Process Management & Control

Webinar: Back to Basics - Ensuring Control Theory is put into Practice

Webinar: Back to Basics - Ensuring Control Theory is put into Practice
  • Date From 11th September 2020
  • Date To 11th September 2020
  • Price Free of charge, open to all.
  • Location Online: 09:00 BST. Duration: 1 hour.

Please note that this webinar has been postponed until 11 September 2020.

Overview

A criticism often levelled at the teaching of process control, at undergraduate level, is it is too theoretical and does not adequately prepare a student for 'real world' industrial process control. The talk will look at subjects covered in typical Chemical Engineering undergraduate control modules and argue that that this perception is perhaps now out of date. It will also argue that a fundamental understanding of the theory is still crucial to prepare students for industry, as long as the theory is always tied back to practical examples. Finally, the talk will hope to encourage greater industry collaboration with universities to ensure graduates meet evolving industry expectations.

Presenter

Paul Oram, BP/Imperial College

Paul joined BP in 1988 as a graduate recruit, working initially in London and then on Petrochemical plants in France and South Wales as a Control & Instrumentation engineer. In 1990, he moved to the BP Chemicals’ Hull site, where he became the Process Automation Team leader and Control and Safety System Assurance Manager for the complex. During this time, he was also involved in the design and commissioning of new acetic acid plants in Texas, Korea and Malaysia.

In the late 1990’s he completed a part-time MSc in Process Automation and a PhD in Adaptive Control, again part-time, at Newcastle University in the UK. In 2004 he became the Advisor for Advanced Control within BP’s Petrochemicals Segment. In the same year, he moved to BP Upstream as an Automation Advisor working in the central technology function. He then became Segment Engineering Technical Authority (SETA) for Automation and for the last nine years has been the BP Upstream Chief Engineer for Instrumentation, Control and Electrical disciplines.

Paul was appointed as a Visiting Professor by Imperial College London in July 2017. In this role, he has responsibility for developing BP funded research opportunities, supervising undergraduate projects and supporting the teaching of process control and automation to undergraduate and post graduate students.

Time

09:00—10:00 BST.

Format

A one-hour online session: 40 minutes' presentation + 20 minutes' Q&A.

Software

The presentation will be delivered via GoToWebinar®. 
Check system requirements.

You are advised to join the webinar at least ten minutes before the scheduled start time, to allow for your computer to connect.

Webinar archive

This webinar is free of charge and open to all to attend, but if you wish to access the slides and a recording to replay on demand then you will need to be a member of the Process Management & Control Special Interest Group.

If you are interested in giving an online presentation to our international community of chemical engineers, we would like to hear from you. Please email the special interest groups support team with information on yourself and your proposed talk.

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