Taking Yoga Lessons into Technical Sales
I have long been a devotee of yoga. With business travel limited and most sales calls moving remote in recent years, I've relied on my practice to power my technical sales. How? I find yoga and meditation can help me keep my composure and work towards the desired result: The Sale. The teachings of yoga and meditation can help improve your performance during stressful video calls. After all, some of the key ideas are: Use controlled, deep breathing to stay relaxed and focused. Remain in the…
Addressing Climate Change One Sustainable Martini at a Time
I've found another example of innovation we can toast to — quite literally! With this new discovery, we can feel we're addressing climate change one sustainable martini at a time. Yes, while enjoying my vodka martini with sweet vermouth, I have been known to ponder sustainability and the planet's future. Who doesn't? I came across a company in New York City that has created what it calls the “world’s most sustainable spirit” The Air Company makes its vodka out of carbon dioxide captured from…
Sustainability for Agriculture Irrigation
Did you know agriculture irrigation accounts for 70% of the water used worldwide? That’a a lot. At the same time, most of the world relies on flood irrigation to water crops as a more efficient alternative has proved elusive. Any innovations have not been widely adopted due to expense. Yet, one Israeli soil physicist has provided a sustainable solution in a tiny plastic widget. This modest innovation in drip irrigation could forever change agriculture, especially in resource-starved…
Clarifying Process Liquids: New Approaches for Chemical and Pharmaceutical Applications
Image Source: IFN How can the process engineer successfully automate the clarification processes to improve filtration while minimizing operator exposure? Over my career in solid-liquid separation, I've seen many examples of process engineers struggling with clarifying process liquids. In one resin facility, the slurry was in a formaldehyde process and the "masked" operators were opening up a manual plate filter to dig out the cake. In another case, during the manufacturing of zeolites, the…
Systems Integration Design & Gated Process Development
Recently I have enjoyed a rich collaboration Circular Economy and Closing the Loop in Case Studies with Professor Ugur Tuzun of the University of Cambridge on the important topic of process systems and the circular economy. Our latest article, “Systems Integration Design for Chemical and Biological Engineers: Gated Process Development with Digital Interlinks for Bulk Chemicals and Specialty Products Manufacture,” appears in the Journal of Chemical Engineering & Process Technology. The…