For four days in September, representatives from RAPID members participated in the RAPID pilot course: Modular Chemical Process Intensification (MCPI) Boot Camp at the Oregon State University ATAMI Facility. The face-to-face course, a result of RAPID's call for EWD projects in 2018, was developed by Dr. Brian Paul and Dr. Goran Jovanovic and featured guest lecturers from a number of RAPID members: Sean Boston and John Gooden from M. Davis & Sons, Jim O’Connor from the Construction Industry Institute (CII), and Cliff Kowall from Lubrizol.
Paul Yelvington, RAPID's CTO, remarked about the course, “What struck me most was how the Oregon State team took us on a journey from concept through to commissioning. We started by re-examining the fundamental chemistry and physics, moved on to learning about design and advanced manufacturing of intensified process equipment that exploits that fundamental understanding, and finished by learning how modular chemical plants are built using that intensified process equipment.”
Course attendees agreed that the course was valuable because it provided inspiration for innovation, provided opportunities to learn advanced manufacturing concepts during lectures and activities on the ATAMI floor, and was a networking opportunity. Additionally, attendees agreed that the course was unique in that it allowed them to learn about and interact with manufacturing processes that enable chemical process designs.