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By Priscilla Richardson

When Doug Cooper started working as a chemical engineer for Chevron, his aim in life was to become chairman of the board of a huge company. But he hated the endless meetings of the corporate world and loved it "when they left me alone to do engineering," as he puts it.

Now, one doctorate and pages of scholarly articles and honors later, Dr. Cooper teaches chemical engineering as a professor at the University of Connecticut and runs his own small company, selling control process simulation software around the globe. He's not chairman of Exxon, but Cooper's approach to engineering education gladdens the heart of those running any business, large or small, that uses industrial process controls. His software bridges the gap between classroom theory and operating in the real world.

Although it took years to develop, Cooper got the initial idea for his control simulation software "by accident," he says. "We had a software platform used for research to test ideas. I came back from lunch one day and found a student had put up a picture of a lab experiment and showed how it could be controlled automatically using this platform. So I thought, I could use that in class to demonstrate concepts." Then as he got into it more, perfecting the software he calls Control Station, he discovered students can also use the software in their dorms. They can run a demo as many times as needed to grasp the concepts, at no extra cost for anyone.

Students can test new ideas, too. They can enter variables such as pressure, rate, temperature, water level, and even pump status and make adjustments, trying different ideas on different processes. "They can try all sorts of possibilities without risk and see what works," Cooper explains. "Each challenge is designed to motivate, to promote critical thinking and facilitate understanding of the use and limitations of the theory. They can really see what's most safe and profitable."

Students seem to appreciate this hands-on learning device, especially those that don't have it at their schools. "I'll be demonstrating Control Station at a conference," as Cooper tells it. "Students will say 'all my professor did was draw squiggles on the board and I never understood them. But here I can see what's happening, not just theory or math.'" And he also gets compliments from employers. "They tell me, 'Your students are so well trained.'"

An important supplement to lab work, Cooper's software is spreading quickly through engineering schools around the world. It's in 150 colleges and universities in 25 countries so far. It helps turn out engineers ready for the professional world because they've made their mistakes on the computer, not a real industrial plant. Control Station is so good the American Society of Engineering Education honored him with a national award in 1997.

But Cooper says undergraduate education isn't the only application. "Since pilots and nuclear power plant operators train on simulation software, why not simulation training for process control operators? I'm now concentrating my business on lifelong learning for practitioners." So he markets Control Station to businesses. "The software comes with a book, slides, and so on, so companies can run courses for their own employees." Or they can have him in person. He has run 38 short courses for engineers in the last six years.

Cooper's dedication to helping undergraduate students doesn't end with improving their technical skills. He created and led a new course just for engineering students, "Engineering Entrepreneurship." The students had "to quickly pick a technical product or service and then go through the process of turning it into a business -- how to get funding, how to patent it, what kind of manufacturing facilities they'd need, how they'd market it," he explains. "They also had to create websites with all the details, as if it were a real business, not just write a report. I let them pick their topics, but it was a journey of discovery for them." (You can see if Cooper himself knows how to create a website by checking out his own at Control Station.com).

Cooper now proposes yet another new course to the engineering faculty covering success on the job. "On my first job at Chevron, my boss asked me to write a three-paragraph letter in his name. I struggled with that for four days. And when I took it to him, about the only things he kept were 'Dear Hal,' and 'Sincerely.' I needed a lot of practice. By the time I left, I could've done it in an hour," he recalls. "While I always include some cutting-edge theory to excite those destined for graduate school, my personal mission is to prepare students for the real world. All engineers need to know how to write a business letter, make a presentation, or find information. These are skills and thought processes they can use on the job to be recognized and get ahead."

His graduate students bear him out. "When I ask them what was the most important thing they learned working for me, they reply, 'the writing skills,'" Cooper says. "Engineers think employers hire them because of their education and skills. But that's not so. They're hired because of the expectation that ultimately they will help the company make money." The communication skills Cooper emphasizes let engineers participate fully in the money-making process.

You know Cooper picked the right profession by the number of honors and awards he has garnered since arriving at the University of Connecticut after finishing his Ph.D. He doesn't just publish scholarly articles and make conference presentations, he wins awards for them, too. Plus he has won three teaching awards in the last four years. "The one I'm most proud of is the smallest one, the Rogers Corporation Outstanding Teaching Award in Chemical Engineering, because for this award, students in the chemical engineering department chose the faculty member who had the most influence on them," he relates.

In his spare time, the happily-married Cooper enjoys growing vegetables organically and spending time with his 11-year old son. With a clear love of engineering, teaching, and helping his students succeed as well, Cooper is mostly growing better engineers.

Priscilla Richardson is a professional speaker and seminar leader helping engineers write and speak for success. For the secrets of communication success, visit www.WriteSpeakforSuccess.com.

Progressive Engineer
Editor: Tom Gibson
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©2004 Progressive Engineer