. During acceleration tie
cell and batteries help povverikt
While the car is at a constantly,
or parked, the fuel cell coniiift
operate and recharges thebatu
Swan said.
In this setup, the car will In
traveling distance of 100-plus ,
and will operate at an equivalte
SI a gallon of gasoline, he said
At this price, the car willbt
economical and will helpredutt
affects of air pollution.
Swan said GM is looking*
fuel cells for an auxilary powtt
ply. I he fuel cell will he puli
luxury cars to allow the air
boning to run without runninj
engine. He said that with on
computers the owner will be
set the time for the air conditio
come on, so when hecomesout
work, he'll have a cool car.
Although* the hvdrogci
sounds like the answer, fully
ered f uel-cell cars will not be
dam this century, Swan said
work being done today is for
tui e. T he work is somethingi
to be started now, so when
comes, the information will
able, he said. :
thtij
Petroleum engineering alive
despite changes in oil world
By Sherri Roberts petroleum engineering students re- by universities justifies their
Staff Writer u” ~
Oil — the black gold commodity
— became the backbone of the
Texas economy, establishing Texas
in a race with Alaska to be the largest
oil-producing state in the nation.
The Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries’ ability to pro
duce inexpensive oil because of its
member countries’ high-capacity
wells has allowed it to hold the world
oil industry in a tight grip.
The faltering of the industry has
led to a redirection for Texas A&M
Department of Petroleum Engi
neering.
William Von Gonten, professor
and head of the petroleum engi
neering department, said under
graduate enrollment decreased
from 1,600 students in 1981 to 184
students in 1988. But graduate en
rollment helped offset that by in
creasing to 184 students from only
25 students in 1981.
Not only have faculty require
ments remained constant, he said,
but a greater emphasis has been
placed on the graduate program.
Von Gonten said many graduate
students chose to enroll in the pro
gram because of stricter education
requirements demanded by oil-re
lated companies.
Companies have become more ef
ficient and technologically oriented
in an effort to reduce costs and in
crease the quality of productivity, he
said.
Graduates of A&M’s petroleum
engineering department, which is
ranked first in the nation in terms of
quality and enrollment, are popular
recruits for many of these compa
nies. 1 he average starting salary for
petroleum engineering students re
ceiving a bachelor’s degree
$43,000, he said.
Seventy percent of the depart
ment’s undergraduate students last
May had jobs waiting for them, Von
Gonten said, while 100 percent of
those graduating with a master’s de
gree had jobs.
Though the current number of
graduates meets market demand
equally, Von Gonten said there will
be a shortage of graduates needed to
meet the demand in 1989 unless en
rollment figures increase.
These enrollment figures, though
low in comparison to those of 1981,
are equivalent to figures in the mid-
70s, Von Gonten said. The Arab oil
embargo and the 1981 oil boom
were situations which created un
usual peaks in enrollment, he said.
While Texas, Louisiana and Cali
fornia — states with heavy stakes in
the oil industry — are negatively im
pacted by the weakened state of the
industry, the rest of the country is
benefitting.
Von Gonten said states with
strong manufacturing bases, in addi
tion to many other consumers, wel
come the cheaper oil prices.
The effects of the crisis have
forced Texas legislators to examine
alternate routes to economic stabil
ity. With this examination, higher
education has emerged as part of the
solution to the problem.
While visiting A&M last October,
Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby commended the
University for its biotechnology re
search plans in Houston. Hobby said
the research will create dozens of
new products and thousands of new
jobs.
Hobby said the prosperity created
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764-1136 xT:
Sale ends December 31, 1988
2
HO
In universities justifies their j
pense.
But Stan Carpenter, an asss
professor of educational admi
tion, said education lobbyists!]
making idealistic promises the
keep.
Carpenter said higher
is only part of the answer tos
the state’s economic woes. H
education alone, he said,
change the economy’s structurt
10 years.
Carpenter said the political]!
sure was leading many Univtij
faculty to question their prina]
He said the temptation to rto
more funds may cause rfMl
agenda to he dictated by ecoiol
wants.
T he economic strain hashal|
additional effect on higher i
tion. Carpenter said. Attracting I
lessors to 1 exas' universitieshatf
come increasingly difficult, heal
professors read of the state's'll
gles. he said.
He said that many oftheppyj
ing smokestack states nave taM
iintage c>1 the situation by 4
faculty away From Texas withl
lucrative offers.
T he University counteracts I
faculty raiding through its "ill
repellent” fund. The fundisusti
match promising offers frontoi
universities.
Larry Dooley, senior acadl
business administrator, said 4
taining quality faculty in Teal
versities is an important keyij
growth.
“If you lose good studentsi
faculty, you lose good industries]
said.
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