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Fluid Phase Equilibria 261 (2007) 317

Athena, Hercules and Nausica: Three dimensions of chemical engineering in the twenty-rst century
John M. Prausnitz
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 201 Gilman Hall, CA 947201462, USA Received 18 July 2007; received in revised form 26 July 2007; accepted 26 July 2007 Available online 11 August 2007

Abstract For the material and economic needs of mankind, the task of chemical engineers is not only to advance knowledge (Athena) for new or better chemical technology, but also to apply that knowledge to new or better products and processes (Hercules). Toward those ends, some useful tools are provided by classical and statistical thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, molecular simulations and, perhaps most important, by utilizing suitable physico-chemical properties revealed by chemistry. However, in the postmodern world, Athena and Hercules are not sufcient. Social and political trends clearly indicate that chemical engineers must also give increasing attention to cultural needs, not only to such well-known requirements as safety, sustainability and environmental protection, but also to sensitive awareness of a variety of human factors such as cultural heritage, diversity in the workforce, special needs of women and families, and continuity between what we do at work and what we do at leisure (Nausica). In the 21st century, the public we serve demands integration of chemical technology with those humanities that promote a more just society and a more meaningful life. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: High-tech research; Conventional chemical engineering; Social responsibility

Nearly 60 years ago, when almost one half of the world was dominated by socialist governments, many intellectuals in the West had serious doubts concerning the survival of capitalism. However, one of the leading economists of that time, Joseph Schumpeter of Harvard, had no such doubts. A few years after World War II, Schumpeter made a remarkable prediction: he said that Western capitalism would prevail over the socialist challenge not because of socialisms aws, but because of capitalisms success. Schumpeter correctly predicted that, coupled with technology, Western capitalism would sweep the world with an ever-increasing supply and variety of consumer products. Chemical industry and chemical engineers surely contributed to that success. But, regrettably, with new prosperity came a host of problems: pollution, congestion, climate change, choking trafc, depletion of resources and energy supplies, etc. . . and, perhaps most serious, alienation of the individual from his community due to ever-increasing specialization at the workplace and peer pressures inamed by relentless advertising. While not entirely new, todays pressing problems were minimal 60 years ago. Many

E-mail address: prausnit@cchem.berkeley.edu. 0378-3812/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.uid.2007.07.074

social philosophers have observed that the certainties of one generation become the uncertainties of the next. Our contemporary problems are intimately connected with technology, including chemical technology. There is every reason to expect increasing demand for chemical engineers to give attention toward alleviating todays problems that may become worse in the near future. When I was a doctoral student at Princeton, the universitys motto was Princeton in the Nations Service. About 15 years ago, that motto was extended to Princeton in the Nations Service and in the Service of All Nations. In response to changing conditions, Princeton enlarged its constituency; it increased its domain of concern. As I shall discuss later, chemical engineering must do the same. To illustrate contemporary and future chemical engineering, I propose three gures from Greek mythology, rst, because I would like to be in geographic harmony with the beautiful Greek location of this conference and second, because, as in early Greece, mythology helps us to interpret the world around us. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, intellect and knowledge. For chemical engineers, she stands for our obligation to research, to create new knowledge for chemical products and processes,

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for advancing the fundamental basis of technology. The city Athens is named after Athena. In California, near Berkeley, one of our premier high schools is called the Athenian Academy and in Pasadena, at the California Institute of Technology, the Faculty Club is called the Athenaeum. Athena represents the genie in the French word ingenieur. By contrast, Hercules is a doer, a strong man who achieves mighty physical tasks toward raising the standard of living; in other words, Hercules is an engineer. The most famous of Hercules achievements concerns sanitation. A rich man who owned thousands of cattle, kept these cattle in stalls that were not cleaned for 30 years. When Hercules was asked to clean them, he diverted a near-by river to ow its water directly through the dirty stalls that were then cleaned in a few days. This was a remarkable engineering achievement but regrettably, it was incomplete. While Hercules was hailed as a hero, Greek mythology does not tell us anything about the reactions of those who lived near the river downstream. My third gure from Greek mythology is a kind young woman, Nausica. She plays a small but essential role in Homers Odysseus. Without her, the adventurous traveler Odysseus would not have been able to return to his home and wife Penelope in Ithaca. I shall say more about Nausica later, when I discuss the third and perhaps most challenging aspect of contemporary and future chemical engineering. Before I do that, let me rst make some comments on the two traditional parts of our profession: Athena, who stands for new knowledge and Hercules, who stands for engineering. 1. Athena: research As indicated by PPEPPD, the title of this Conference, we are here concerned with the physical and chemical properties that we need for efcient manufacture of new and conventional products and for design of efcient new and conventional processes. Toward those ends, we use numerous intellectual tools including classical thermodynamics, statistical and quantum mechanics, molecular simulation, and a variety of concepts from chemistry. To illustrate, let me now show some representative examples. Applied statistical thermodynamics can solve problems where classical thermodynamics is not sufcient. An example is provided by calculating the properties of a uid under connement. As shown in Fig. 1, a simple uid is in a pore where H, the diameter of the pore, is larger but not very much larger, than , the diameter of the uids molecules. The properties of the uid inside the pore are not the same as those of the bulk uid outside the pore. Density-functional theory provides a powerful tool for calculating the properties of a uid under connement. Fig. 2 [1] shows the reduced density prole of a pure conned uid at two reduced temperatures. Results from density-functional theory compare well with those from Monte Carlo simulations. In these calculations the wall has an attractive potential for molecules of the conned uid. We see that the uids density near the wall is much larger than that in the middle of the pore. In chemical engineering, we are often concerned with mixtures. Consider a simple binary liquid mixture of components 1

Fig. 1. Density-functional theory applied toward calculating properties of a conned uid. Given the properties of the bulk uid and v(r), What are the properties of the uid in the pore?

and 2 where 1 = 2 and energy parameter 1 = 2 = but where the binary interaction parameter 12 is 0.75 . Fig. 3 shows the composition prole for three reduced temperatures; mole fraction x1 depends on position r where r is the distance perpendicular to the wall. The dotted lines near the bottom give the composition of the bulk uid outside the pore. For chemical engineers, a particularly interesting result is the liquidliquid phase diagram shown in Fig. 4. The outer dotted line gives the coexistence curve in the bulk (H* = ). The inner line gives the coexistence curve in the pore (with

Fig. 2. Density proles in a pore with H* = 6 (Kierlik, Monson et al).

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patibility for components 1 and 2. At a reduced temperature of say, 0.90, the bulk uid has split into two liquid phases but the conned uid, in equilibrium with the bulk uid, consists of only one liquid phase. While Monte-Carlo simulations were obtained to check the results, density-functional theory provides an analytic solution. Calculations using density-functional theory are much faster than those using simulations, especially if results are desired for a variety of conditions. The example presented here illustrates one major goal of analytic statistical mechanics: to calculate the properties of interesting new materials or of conventional materials under some external geometric restraint. To obtain such properties, classical thermodynamics is often not sufcient. I expect that densityfunctional theory will become increasingly useful for chemical engineering. 2. Molecular simulations Thanks to the ever-increasing power of computers, in recent years we have seen impressive advances in simulating the properties of uids and their mixtures. In addition to providing fundamental structural information on complex materials, simulation is useful rst, for testing analytic theories and second, for extending such theories. To illustrate, consider the critical properties of an asymmetric electrolyte, an ionic liquid whose cations and anions have the same charge but not the same size. An analytic method for calculating these properties is provided by the integral theory of uids coupled with an approximation called the mean spherical approximation (MSA). To test this theory, Yan and de Pablo [2] performed molecular simulations that relate reduced temperature to reduced density. Fig. 5 denes the pertinent variables for this calculation. The asymmetry factor is the ratio of the two ionic diameters; when = 1, all ions have the same size. Fig. 6 compares critical temperatures and critical densities from MSA theory to those from molecular simulations. When = 1, agreement is at best fair but more important is the trend with . While molecular simulations indicate that critical properties decrease as falls, MSA theory predicts the opposite. Evidently, there is a need to improve MSA theory.

Fig. 3. Composition prole in a pore with H* = 6 (Kierlik, Monson et al).

H* = 6) obtained from density-functional theory; the black and white points give results from Monte-Carlo simulations. (In the Monte-Carlo calculations, the white points follow from a sample box somewhat larger than that used for the black points.) While agreement is not perfect, the important conclusion is supported by both kinds of calculation: the upper critical solution temperature in the pore lies below that in the bulk. In other words, for the particular conditions chosen here, the wall increases com-

Fig. 4. Coexistence curve for a binary mixture in an (attractive) pore (Kierlik, Monson et al).

Fig. 5. Molecular simulation can reveal deciencies in theory. Calculated (MSA theory) and simulated critical properties of monovalent asymmetric electrolytes.

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Fig. 7. Then a miracle occurs.

Fig. 6. Critical parameters for size-asymmetric primitive-model electrolytes.

To illustrate how simulations can help in development of analytic theory, let me rst show a famous cartoon (Fig. 7). As indicated, the theorist has worked out Steps 1 and 3 of his theory but Step 2 is missing. With courage and imagination, molecular simulation can sometimes give us the miracle that provides Step 2. To illustrate a pertinent miracle, consider liquidliquid equilibria in a ternary system. Regardless of whether we use an ordinary equation of state or a theory for activity coefcients, a perennial difculty is encountered in the critical region. When parameters are determined to t experimental data remote from the critical point, conventional theories inevitably overestimate the two-phase region. Towards obtaining a more reliable method for calculating liquid-liquid equilibria, Hu and Yang [3] obtained molecular-simulation data based on the threedimensional Ising model. Fig. 8 indicates the pertinent variables for tting the molecular-simulation data to an analytic equation that is then incorporated into a conventional lattice theory for liquid mixtures. With the modied lattice theory, Hu and Yang were able to represent experimental data for three ternary liquid mixtures shown in Fig. 9. Conventional lattice theory can easily represent experimental results for the third mixture at the right because that mixture does not exhibit a critical (plait) point. However, thanks to the miracle of molecular simulation, a good t was also obtained for the rst and second

system. For those systems, ordinary lattice theory cannot simultaneously represent experiment both near-to and far-from the critical point. However such simultaneous representation can be achieved upon incorporating results from molecular simulations into a conventional theory. 3. The essential role of chemistry While chemical engineering is based on a variety of sciences, surely the most signicant is chemistry. We also use mathematics, physics, biology and other related sciences but without

Fig. 8. Nonrandom mixing on a lattice (Hu and Yang [3]).

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Fig. 9. Liquidliquid equilibria for three systems. Open circles: experimental data. Solid lines: calculated. Solid triangles: Predicted critical points (Hu et al).

chemistry, we are nothing. In any contemplated application, it is always necessary to ask: am I using the best chemical substance? What is the optimum reactant, solvent or catalyst, substrate or polymer? The answer to such questions inevitably follows from chemistry. To illustrate, I want to recall the extensive efforts about 20 years ago to improve extraction processes that use supercritical carbon dioxide. Because solubilities in compressed carbon dioxide are often very small, any real process requires a large, sometimes excessively large carbon-dioxide ow. To reduce such ows, it was proposed to add a surfactant that would much increase solubility in carbon dioxide by forming micelles, just as a detergent added to water raises the solubility of hydrophobic particles. Numerous experimental studies reported disappointing results because standard surfactants were not effective for making micelles in carbon dioxide. The reported experimental studies had used a variety of those surfactants that were readily available from chemical manufacturers, but these surfactants are for aqueous systems: they are not useful for carbon-dioxide systems because the chemistry is different. For systems containing water and a hydrocarbon, the appropriate surfactant is an ambiphile with a polar hydrophilic group attached to one or two hydrophobic tails. But that structure is not suitable for hydrocarbons in dense carbon dioxide. Nearly 20 years ago, Beckman et al. [4] synthesized new surfactants where a uorinated group is attached to one or two tails of a lipophilic hydrocarbon. These new chemically designed surfactants are highly effective in forming solute-containing micelles in carbon dioxide. Success was achieved not through thermodynamics or advanced mathematics but through fundamental chemistry. However, thanks to recent developments, mathematics and theory can help us to answer some chemical questions. I refer here to quantum mechanics that we can use to calculate intermolecular forces. To illustrate, Table 1 compares predicted and observed activity coefcients for some solutes at innite dilution in an ionic liquid [5]; Table 2 compares calculated and observed distribution coefcients for some solutes distributed between water and octanol [6]. In general, agreement is very good, especially if we remember that no mixture data were used in these calculations. I expect that applied quantum mechanics will become increasingly useful in chemical engineering. Finally, let me give one more illustration of the importance of chemistry.

Table 1 Application of quantum mechanics I ln Solute Octane p-Xylene Isopropyl alcohol Acetone Trichloromethane Calc. 4.10 1.46 0.94 0.353 0.386 Expta 4.86 1.49 0.87 0.097 0.312

Predicted and experimental limiting activity coefcients of organic solutes in an ionic liquid* at 31 C (from Klamt et al. [5]), *(4-methyl N-butyl pyridinium)+ (BF4 ) . a From Heintz et al. (2001, 2002).

We hear much about the coming hydrogen economy. One important problem is to nd a simple, cheap and safe method for storing hydrogen at ordinary temperatures. One proposal concerns storing hydrogen as a hydrate, where hydrogen is the guest in a clathrate of ice. This can be done but to form the hydrate, we require a substantial amount of hydrogen guest and therefore, we need a very high, indeed, prohibitively high pressure. To reduce the required pressure, Sloan et al. [7] proposed to stabilize the hydrate by adding a suitable hydrate-forming uid, for example, tetrahydrofuran. Fig. 10 shows on the left, a hydrate containing only guest hydrogen and at the right, a hydrate containing also guest tetrahydrofuran. The important difference is in the required pressure. Fig. 11 shows a phase diagram: the hydrogen content of the hydrate is plotted as a function of pressure. Without tetrahydrofuran, no hydrate is formed below 2000 bar. To reach 1 weight percent hydrogen, addition of tetrahydrofuran reduces the required pressure to 500 bars. For useful application, that pressure is too large and a storage of 1 weight percent is too small. Nevertheless, we see here the usefulness of a helpTable 2 Application of quantum mechanics II D (mole fractions) Solute n-Pentane Benzene Ethyl alcohol Ethyl cyanide 1,2 Dichloro-ethane Calc. 3.97 104 1.13 103 3.66 7.10 1.53 102 Expt. 3.82 104 1.16 103 3.44 5.74 2.44 102

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Fig. 10. Hydrogen storage. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) stabilizes hydrate (Sloan et al. [7]).

Another possible method to store hydrogen has been investigated by Long et al. [8]. He has synthesized a new porous solid (Fig. 12) where manganese atoms are prominently exposed in the pore walls. Positions and, to some extent, the properties of these metal ions are xed by organic spacers that were chosen to optimize attractive interaction between hydrogen and manganese. In preparing this new material, Long was guided by quantum-mechanical calculations to maximize hydrogen storage. At liquid-nitrogen temperatures, this material can store 7 weight percent hydrogen at 100 bar. Regrettably, the storage capacity falls signicantly at room temperature. However, guided by quantum-mechanical calculations, Long et al., are now looking at the use of other metals to improve performance of his porous material. 4. Hercules: physical properties for process engineering Following these illustrative examples inspired by Athena, the goddess of new knowledge, let me now turn to Hercules, the engineer. In recent years, the professional literature and the public media have given much attention to new and impressive developments in science and to what is often called high technology. As a result, we tend to forget that many opportunities for creative engineering remain in conventional chemicalprocess design. We are so taken by the promise of future technology that we are tempted to neglect possible signicant modications in contemporary large-scale processes. However, such modications can provide very large economic advantages. To illustrate, I show a proposed modication of a classical chemical engineering process, the Claus process for removing hydrogen sulde from natural gas. This process, more than 100 years old, is used in about one thousand large-scale plants throughout the world. The proposed

Fig. 11. Effect of pressure on hydrogen content at 273 K (Sloan et al. [7]).

ful chemical concept: addition of a uid to improve hydrate stability. Is tetrahydrofuran the best stabilizer? Probably not. Perhaps a better stabilizer can be suggested through quantum chemistry.

Fig. 12. A tetrazolate-bridged framework with exposed Mn2+ sites (long group, UC Berkeley).

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Fig. 13. Classical claus process for sulfur removal. H2 S is separated from natural gas by absorption and subsequent stripping. Essentially, volatile H2 S is converted to solid sulfur that can be safely stored. Reactor temperature must be at least 200 C to prevent sulfur from precipitation on solid catalyst (alumina). Then: 2H2 S + SO2 S + 2H2 O (Lynn et al., 2006).

modication follows from creative conventional thermodynamics. Fig. 13 shows the essentials of the Claus process for removing poisonous hydrogen sulde from natural gas used in millions of homes for heating and cooking. The essence of the Claus process is to convert volatile hydrogen sulde to solid sulfur that can be stored without damage to the environment. First, hydrogen sulde is removed from natural gas by absorption using a selective solvent like ethanol amine. After hydrogen sulde is stripped from that solvent, what shall we do with it? We react hydrogen sulde with sulfur dioxide to form solid sulfur and water. We obtain the required sulfur dioxide by burning sulfur with air or oxygen. The gas-phase reaction of hydrogen sulde with sulfur dioxide must be carried out at a high temperature (200 C) lest the sulfur precipitate on the solid catalyst. However, at 200 C, the reaction does not go to completion. An additional tail-gas process is needed to reduce the hydrogen-sulde concentration to no more than 100 ppm before we can release it to the atmosphere. I do not describe that tail-gas process here but, regrettably, it is expensive. Lynn et al. [9] have proposed a modication shown in Fig. 14. This process eliminates both the initial absorption step as well as the expensive tail-gas process. Using standard thermodynamic calculations, Lynn et al., noticed that the Claus reaction to produce sulfur essentially goes to completion at a lower temperature (130 C). Scott uses a solvent that dissolves hydrogen sulde, sulfur dioxide and elemental sulfur at 130 C. Upon cooling, the liquid mixture splits out a liquidsulfur phase that is removed and then cooled further to solid sulfur for storage. Natural gas is

Fig. 15. Correlation of innite dilution activity coefcients of SO2 with solvent Gutmann donor number at 25 C (Demyanovich and Lynn).

Fig. 14. Proposal for a much-improved modied claus process. Advantage: At 130 C, unlike 200 C, conversion to sulfur is essentially complete; therefore, no need for a separate tail-gas process. Solvent is diethylene glycol monomethyl ether (b.pt. 180 C). No need to separate H2 S from natural gas by absorption. Cost reduction: 40% capital cost; 33% operating cost (Lynn et al., 2006).

stripped from the supernatant solvent phase and the clean solvent is recycled to the reactor. For optimum design, we need a variety of thermodynamic data. A key question is: What is the best solvent? For a rst screening, literature data for the solubility of sulfur dioxide were correlated as shown in Fig. 15 where the correlating variable is the Gutmann donor number that provides a measure of the solvents basicity. Following this screening, new solubility data were obtained shown in Fig. 16. The results suggest that the best solvents are dimethyl aniline or quinoline. But, as we must repeatedly remind ourselves, thermodynamics provides only one part of optimization. Dimethyl aniline and quinoline are good solvents but they also are expensive, toxic and somewhat unstable at 130 C. Glycol ethers are not necessarily the very best solvents for sulfur dioxide but they are cheap, stable and nontoxic. For design, we also need phase equilibria for sulfur. Fig. 17 shows experimental solubilities of solid and liquid sulfur in two glycol ethers. Because water is produced in the Claus reaction, Fig. 17 also shows the effect of water on sulfur solubility. The economics of the modied Claus Process were studied independently by the Chevron Corporation in California and by the Kellogg Corporation in Texas. These two studies agreed that the modied process is about 1/3 less expensive than the conventional process. Because desulfurization of natural gas is a huge enterprise, a cost reduction of 1/3 can give annual savings of millions, possibly billions of dollars. Plans are now in progress to build a pilot plant for testing the modied Claus process on a semi-commercial scale.

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Fig. 18. Nausica the Humanitarian.

tional experimental measurements. While there is more glory and applause for fancy partition functions and esoteric molecular simulations, and for bio-, eco- and nano-science, we also have an opportunity to use our expertise toward advancing process design for large-scale engineering. 5. Nausica: the human dimension In the short time available this evening, I have presented only a few examples to illustrate the role of Athena and Hercules in chemical engineering. In these examples, I have indicated the continuing need for development of new intellectual tools rst, toward advancing new chemical technology and second, toward applying our knowledge and skills for signicant improvements in classical chemical engineering. I have stressed the proposition that while on the one hand, we must expand the frontiers of our profession, we must not neglect our potential contributions to

Fig. 16. VaporLiquid equilibria for SO2 in organic solvents at 50 C (Sciamanna and Lynn).

I have presented this example in some detail to remind us that, when coupled with a spirit of innovation, standard physical chemistry and thermodynamics can contribute toward energy conservation, sustainability and economics. In this example, we used only conventional thermodynamic ideas and conven-

Fig. 17. Effect of water on sulfur solubility in glycol ethers (Sciamanna and Lynn).

Fig. 19. Art is the lie that tells the truth.

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Fig. 20. Alienation: the design of the wall continues in the mans clothing. He has lost his individuality.

improve existing technology for better efciency in the use of energy and resources for sustainability. These two dimensions, exemplied by Athena and Hercules, constitute the core of what we have done in the past and surely must continue to do in the future. But in addition to these well-recognized responsibilities, there is a third dimension that will become increasingly important in the 21st century. This third dimension is exemplied by another gure in Greek mythology, by Nausica, one of the characters in Homers story about the adventures of Odysseus. Fig. 18 summarizes the role of Nausica in Homers story. Near the end of that famous story, Odysseus is shipwrecked; he has lost everything, and he is washed ashore, a stranger on an island, tired, naked and confused. A young princess, Nausica, nds him and restores his life and spirit. She provides food and clothing, nurses him back to health, giving him the physical and spiritual sustenance that enables him to continue his journey, to return to his family and home in Ithaca. Nausica represents human and social responsibility. She indicates to us that we cannot conne our work to the purely technical realm; we are obligated to make sure that our work is performed in a humane way, that we show respect and concern for all the needs of society, beyond the materialistic.

Fig. 21. Multidimensionality in time: Duchamps Nude Descending Stairs.

As Schumpeter predicted more than 50 years ago, the remarkable success of capitalism and technology has given us a rising standard of living but, as we know, that success has also produced severe problems: damage to our physical environment through pollution, to depletion of resources, and to deterioration of our social fabric, to alienation, to the separation between those, like us, who advance technology and those in the overwhelming majority of our population, who often do not understand technology, who are confused by the rapid change in our society and who, regrettably, are afraid of what technology is doing to our social and spiritual lives. The story of Odysseus and Nausica calls to our attention the need to place chemical engineering in context, to relate chemical engineering to the broad scope of everyday life. Nausica tells us that we need holistic technology. This need becomes evident when we look at cultural developments indicated in literature, architecture and especially in art. It has often been pointed out that art provides us with insights that we cannot obtain by rational discussion. To illustrate, I show a

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Fig. 24. Multidimensionality in space: Picassos Weeping Woman.

Fig. 22. Dissolution of boundaries: Magrittes Carte Blanche.

cartoon (Fig. 19) where the artist informs us about characteristics that go beyond science. Nausica calls us to integrate chemical engineering into the culture of our times. How can we perceive that culture? To illustrate some characteristics of our culture, let me rst show you a cover from a magazine, The New Yorker (Fig. 20). We see a man sitting on a bench in a subway station. We see that the mans

clothing blends into his surroundings; the design of his pants, jacket and hat are identical to those of the walls in the subway station. In other words, this man has lost his individuality; he is merely a continuation of the world around him. Next, look at a famous painting by Marcel Duchamp called Nude Descending Stairs (Fig. 21). Instead of a well-dened person, we see a blurred image, a gure whose boundaries are fuzzy, distorted in time. Again, the individual is a blend of circumstance. A painting by Magritte shows a woman on a horse, riding in a forest (Fig. 22). She moves not around but through the trees; she is not separate from, but a part of the forest.

Fig. 23. Dissolution of boundaries: Eschers Day and Night.

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Fig. 25. Interdependence and simultaneity: Bryan Rogers shows that an event anywhere occurs also in Berkeley.

A painting by Escher, East and West, also shows the continuity of nature (Fig. 23). At rst glance, we see black birds ying from left to right. At second glance, we see white birds ying from right to left. There is no sharp boundary between the black birds and the white birds. East and West are not distinct but a continuous whole. Finally, I show a painting by Picasso, entitled Weeping Woman (Fig. 24). We see a woman in deep grief; we see her not only from the front but also from the side. Picasso is telling us that to obtain a complete representation, we must look at the grieving woman not from one but from several points of view. I show these paintings because they emphasize context and integration. Numerous contemporary philosophers tell us that nothing exists by itself; for a proper understanding we must recognize that everything exists in relation to what is nearby,

that all phenomena are inuenced by their surroundings. Everything that we are and everything that we do is related, and has consequences beyond itself. Another way of showing inter-dependence is indicated by a series of clocks like those that we nd at airports: one clock gives the time in New York, another in London, in Tokyo and so on. A series of such clocks was shown in a sculpture by my former graduate student, Bryan Rogers who probably is the only person in the world who holds a joint PhD in art and chemical engineering (Fig. 25). This series of clocks tells us that whatever happens anywhere also happens in Berkeley. Given these characteristics of our modern world, what are some recent reactions, what is happening to make technology more sensitive to human values? Let me show you an example from architecture. Consider an apartment building

Fig. 26. Modern (not postmodern) architecture: repetition (modality) in a high-rise apartment building by Le Corbusier.

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Fig. 27. Postmodern architecture: Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

designed by Le Corbusier, an acclaimed architect 40 or 50 years ago (Fig. 26). His building is functional and uniform, every apartment in the building looks like every other. While this building celebrates efciency, it is also monotonous, producing anonymity which is another word for alienation. Le Corbusier has eliminated individuality. Now look at a much more recent building, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (Figs. 27 and 28). Here we see uniqueness, whimsy, humor and personality. Next, let me show you an item from a newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, concerning a new course in Berkeleys School of Business Administration (Fig. 29). In addition to teaching students how to make a prot, the Business School

now also gives instruction on how to spend money for charity and philanthropy. In numerous large ofce buildings in downtown New York or Chicago or London, the lobby is likely to contain small trees, owerbeds, benches for relaxing with coffee and pastries. In these buildings we often see exhibits of paintings, sculpture or archeological artifacts, sponsored by General Electric, or Exxon or some other big corporation. These decorated spaces illustrate a response toward integration. A recent article (Fig. 30) from the news organ of the Verein deutscher Ingenicure, the German Society of Engineers, indicates that industry seeks to employ managers who, in addition to technical knowledge, exhibit good communication skills, ability to talk and listen to the public at large, that is, managers who appreciate human values and who are aware of social responsibility. Finally, I show the cover of a book on business ethics (Fig. 31) that shows a reproduction of a semi-abstract painting where the buildings and industrial units are askew and in a variety of colors. The author had chosen this painting because it represents the multidimensionality of business ethics where so many philosophical, social and economic factors play essential roles. We see here again what cultural historians have consistently maintained: art does not follow life. It is the other way around: life follows art. Chemical industry must do more to recognize that it is not apart from, but a part of the society that it serves. Consider a cartoon mocking the famous former slogan of the du Pont company: Better Living Through Chemistry (Fig. 32). The worker constructing the billboard is killed by the poison gas from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. Our public image is in severe need of improvement. Fortunately, chemical industry is beginning to recognize this need. Fig. 33 shows a recent advertisement from Chemical and Engineering News; we see here not an attempt to sell some new

Fig. 28. Postmodern architecture: Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

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Fig. 29. At Berkeley, charity begins in classroom.

textile or detergent but instead, the advertisement concerns clean drinking water for a runner, thirsty for refreshment. In another advertisement, this one from the New Yorker, by the Dow Chemical Company, concerns a new chemical element, Hu, standing for Humanity (Fig. 34). The Dow Chemical Company recognizes that human concerns must become part of technology. Many large corporations now have personnel policies for accommodating families by providing liberal leaves of absence for expecting parents and on-site child-care centers. Industry is making an effort to soften the hard boundaries between work and the other facets of our lives, between our professional tasks and our activities in recreation and as members of families. Much has been achieved in recent years but much more remains to be done. In the spirit of Nausica, what are our responsibilities? Fig. 35 shows some requirements for effective chemical engineering in the postmodern world.

Fig. 31. Continuity between business and personal ethics: the book cover illustrates joy and complexity.

Fig. 30. From a newspaper published by the Verein Duettscher Ingenieure (Society of German Engineers).

You and I have expertise in chemical thermodynamics, in transport and in related sciences. But that is not enough. We must also exercise expertise in effective communication to the world at large and in showing sympathy for those who often do not understand technology or who fear its social consequences. In one of his novels, the Italian novelist Ignazio Silone writes about the wife of a professor. In describing her husband, the wife says Oh, he knows everything. But thats all he knows. We know chemical technology and thats ne. But we must also know more than that. Let us not be followers only of Athena and Hercules. Let us add Nausica to the fundamentals of our conscientious profession. Next week, in this beautiful place kindly prepared for us by Doros Theodorou and his colleagues, we shall learn much about new science and its potential applications. Athena will be pleased!

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Fig. 32. How others see us: a cartoon following the accident that killed and injured hundreds in Bhopal, India about 25 years ago.

Fig. 33. Chemical marketing and contemporary values: an advertisement from chemical engineering news. Note the modest slogan in the lower right corner, a sharp contrast to du Ponts Slogan 25 years ago.

Fig. 34. Chemical marketing and contemporary values: an advertisement from The New Yorker.

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Nausica. The society we serve requires not only that we produce new technology but, in addition, a technology that is compatible with our humanity, that serves not only our materialistic needs but also our aspirations and hopes for a better world. Acknowledgment For nancial support, the author is grateful to the Ofce for Basic Sciences, US. Department of Energy. References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] E. Kierlik, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 102 (1995) 3712. Q. Yan, J.J. de Pablo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 (2001) 2054. Y. Hu, J. Yang, J. Chem. Phys. 125 (2006) 164506. E. Beckman, et al., Fluid Phase Equilibr. 83 (1993) 203. A. Klamt, et al., J. Chem. Eng. Data 48 (2003) 475. S.I. Sandler, S.T. Lin, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 38 (1999) 4081. E.D. Sloan, et al., Science 306 (2004) 469. J.R. Long, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128 (2006) 16876. S. Lynn et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 32 (1993) 2812; S. Lynn et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 33 (1994) 265; S. Lynn et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 27 (1988) 500.

Fig. 35. Some requirements for effective chemical engineering in the postmodern world.

Also we shall hear about some new developments about engineering and process design in the tradition of Hercules. While we shall surely be impressed by new science and engineering, let us try to remember that this new knowledge also requires attention to the human and social consequences represented by