Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

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715' 5' '4 '4' 3'3'i-If:+3-9:-if-35:5 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

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THE PURDUE E 'GI EER For twenty-eight years the Purdue Engineer has served as the publication of the Engineer- ing Schools of the University. Growing from a small pamphlet to a technical record pub- lished eight months of the year, it has made rapid strides toward providing an opportunity for the engineering students interested in jour- nalism to become familiar with the editing and managing of a technical journal. The staff, in publishing the Purdue Engi- neer, provides the engineering students of the University, alumni, and other readers with a knowledge of research projects being carried out on the campus, with news of successful alumni, and with discussions of current engi- neering developments in industry and research. Material in the magazine is prepared by a staff of forty students headed by the Editor- in-Chief, the Associate Editor, and the Busi- ness Manager. Each of these three positions is held by a senior, juniors are in charge of the various editorial, sales, circulation, and adver- tising departments. In each issue there are articles written by alumni, students, and faculty members. Sub- jects for student articles are assigned by the editor and are prepared by the freshmen and sophomores, in addition to their routine work concerning the preparation of material and make-up of the magazine. All material going into the magazine is edited by the student staff and the arrangement of this material with the sizes and kind of type is determined by them. The copy is sent to the printer and two sets of proof are returned. One set is read by the stu- dent staff and corrections are made, while the other proof is pasted in the dummy by the issue editor. The dummy is a sample maga- zine prepared for the purpose of instructing the printer making up the magazine. Ranking as one of the foremost of the pub- lications in the Engineering College Magazines Associated, a group of twenty-two college magazines of similar nature published in vari- ous parts of the country, the Purdue Elzgirzeer has been commended for the excellent quality of the articles presented in its columns and for its original and pleasing typography. First Row: Burchby, Daly, Swarr, Hutchins, Lickey, Florek, Roby, Martin, Keller, Rossiter, Wenger, Heiss. Sccoml Raw: Harper, Mengerink, Stites, Marsteller, Pearson, Eckman, Strawbridge, Southmayd, Lewis, Gniewosh, Webb, Prechter, Langer. Third Row: Lilly, Sims, Jacobi, Challis, Hays, Cornelius, Miller, Carton, Hitz, Voigt, McCoy, Bostwick, Condit.

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SCHQOL OE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Professor H. C. Peffer, head of the School of Chemical Engineering, was born in Taren- town, Pennsylvania, and there received his early education. Hewas graduated from Penn- sylvania State College in 1895, and after a pe- riod of graduate work, received his Master of Science degree from there in 1908. Upon re- ceipt of this degree he entered the professional world as a chemist in the Carnegie Steel Com- pany. Later he accepted the position of con- trol chemist in the Pennsylvania Salt Manu- facturing Company. The Aluminum Com- pany of America next acquired his services and employed him as a research engineer and lab- oratory director. He was later made general superintendent in charge of ore refining and the chemical plant, then consulting chemist. In 1911 the School of Chemical Engineer- ing at Purdue was organized under Professor Peffer's supervision, and since that time has re- tained him as dean. However, during the war he was drafted into national service, not as a soldier, but as organization manager of the United States Explosive Plant C at Nitro, West Virginia. The efficient way in which he discharged his duties won him a brilliant war record. He has also been a member of the Lake and Gulf Waterways Committee at East St. Louis, Illinois. During the last year, mainly by his help and effort, a great chemical achievement has been made. This discovery is a newqkind of brick called Rostone . Its main constituent is a fine ash coming from power plants using pulver- ized coal. Before this time the disposal of this ash was a problem, as it was so fine it had to be either buried under ground or dumped in deep water. A way was found to dissolve the ash and then mold it into bricks. These bricks are tough and hard, and can be broken only with great pressure. Another important prop- erty is that they can be colored. Rostone may be a very valuable contribution to science. Professor Peffer, as head of the school, has developed a branch of the University which has become known throughout the country. Many Purdue graduates from the School of Chemical Engineering hold important posi- tions as chemical engineers, and in many other lines of work which are closely allied to chem- PROF. H. C. PEPPER istry. Chemical engineers are sometimes con- sidered the most versatile of all engineers, and for this reason the profession has become very popular, although very few people realize its importance. It serves industries whose prod- ucts comprise twenty percent of the total pro- duction of the United States, and whose cap- ital is twenty-four percent of the total invest- ment in the country. This department of the University has grown so extensively that this year it was necessary for its quarters to be transferred from Purdue Hall to Heavilon Hall. This transfer now enables Dean Peffer and his staff to install equipment identical to that used in industry, and thus to furnish their students with a broader knowledge of the chemical engineering field. C285