I'm a Chemical Engineer

I’m a

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Aboriginal Access to Engineering at Queen’s University is committed to increasing the number of Aboriginal engineers in Canada. By promoting math and science to elementary and high school students, supporting the efforts of their teachers, enabling access to post-secondary study, and ensuring young people have what it takes to succeed, we are encouraging more Aboriginal youth like Siobhan to become qualified engineers.

You can find out more about both our program and engineering at www.AboriginalAccess.ca Special thank you to Carol Ann Budd, PEng (Sagamok Anishinabek) and P. James McLellan, PhD, PEng , for their review and suggestions in writing this inaugural edition of the I’m an Engineer series.

Special thank you as well to Siobhan Dooley, for being such a wonderful role model for Aboriginal youth!

The development and production of I’m a Chemical Engineer was generously supported by the Joseph S. Stauffer Foundation.

Produced by Aboriginal Access to Engineering Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Queen’s University First printing 2013 Text ©2013 Melanie Howard Illustration ©2013 Peggy Collins Typeset in Grit Primer, Diffie and Tekton Pro

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Hi! I’m Siobhan, and I’m a chemical engineer!

When I was a kid growing up in Sioux Lookout, I didn’t even know what an engineer was!

It was my teacher who introduced me to what engineers do!

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I did like math and science though...

I decided to study engineering at Queen’s Uni versity, and now I have a pretty cool job!

Let me show you some of the things that chemical engineers do!

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Here is a story I like to share, that links chemical engineering to our history...

HOW MEDICINE WAS FOUND A long time ago, trouble developed between the animals and humans. As a result the animals began to cause illness among the humans. Nanabush was trying to figure out what he could do to help when he noticed Chipmunk scurrying past the door of his wigwam.

Nanabush called out to Chipmunk and said, “Little Brother, a strange illness is among our people. I fear the trouble was sent by the animals to punish the people for their cruelty to them.”

Chipmunk replied, “You are right. At the great council of animals I alone spoke for the people. The others were so angry that some pounced on me and would have torn me to pieces had I not managed to escape. Their claw marks are still on my back!”

“Then you shall wear such stripes on your back forever as a sign of loyalty and help to the people,” Nanabush said.

Chipmunk knew the trees and plants were friendly to humans so he went to see if they could offer some help. Three days later, Chipmunk told Nanabush that the trees and the plants offered many remedies to help fight the illnesses. The spruces and pine could give their gums and resins to relieve pain, congestion and be applied to cuts and bruises. Plants such as wild strawberry and milkweed each offered a gift as well. From the raspberry leaves one could sore throats and stomach aches. The milky fluid of milkweed on warts and moles to make them disappear.

Chipmunk taught Nokomis (Nanabush’s Grandmother) how to use these and many many other new remedies from the plants and the trees. Meanwhile Nanabush told the suffering people that help was available.

As time passed, people learned how to use the plants and trees for healing.

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These days, chemical engineers are behind not only medicine, but a lot of things we use every day!

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Chemi stry start s in natur e. Like Nokom is learne d from Chipm unk, plants have helpfu l medic ine. Indige nous people s have known of these medic ines since time immem orial. Some ances tral medic ines can now be found in their engine ered cousin s.

WILLOW BARK for headache, fever and pain relief (Aspirin)

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CEDAR for treatment of scurvy (Vitamin C tablets)

WILD GARLIC for treatment of infected wounds (Antibiotic creams)

Sometimes the medicines you might need don’t grow in your community. Some chemical engineers work on ways to make medicines more effective and to help a large number of people all over the world. They find ways to target the use of medicine, so that it goes to specific parts of the body that need it. This is very important in treating diseases like diabetes or cancer.

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BALSAM for coughs and sore throats (Cough syrup)

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Another traditional use of chemistry is the process

p.6 used on animal hides. Skin becomes leather through a Another traditional use oftanning. chemistry is the process used on animal process called hides. Skin becomes leather through a process called tanning. (text box) For soft leathers, traditional tanning is done using the animal’s brain on the skin. Nowadays, other things like oatmeal or eggs can be used. For stiffer leathers like those used on saddles, traditional tanning uses acids from tree barks and certain plants. Modern tanning factories use chemicals to speed up the tanning process, but some of these can harm the environment. There is a lot that can be learned from traditional uses of natural chemicals.

is tanning l a n o i t i d tra eathers, al’s brain on the l t f o s r Fo im g the an r things n i s u e n do he adays, ot can be used. w o N . n ski l or eg gs those used on a e m t a o like ers like ids from c h t a a s e l e s r u e For sti ff ditional tanning tra plants. o n i a saddles, t r e c emicals t h nd c a e s s k u r a s b rie of tree ing facto ocess, but some a n n a t n r pr is Mode tanning onment. There s e h t p u r se speed the envi itional u m d r a a r t h n m a o fr these c learned e b n a c t s. lot tha chemical l a r u t a n of

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‘Tanning’ is also something people will do to

themselves, putting their skin out in the sun to

darken it. This kind of tanning comes naturally to

skin, but is not always a good thing! Tanning is your body’s way of defending itself. Too much exposure to the sun can lead to diseases like skin cancer. Skin cancer can kill you. Sometimes a person who has skin cancer has to have parts of their skin removed to stop the cancer from spreading.

Believe it or not, there are some chemical engineers that are working on ways to help skin grow back! Their work is called biomedical engineering.

What can keep you safe from the sun?

Staying in the shade and wearing long clothing helps. Thanks to the work of chemical engineers, we also have sunscreen to keep your skin safe from the damage that can lead to skin cancer.

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Chemical engineers can work in the oil and gas industry...

But Siobhan, why would anyone want to work there?

Don’t they just pollute everything?

Oh, hi Mew!

Oil and gas are used in a lot of things, as you know… you need oil and gas to run things like a car or a four-wheeler.

You know, those are really good questions.

Yeah, that’s true.

But you’re right, the pollution caused by making and using oil and gas can leave a big mark on Mother Ear th.

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Some chemical engineers are working on better ways to make and use oil and gas so that we don’t cause so much pollution.

What kinds of things would you like to see change?”

Less pollution for sure.

Like pipelines that don’t spill oil everywhere, and cars that don’t use as much gas. They say there is oil in our community though, and that it can make everybody rich.

But I just worry about Mother Earth.

That’s a good worry Mew. But you know, if you became a chemical engineer, you’d be able to change the way things are done.

“I could?!”

You would have the scientific knowledge to make changes that could help Mother Earth.

And you could help your community make better decisions about how that oil resource is developed.

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I never thought about that. I COULD make a difference if I was a chemical engineer, because I would know more about how it all works!

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Something else about oil and gas though…

those products are in many MANY other things you use every day.

Like your team jersey… your game system… your toys. All of these things are made with a by-product of the oil industry, which chemical engineers discovered and turned into materials known as plastic.

It has many many forms… polyester, styrofoam, nylon, vinyl, foam, Teflon. Just think of how many things in your life are made using plastic!

Plastic is very moldable and easy to produce, but that can create some problems as well. Plastic doesn’t break down naturally.

It needs to be recycled and not thrown away.

EW W W! Look at this mess!

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Biodegradeable and compostable plastics are called Polylactic Acid or PLA. They are made from starches and sugars in plants.

Can you guess which plants PLA can be made from?

CORN CABBAGE DANDELIONS SUGAR CANE WHEAT WATERMELON SUGAR BEETS BEANS (Answers at back)

It is always best to reduce, reuse and recycle before you throw something away. Chemical engineers know that oil is a limited resource and that too much plastic in landfills is not a good thing. That is why new plastics are being developed that are biodegradeable.

That means they will break down and return to Mother Earth after they are finished being used.

Many of these new plastics are made from one of the plants we call the Three Sisters – CORN!

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Chemical engineers are not only involved with making plastics, but a lot of manufactured items‌. including FOOD! The best food comes directly from Mother Earth, but some of our food has been processed, especially if it had to travel long distances or wait a long time before being eaten. In the past, our ancestors had to come up with ways of drying and storing food for travel and for winter.

They did it in the form of things like pemmican.

Modern food processing also works to preserve the food until it can be eaten –

otherwise, things would go moldy and make people sick!

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Wow, that’s a lot of pipes!!!

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So that’s where packaged food comes from!

Engineers do that? Why wouldn’t it just be cooks or bakers?

Think of it this way Mew: when you cook on a stove, you use a recipe. One of my favourite recipes is for bannock.

A chemical engineer takes that “recipe” – the amounts of ingredients, the temperature it cooks at, and the length of time it cooks – and figures out how to build the equipment and run it to make REALLY BIG batches – like a bannock that can fill a whole room in your house! A chemical engineer might also look at how to make it into a continuous process

– a machine that mixes, shapes, and cooks perfect bannock, that pours out of it 24/7.

WHOA….that’s a LOT of bannock!!!

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As Mew noticed, there were a lot of the pipes back there in the food processing plant.. chemical engineers don’t always have to directly deal with chemicals. Process control engineers work in many types of industries. Using specialized instruments, a chemical engineer can design a system to control a process in a large scale plant. These engineers are called process control engineers... and that is what I do at my job!

I chose to work in this field, since it seemed interesting to use such small instruments to control such a huge process!

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As you can see, there’s a LOT of things you can do with chemical engineering. Hey Mew, if you decide p.16 (all cartoon) to be a chemical engineer, what would Siobhan: As you probably noticed, there’s a LOT of things you can do with you want to do? chemical engineering.

Hey Mew, if you could be a chemical engineer, what would you decide to do?

Mew: Hmmm. I think something with making plastic more natural. Maybe make different plastic out of all of the Three Sisters? That would be pretty cool.

That way I could help make stuff that wasn’t harmful to Mother Earth.

Hmmm. I think something with making

Siobhan and Mew: What could you do as a chemical engineer? plastic atmore natural. Maybe make (looking reader)

different plastic out of all of the Three Sisters? That would be pretty cool.

That way I could help make stuff that wasn’t harmful to Mother Earth.

What could YOU do as a chemical engineer?

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Meet

Siobhan Dooley Siobhan Dooley is a member of the St. Theresa Point First Nation in Manitoba, and grew up in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. As a high school student, Siobhan excelled at math and science, and had a love of sports. Thanks to the advice of a caring teacher, she decided to pursue her passion and study engineering.

Having spent all her life in northern Ontario, Siobhan wanted to broaden her world and applied to universities in southern Ontario. She chose to study at Queen’s University in Kingston.

“Studying at university is no walk in the park. There’s a huge transition from high school to university and you need to be willing to put in the effort,” says Siobhan. “It’s just as important to seek out your community, because you’re going to need it when times get tough. And when you achieve success, there’s someone to celebrate with!”

Siobhan’s dedication and determination has paid off.

After graduating in 2012, she now works for Hatch Ltd. in Sudbury. When she’s not on the job, you can find her playing recreational hockey, volleyball, or even on a roller derby track! p.11 answers: PLA can be made from corn, sugar beets and sugar cane!

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aboriginalaccess.ca

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