As the General Motors Corporation shuts assembly plants and veers toward bankruptcy, the lonely remnants of one of its top technological achievements--the first modern mass-produced electric car--lie scattered across a few dozen American college campuses. GM produced and leased to customers more than 1,000 "EV1" automobiles beginning in 1996. In…

Summarizes the National Research Council report "Frontiers in Chemical Engineering: Research Needs and Opportunities." Highlights areas at the frontiers of chemical engineering research. Discusses the relevant audience of the report. Points out sources of funding for research. Emphasizes education related recommendations for universities…

Reviews the scope and dimensions of engineering new surface technologies. Focuses specifically on thermochemical treatments. Identifies the more widely used thermochemical treatments and describes the nitrocarburising and bonding treatments in particular. (ML)

Describes Clemson University's Advanced Engineered Fibers Laboratory, which was established to provide national leadership and expertise in developing the processing equipment and advance fibers necessary for the chemical, fiber, and textile industries to enter the composite materials market. Discusses some of the laboratory's activities in…

Contains information on research and development (R&D) trends in the United States. Provides an overview of the total R&D effort. Includes graphs and charts on R&D funding by the federal government, particularly on chemistry, physical sciences, and engineering. Assesses R&D spending by industry. Shows where academic institutions get R&D funds. (TW)

Presents some of the work currently under way in the development of microgravity chemical processes. Highlights some of the opportunities for materials processing in outer space. Emphasizes some of the contributions that chemical engineers can make in this emerging set of technologies. (TW)

Describes a course for third- or fourth-year chemical engineering students designed to acquaint them with the chemical industry. The course deals with productivity, characteristics of the chemical industry, sources of information, industrial intelligence, research and development, patent law, technology transfer, and quality control. (TW)

Describes a course on artificial intelligence (AI) in process engineering taught at Columbia University to chemical engineering students, using an AI methodology known as Knowledge-Based Expert Systems (KBES). Provides a description of the course, the lecture topics, and a synopsis of some of the student projects. (TW)