Testimonials from Graduates

Adam Chatfield - Development Engineer . Although I have graduated only recently, my role within the Basic Chemicals & Intermediates group at Exxon Chemical is already calling on many of the interpersonal and technical skills that I gained through my studies at Aston.

My role as a Development Engineer looks at improvements to plant equipment and its reliability. My time at Aston included an extremely enjoyable industrial placement year in Germany - an ideal way to improve both engineering and valuable foreign language skills.

Aston has not only forged many good links with excellent companies but is also well regarded by industry as a whole. This has certainly offered me the best opportunities for an exciting career.

Adam Chatfield. Exxon Chemical Ltd. Graduate 1999 MEng Chemical Engineering

Becky Walters joined Aston in October 1995, followed the sandwich pattern on the BEng degree and graduated with a good 2i Honours degree in July 1999.

After completing ‘A’ Levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry I chose to do a Chemical Engineering degree at Aston. I chose Aston University over any other because I wanted to study in a large city while going to a small campus University. Aston was perfect, being just this, a small campus University situated on the edge of Birmingham city centre. The overwhelming thing about Aston is the friendly atmosphere and because it is small it is easy to get to know other people well. I was aware of the respect which the University has gained within industry and the high percentage of Aston graduates being able to follow their chosen career.

I chose to do a Chemical Engineering degree because at school I enjoyed Chemistry and Maths and felt that Chemical Engineering would combine the two effectively and is more vocational and versatile than a single science degree.

The best thing about my degree was the Industrial Placement, a year spent in the "real world". My placement was spent working as a process engineer for Kodak Ltd. based in Harrow, North London. For me, this year put into context many of the principles developed in the first 2 years of the degree and prepared me practically for the final year design project. During my Placement Year, I became involved in the day-to-day running of a large factory as well as having my own short-term projects. One of these projects heavily involved me in the commissioning of a muti-million pound production plant. This year greatly improved my communication skills and self confidence, and for myself and many of my colleagues, was a very successful experience.

Having completed my degree, I am now employed by BG plc International Downstream (formerly British Gas). This job involves building gas-fired power stations and transmitting gas world wide. I will also have the opportunity to gain Chartered Engineer status, which is encouraged by most companies in the Chemical Process Industries. Being an engineer, my options are always open!

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 years at Aston and would recommend the experience to anyone.

Brendan Wakfer graduated from Aston in July 1997, with a good 2i Honours degree in Chemical Engineering after following the BEng course with a sandwich placement.

'While completing my 'A' Levels in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, my interest in Chemical Engineering was prompted by my Chemistry teacher. The more I looked into the course, the more I found it offered a challenging and interesting degree with excellent opportunities for a wide range of careers on graduation.
Aston University offered exactly what I was looking for, both in and out of the lecture theatre. Located in the very city centre of Birmingham, students have easy access to all the facilities and amenities that this large city offers. In contrast, the university itself is medium sized and campus based and so offers a warm and friendly atmosphere, soon becoming a second home. Coupled to its deserved reputation within industry and offering a well developed sandwich placement programme it was the perfect choice for me.

One of the many highlights during my degree, was my industrial placement year, during which I worked as a process development engineer for ICI Chlor-Chemicals in Runcorn, Cheshire. The role was site based, working on a world scale chloromethanes production complex on a wide range of projects. The experience I gained during that year was invaluable, both in terms of technical and personal development. It also gave me the chance to live and breath chemical engineering, what better way to find out if its the career for you!. At the end of the year I successfully completed ICI's selection procedure and was offered a full time job on successful completion of my degree.

I joined ICI KLEA in October 1997 and since then my primary role has been providing technical support to four plants - two world scale production assets and two effluent treatment plants. I have gained a lot of experience in this time, including process characterisation, optimisation and research & design. The highlight of my career to date was the 4 months I spent as technical plant manager, normally a role occupied by chemical engineers with over three years experience. The role involves working at the sharp end of production, with technical responsibility for the day to day running and operation of one of the production plants and both effluent treatment facilities.

The experience I have gained since graduation and the excellent start I got from Astons Chemical Engineering degree course with Industrial Placement, means that I'm well on the road to becoming chartered with an exciting future full of opportunities!'

Justin Williams joined Aston in October 1991, followed the sandwich pattern on the BEng degree and graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree in July 1995.

Photo courtesy of Huntsman ICI Petrochemicals UK (Ltd) showing Justin Williams standing outside the perimeter of the Paraxylene plant.

'Having studied A-Levels in Maths, Chemistry and Biology I chose to apply for a place on a Chemical Engineering degree course, with Aston as my number one preference.

For me, the main reason why Aston stood out from the other Universities was that I wanted a degree that would prepare me for the ‘real world’ as well as teaching me the basic theoretical elements of the subject. I figured if I was going to be successful in securing a career with a good company at the end of my degree I had to be able to demonstrate my ability to apply the theory to real problem solving situations, and I believe the course at Aston is designed to help build these skills – a belief borne out by Aston’s graduate employment record which is second to none.

My first visit to Aston really confirmed it as my preferred choice, since the department is actually quite small compared to other University Chemical Engineering departments. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and you get chance to build good relationships with the teaching staff, who are always prepared to offer help and advice – whatever the subject! Another benefit at Aston is its location next to Birmingham city centre, which gives you all the benefits of a small & friendly campus-based University, coupled with all the many attractions a major city has to offer.

One of the main reasons why I liked the look of the course at Aston is that most of the undergraduates follow an industrial placement year as part of their degree. I was lucky enough to spend my placement year with Exxon Chemical Ltd., at their Fawley refinery in Southampton, and gained some invaluable experience into a wide range of chemical engineering aspects, from detailed design to plant troubleshooting as well as helping run a major production plant when the boss was on holiday! My placement year gave me a chance to start applying some of the principles I learnt in the first two years at Aston, as well as teaching me a range of new skills I could then directly apply to my final year studies – especially when it came to the final year design project, for which I won a prize.

I now work for Huntsman Petrochemicals Ltd. in Teesside (formerly ICI Chemicals & Polymers) who I joined upon graduation. My current job is as Development Manager for a world scale paraxylene plant, giving me a range a responsibilities from process optimisation, safety, health & environment, process design, management & training, to name but a few....

In summary, I had a fantastic 4 years at Aston – both in terms of getting exactly what I wanted out of my degree course, as well as having enormous fun in the process. If you want a Chemical Engineering course with a good reputation for high calibre, practical graduates, a small and friendly department, practical industrial placement experience, good employment prospects and all the benefits of a campus University and city centre location, Aston should definitely be on your shortlist.'

Gary S. Crutchley - I graduated from Aston in 1990 with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Chemistry with Professional Training. The latter was undertaken at BP Chemicals, Sully, South Glamorgan. I completed a final year research project at Aston on 'The synthesis and characterisation of Polymethylphenyl Silanes'.

In 1990 I was employed as a Senior Materials Technologist in the Cord Reinforcement Laboratory at Dunlop Tyres Ltd. I was mainly concerned with the development of new textile, steel and bead wire tyre reinforcing materials for passenger car, truck and motor-sport tyres, and the introduction of polyester as ply material in tyres. Later (~1993), as Car Tyre Compounder for Dunlop Tyres I assumed responsibility for the development and specification of all rubber compound formulations, including the introduction of silica as a filler for tyre tread compounds. I also designed, developed and introduced MS Access based databases to store and manipulate compound physical and chemical property data. I acquired sole responsibility for control, development and specification of all solvent, water and paint solutions used in contact with tyres during production. Subsequently, I developed computer databases for solutions, compounds and project control, and was responsible for the administration of information technology within the Tyre Materials Department.

I was promoted in 1998 to Principal Materials Engineer (Dunlop Tyres - Cord Reinforcement) and became closely involved with the development, specification and control of all textile cord reinforcing materials used in car, truck and motor-sport products. Administration of the computer networks, training staff in textile tyre cord technology, and liaison with suppliers were also within my remit.

Currently (2000), I am an Information Scientist at Kumho European Technical Centre. I collect data and monitor competitor activity, perform statistical data analyses, evaluate advances in tyre material technology, and carry out IT co-ordination and database design. I am also directly involved with Web site design
(www.kumhotech.co.uk) and the evaluation of the European Market for alternatively fueled vehicles.

During my career I have had the opportunity to travel quite extensively to Japan, South Korea, Poland and just about everywhere in Europe. I have been married to Tracey for seven years and I have a four year old son Lewis. We are expecting a new baby in July 2001. My hobbies and interests include anything to do with science, genealogy (www.crutchleyhistory.co.uk), web site design and the Internet.

Louise Cottam joined Aston in October 1986, followed the sandwich pattern on the BEng degree and graduated with a Chemical Engineering 2.1 Honours degree in July 1990.

'On completion of A-levels in Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Further Mathematics Chemistry I chose to study Chemical Engineering at Aston.

I chose Chemical Engineering for my degree because I enjoyed Mathematics and Chemistry at school and wanted a practical, vocational degree course. Aston was my first choice of University because of the open and friendly atmosphere, it's good reputation and the small campus just off the centre of a major city. Some of the attractions of the Aston Chemical Engineering degree are the practicals (laboratory and pilot plant), the Industrial Placement year and the general way in which the students are taught to think "laterally" around subjects. This is a very important lesson which has come in useful more than once since I started working in Industry.

The Industrial Placement is an important part of a Chemical Engineering degree and is an opportunity for a young Chemical Engineer to gain confidence in, and experience of, chemical engineering in the real world. This was certainly the case for me! I joined Pedigree Petfoods (part of the Mars group) in Melton Mowbray, Leics for a year in the Development Engineering Department. During this year I was involved in process support for a large continuously running food factory in addition to being involved in project work. Towards the end of my placement, I was responsible for running part of a commissioning team for a new process plant. It was a very rewarding year and I definitely recommend a sandwich placement to any engineering student.

On graduation, I started work with Ross Youngs based in Grimsby but returned to the University the following year to join a CEC sponsored research programme on Renewable Energy. My aspect of the research involved techno-economic modeling and the designing of a computer simulation package. On completion of my research, and whilst writing up my PhD thesis, I joined Van den Bergh Foods Ltd (part of Unilever) in Crawley. I was employed as a Process Development Manager and was responsible for trouble shooting and commissioning production processes at different factory sites across the UK. I was also involved in new process development in the pilot plant and on completion of a NEBOSH Certificate course, took on the additional role of the pilot plant Safety Officer. In January 1999 I moved from VdBF to SmithKlineBeecham and took over the role of Process Improvement Manager at the Slough Factory. I am now responsible for site projects, project management and provide process support to the factory.

Aston students are highly regarded in Industry and I am, at the time of writing this, recruiting from Aston and other Universities for Industrial Placement students for next year and hopefully in the future.

Selecting Chemical Engineering at Aston was the right choice for me and one which I would recommend to anyone!'

'I am now employed as a Graduate Process Engineer, working in various engineering and management disciplines and learning how the contracting industry functions.

 

The Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry programme has helped a great deal in this job; it taught me to think through problems carefully and logically and to have the courage of my convictions, but also to ask when in doubt!'

Helen Allison, Kvaerner John Brown

Mohammed Fiaz - After graduating in 1994 with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Aston University, I worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Loughborough University in the Institute of Polymer Technology and Material Engineering.

My research activities involved studying the chemical crosslinking of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This project allowed me to work closely with various chemical industries and a Research Institute in Mexico.

After working at Loughborough University for two years, I accepted employment at Dow Coming Ltd in Barry, South Wales. Here, I work in the Product Development Department, where my main roles and responsibilities are developing new products, providing scale-up support, and taking part in commercialisation activities. I work closely with various departments within Dow Coming such as Analytical, Process Engineering and Marketing.
Mohammed Fiaz

Fiona Darling 'I spent my placement year at Esso Petroleum Co. in Southampton which was hard work as well as great fun. I worked in the energy management department where we looked at energy issues affecting daily and long-term refinery operations. Quite some responsibility.

I was then offered a job with Esso after Graduation in 1998. I now work within the planning and Engineering Services Division of the Technical Department. This Division is responsible for Investment Planning and Project Development as well as Design, Execution and Start-up Support. This involves ensuring that all projects comply with the relevant design specifications and are developed within budget and on time.

At work I am putting the theory learned during my degree into practice in real projects. I spent four very happy years at Aston. I worked hard for my degree and played hard too! One of the things which attracted me to the University in the first place was its friendly atmosphere and I made fantastic friends to prove it. I have great memories of Aston which will stay with me for a very long time.'

   Fiona Darling Esso Petroleum Co.
   BEng Chemical Engineering Graduate 1998

 
Joseph Dawha. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. PhD Postgraduate 1985

 'After obtaining MSc, and PhD degrees in 1981 and 1985 from Aston University, I returned to my old job in Nigeria as a lecturer in chemistry at the college of Science and Technology Mai duguri Nigeria.

In 1986, I was made Director of the Science faculty of the college and also appointed member of the governing council of the college.

In 1988, I joined the Nigerian National Petroleum corporation and became a member of a newly constituted project team charged with the responsibility of building the country's first integrated, world class, multibillion dollar Petro Chemicals Complex.

Stage 1 of the complex which was completed and commissioned in 1995. Plans are underway to execute the second stage of the development of the complex, which will include the construction of PET and PVC plants and other facilities. My initial responsibility in the project team was planning and business development. In a period of less than ten years, I rose to become the first Executive Director of the company, responsible for the marketing of its products in the world market.

I am married and I have four children - two boys and two girls.'