Andrew Guazzerotti : Questions about Chemical Engineering

2015.02.09
aguazzerotti@gmail.com
Junior at Pine Lake Preparatory Charter School
1. When did you decide you wanted to be a chemical engineer? What courses did you take to get
into your college?
I decided that I wanted to be a Chemical Engineer when I was about 15 years old. I knew that I wanted to
work on scientific subjects. However not pure science, but applied science, which is Engineering. Of all
the types of engineering, civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical I found Chemical Enginnering by far the
most interesting one because Chemistry is what the World is made off. The soils, the mountains, the
waters and above all, all the living things, people, animals, plants. Another reason for selecting the
chemical engineering over the other types of engineering is that is where the highest paying engineering
jobs are. It used to be nuclear engineers, followed by chemical petroleum engineers. Lowest paid are the
chem engineers in the food industry.
2.
Talk about your college experience. What was your major (and minor
if any)? What degree did you earn? How strenuous were the courses?
My major for my PhD was in Chemical Technology with minors in Wood Chemistry,
because of a job prospect and second Minerals, because I like inorganic chemistry
with its colored crystals more than any organic chemistry. Chemical Technology
involves the construction and operation of equipment to process chemical
compounds. Courses were not strenuous because I just enjoyed the idea of going
out in this world doing chemical engineering and gaining a lot of general knowledge
and understanding on the side. For instance the concept of quilibria in chemical
reactions get you prepared for the same concept in people interactions. The only
course I had trouble with was Thermodynamics because it was taught in such a
boring manner. Horrible.
3.
How did your college load affect where you started in your job? How did it affect you against
your competition while trying to get the job? How would it be different with a different degree?
Well as soon as I had my PhD I left for America with my wife and 2 kids. This was the
result of my first hand experience I got working on a 4 month project in Appleton,
WI., some years before. Then I found out that the US was a much more pleasant and
freer place to work in than back in Holland. Also no more suffering the cold
summers and warm winters with cloudy skies and 24 hour rains that you get in
Holland. Great to escape that.
4. What (if any) educational courses did you take after graduating from college to fulfill your
jobs requiremen
I started going to a PhD type College, theTechnical Universty of Delft, at age 26. So I got my degree at
age 33. At that point it was high time to work at a job and family. For the next 25 years my plate was full,
there wasnt much time or need for more formal education. That was the phase in my life of Family and
Work. After a few more years it meant no more job hopping and staying with one employer for 22 years.

5.
Many people view engineers as hardworking and always trying to invent new ideas to solve a
problem. How does this relate to what you have done during your job?
My mantra was always dont work hard, work smart. However engineers are problem solvers and with so
many people not doing their jobs, there were always enough problems to improve on with new and better
ideas.
6. With the constantly changing technology, how did it affect your daily work? Did it make it
any easier or harder and in what ways? How did it change your workload?
I found the following weak spots in my education: statistics and knowledge of
instumental chemical analysis. Statistics involve some big cumbersome
calculations. So in the age of slide rules you could always blow off doing statistics
by saying, there is not enough time to do this. Not until we got programmable
calculators and finally PCs, not much was done with stats. Cheaper and quicker
chemical analysis was not always a boon for a chemical engineer because thicker
and more elaborate reports were expected now. Same with the advance of PCs.
Higher quality reports were expected now. Lots of graphs and lots of color produced
by spreadsheet programs. Overall the workload stayed roughly the same. You did it
all because you felt more proud of you handiwork.
7. What were some major projects you were working on? What soon-to-be breakthroughs were
you working on?
Primarily water treatment; desalination of brackish water and seawater and
chemical separarations by the membrane processes of electrodialysis, reverse
osmosis and ultrafiltration and by evaporation. I always enjoyed doing pilot plant
field work all over America and the international travel it sometimes involved. I
visited at least 80 percent of all the European countries plus trips to the Middle East,
Japan and Cape Verde. I worked for 14 years at the Yuma Desalting Plant located at
the Colorado river on the borders of Mexico and California. This was my last and
most satisfying job.
Breakthoughs: 1. Finding out that a nasty problem with reverse osmosis
membranes being destroyed by chlorine, after much work, could be solved by
switching to chloramine as the sanitizing agent, in time for the scheduled start up of
the Yuma Desalting plant: 2. by switching to the metric system of measurements
established that the critical factor C in Reverse Osmosis pressure drop
calculations was a non-dimensional number: 3. Replaced a SAS program for
analyzing test plant data with the MS Excel spreadsheet progam that could be used
and modified by any computer savvy engineer. The SAS required a $ 20,000 annual
license fee and a SAS computer specialist. Total cost of SAS about $80,000 per year.
8.
How does the seniority system apply to your job? When you first started working for your
company, how were you treated and what workload did you have compared to the end of your
career? How many years of experience did you have in this career?
Some people like to pursue careers for the prestige and better salaries it might
produce. I for one never wanted a real management job that takes you away from
your real job. I went from the fresh kid on the team to the seasoned expert still
doing his technical job supervising a small team of coworkers. Not a bossy coach

but more like a father caring for progress by everyone. Not a rat race system. From
the time I was 40 my income during work and also during the next phase of
retirement has been about at the 90 percent level. 90 percent of all other people in
the country making less than I did and 10 percent making more.
However a drawback of an increased salary at greater senority is the danger of a
layoff. I was laid off for 5 months because I did not belong to one of the two ethnic
clicques that operated at our companys headquarters protecting their friends. With
the help of my friends I started a rumor that I was laid off because of age
discrimination, which it was and I was going to sue them as soon as I had found a
new job. Lay off one old expensive guy and hire two low salary level engineers
straight out of college. The rumor worked after 5 months the company took me
back with financial compensation for lost wages. Moral of the story make friends.
9.
a; What type of off-hour work did you have to do? b;What type of hours did you work? c;
How does this change with seniority in your job?
a; none b; regular c; none
10. What holidays did you have off? How hard is it get vacation time, and
how much time can you usually get? What part of the year were you the
busiest?
The 10 National Holidays plus 2 weeks vacation when I was young, plus 3 weeks for
most of my working years and finally when they figured I needed it at my old age,
plus 4 weeks. You never could accrue more than 2 years worth of vacation time.
Getting your vacation was never a problem as long as you let your supervisors know
well in advance.
The busiest time was report writing time. During that time you sometimes found
yourself working at home, because at the office with its busy-ness, you could not
sufficiently concentrate on your report writing
11. What are some good ways you'd recommend to prepare for going into this field other than
school?
Enthusiasm. Always try to learn more about Chemical Engineering in your spare time. Join an
Engineering Society and subscribe to a magazine covering your category of Chemical Engineering.
12. Retirement
I retired at age 67, that is two extra years to boost my Social Security income. My wife and I have been
married for 51 years now. We have 6 children. Our family has been blessed with good health. All our kids
inherited healthy bodies and healthy minds from their parents.We have 16 grandchildren living all over
America. I still think occasionally about my Chemical Engineering years, but otherwise keep myself, just
like my wife, busy and active with self invented projects and hobbies. Two years ago we moved to North
Carolina as a good compromise between the chilly North and sweaty South, and Mariel nearby, as a good
place to retire.

-AA2015