NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL

ENGINEERING

BG0491/CH0491 - ENGINEERS AND SOCIETY

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT PROJECTS

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Students in each Tutorial Group will work in Teams of 3-4 students on 3
assigned projects and present them orally to gain Continuous Assessment
(CA) marks. Please refer to the Lesson Plan and overpage for the
schedule of preparation and presentation of the projects.
2. For Project 1:
(a) ALL Teams (Teams A I) to submit the following at the start
of the Tutorial class in Week 4 (i.e. on 3 Feb 2016)
(i)

A written answer (not more than 2500 words) to

the question of Project 1. The answer should be
type-written(font 12) and appropriately referenced.

(ii)

A photograph of all the Team members to be

attached to the written answer.

(b) Teams A, B, and C to submit a hard copy and soft copy (in
CD) of the oral presentation PowerPoints before the start of
their presentations in Week 4 . Teams D - I to submit the
hard and soft copies at the start of their presentations on the
respective scheduled dates.
3. For Projects (2) and (3), written essay answers are not required. All
Teams to submit the soft and hard copies of their oral presentation
PowerPoints at the start of their presentations on the respective scheduled
dates.
IMPORTANT NOTE
The submissions of the written answer to Project (1) and the PowerPoints
of Projects (1), (2) and (3) should have a cover sheet bearing :
(i) Names and Matric numbers of the members of the Team. No
mark will be given to any student whose name does not
appear on the cover sheet.
(ii) The Group no. (eg B40). and Team alphabet (eg Team A)
(iii) The Project no. and Question no.
Failure to do so will result in deduction of marks.

4. Each Team will make its presentation in 10 minutes, followed by a short Q

& A session.
5. Marking scheme for each project:
Content
: 50 Marks
Presentation and Q & A : 50 Marks
Total
: 100 Marks
6. The C.A. mark carries a weightage of 40% of the total course mark.
7. All members of each Team must participate in the teams preparation and
presentation of all the 3 projects.
8. Attendance in all tutorial sessions is compulsory even when the Team is
not making presentation. Attendance and participation will be taken into
consideration in the final C.A. mark of each student.
9. Schedule
Project No.
1

To be assigned in:
Week 2

Week 4

Week 6

Teams
A, B, C
D, E, F
G, H, I
A, B, C
D, E, F
G, H, I
A, B, C
D, E, F
G, H, I

To present in:
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12

1st Project (50 Marks)

(The Tutor will assign the questions to the teams in Week 2 )
1) Isaac Newton said in 1676: If I have seen further, it is by standing on the
shoulders of giants. Applying Newtons observation to yourself as an
engineer in the modern era, identify three giants in your field
(Chemical/Biomedical) and explain why they have indeed provided
shoulders for you and other engineers to stand on.
2) A key purpose of studying the history of engineering is to make sense of the
present and the future by understanding why things happened in the past.
Critically assess the significance of this observation, citing appropriate
examples of engineering developments to support your assessment.
3

3) Research into three key breakthroughs of the Scientific Revolution that had
laid the foundations of the Biomedical and/or Chemical Engineering fields.
For each of these breakthroughs, critically assess the extent to which it had
impacted society, taking into consideration the applications and outcomes that
it has brought about.
4) On 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami which
swamped the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) in Japans Fukushima
prefecture and turned it into the worlds worst nuclear disaster since
Chernobyl. The disaster immediately rekindled worldwide debate on the
continued use of nuclear power as an alternative energy source. With
reference to the Tepco disaster and subsequent international reactions, do
you think the continued use of nuclear energy is justified? Why, or why not?.
5) Scientific knowledge cannot be translated into products without engineers.
Do you agree with this observation? Discuss your view with reference to three
significant engineering achievements in the modern era. What implications
does this observation have on the role of engineers, and how should
engineers best address them?
6) Choose two examples of technological development and discuss the social,
political, economic and ecological costs and benefits they have brought to
society. What conclusions can you draw on the overall value of these
developments, and what can engineers do to enhance their contribution to
society?
7) The explosion of British Petroleums (BPs) Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on
20 April 2010, which killed 11 workers and triggered a massive oil spill, has
certainly gone down as the worst disaster in recent history of the oil and gas
industry. Trace the key aspects of the disaster, critically comment on the
actions of the company, and identify the significant lessons that engineers
could learn from them.
8) Identify three current issues/trends which you view are having or will have
important implications on your future career as a Chemical`/Biomedical
engineer. Discuss these issues/trends, their implications, and how you might
best prepare for them and perform well in your future career.
9) Today, the world is racing against the twin threats of climate change and the
finite nature of non-renewable energy. Evaluate the significance of these
twin threats on the long-term sustainability of society, the current efforts at
dealing with them and their limitations, and the role that engineers can play in
this race.
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