Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: What do Bubble Gum, Nylons, Microchips and Plastic Wrap Have in Common?: Hint: It's not MacGyver...

Home > Press > What do Bubble Gum, Nylons, Microchips and Plastic Wrap Have in Common?: Hint: It's not MacGyver...

Abstract:
Did you guess that they were all developed by Chemical Engineers?

The microchips in your cell phone. The LCDs in your new flat screen TV. The plastic wrap on last night's leftovers. The pills in your medicine cabinet. The fuel in your car. The carpet in your living room. The insulin pump in your chest.

We can't think of a single facet of modern life that chemical engineers haven't touched. And chemical engineers have been part of almost every major development from plastics and fibers to unleaded gasoline to nuclear and even solar power. If it's modern, chemical engineers helped make it happen.

What do Bubble Gum, Nylons, Microchips and Plastic Wrap Have in Common?: Hint: It's not MacGyver...

New York, NY | Posted on November 10th, 2008

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is observing its 100th anniversary, and we invite you to join us as we celebrate the many advances in modern life that chemical engineers have made possible.

Consider these:

* Waldo Semon, a chemical engineer, invented bubble gum.
* Chemical engineers began large-scale production of penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1943.
* Chemical engineers produced the first high-octane gasoline in 1937 using catalytic cracking.
* Milton Roy, a chemical engineer, developed the first portable kidney dialysis machine in 1964.
* Mae Jemison, a chemical engineer, was the first African American woman to travel into outer space.
* Chemical engineers pioneered the mass production of silicon microchips in the 1970s.
* The former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, is a chemical engineer. In 1997 he was named Time Magazine's "Man of the Year."
* In 2007 chemical engineering researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, created the first functional radio from a single carbon nanotube, one ten-thousandth of the diameter of a human hair.
* Chemical engineers helped manufacture Olestra, a fat substitute, in 1996. It is now widely used in snack foods and cookies.

AIChE and the chemical engineering profession have been shaped and sustained by the achievements, leadership and imagination of thousands and thousands of engineers.

John Sofranko, executive director of AIChE, is available to talk about the accomplishments of chemical engineers. For more information, including the role chemical engineers play in our daily life, please contact Jeanette Krebs at 717-214-2200.

Thank you, and have a great chemical-engineered-enhanced day.

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Contacts:
Jeanette Krebs
717-214-2200

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