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Abstract:
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This workshop will provide an activity for middle school and high school educators and those involved in outreach projects to assist them in promoting engineering and science careers to youth. It will also provide an opportunity to bring industrial technology into the classroom using cosmetic and personal care products as a focus. Workshop participants will explore the processes involved in the manufacture of soap and the role of the chemical engineer. Each participant will manufacture their own personal care product. Using process symbols for chemical engineering unit operations, they will design a process flow sheet that accurately describes the steps taken to make their product. In any product, each ingredient has its own essential function in the product formulation. Ingredients determine the properties and effectiveness of the final product. A discussion of the ingredients in a sampling of popular consumer products will lead to the final activity, product testing. Product testing is a necessary and important part of product manufacturing. Specifically, we will consider product testing with regards to ingredients with a function important to skin care, pH adjusters. Participants will develop an awareness of the part played by the engineer and scientist in the formulation and processing of products that they use everyday.
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