BP's $500,000 gift will boost new corrosion engineering program
About the College of Engineering
The UA College of Engineering is the fourth fastest growing college of engineering in the country among the 150 largest; (source: American Society for Engineering Education) and the fastest growing in the state. The college’s current 2,142 undergraduate enrollment represents a 55 percent increase in enrollment between fall 2004 and fall 2009.
Energy industry giant BP has donated $500,000 to The University of Akron College of Engineering to support continued development of UA’s new Corrosion and Reliability Engineering (UAkron CAREs) program. Housed within the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UAkron CAREs is the nation’s first baccalaureate program of its kind. The program, to begin this fall, will incorporate a multidisciplinary curriculum designed to train engineers to understand and manage the effects of corrosion.
The gift, from BP Exploration’s Inherently Reliable Facilities (IRF) Flagship Technology Program, will be used to develop curriculum, deliver courses to undergraduate and graduate students, and advance work force development, particularly as it relates to gas and oil industry.
'Vote of confidence'
“We appreciate the vote of confidence that BP has given to this innovative new program,” says Dr. Luis M. Proenza, UA president. “At The University of Akron, we take pride in partnering with industry to create the materials of the future – both literally through groundbreaking research and figuratively by graduating the work force of the future. This generous gift reflects the value of strong public-private partnerships that will seed mutual success.”
Simon Webster, vice president for BP’s IRF Program, emphasizes the value BP places on the university’s forthcoming corrosion engineering program. He says as BP’s operations move into more severe environments – deeper reservoirs, higher pressures, higher temperatures, higher fluid velocities – it needs materials and corrosion technologies to perform in these increasingly harsh environments. As oil and gas assets age, he adds, corrosion management becomes crucial to achieving safe, reliable and efficient operation of processing facilities and infrastructure.
Business seeks corrosion expertise
“Corrosion control, mitigation and monitoring are significant concerns in our industry,” Webster says. “We recognized that the future success of the IRF program depends on having reliable long-term access to highly specialized materials and corrosion expertise.”
“Corporate support from a leading company such as BP not only recognizes what we are achieving here at Akron in this innovative degree focus, but underscores the importance of putting resources toward the soaring costs of corrosion and its effects on safety and reliability of crucial equipment and infrastructure,” says Dr. George Haritos, dean of UA’s College of Engineering.
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.