Shaping futures: A dialogue on chemical engineering education

Engineering as a discipline, profession, practice, and area of study continues to add substantial value in an increasingly complex world. With continually evolving complexity around the planet, such as the need for massive energy transition, global health technologies, or sustainable food systems, how might engineering education practices and theory be considered within these rapid and necessary changes? This paper presents an experiment of co-creation through experiential reflection about the state of chemical engineering education. Four chemical engineering professors engaged in a dialogue, facilitated by a researcher in education, through collaborative and actionable research. This dialogue uncovered innovative possibilities, educational themes, experiences, and opportunities for others in the profession to consider. The process of dialogue also encouraged the development of an imaginative future sense-making, known as futuring, through a collective experience. The findings reveal instructive perspectives on the shape of chemical engineering education that should be of value not only to engineers, but also other professionals, practitioners, or those in various science, technology, and math fields.     

QoS-aware adaptation for satellite multimedia broadcasting via hierarchical packet scheduling

With the unique broadcast nature and ubiquitous coverage of satellite networks, the synergy between satellite and terrestrial networks provides opportunities for delivering wideband services to a wide range of audiences over extensive geographical areas. This article concerns the optimization techniques pertinent to packet scheduling to facilitate multimedia content delivery over the satellite with a return channel via a terrestrial network. We propose a novel hierarchical packet scheduling scheme that allocates the resources at different parts of the network in response to network dynamics and link variations while under the system power/resource constraints. Simulations prove that the HPS scheme can effectively improve the end-to-end performance and resource utilization with desirable scalability and fairness features.     

Storage and behavior of As, Sb, Pb, and Cu in ombrotrophic peat bogs under contrasting water table conditions

Concentration depth profiles and inventories of solid-phase As, Sb, Pb, and Cu were determined in 21?Pb-dated cores from an ombrotrophic peat bog in northwest England. Cores were collected from the peat dome and adjacent to an eroding gully. Down-core distributions of As, Sb, Pb, and Cu in the dome core are almost identical. The water table is close to the dome surface with only short-term draw-down. Under these conditions, As, Sb, Pb, and Cu are immobile, allowing the reconstruction of trends in historical contaminant deposition. The peak in atmospheric deposition of As, Sb, Pb, and Cu (4.59, 2.78, 147, and 26.7 mg m?2 y?1, respectively) occurred during the late 19th century. Stable Pb isotope ratios reveal that Pb deposition during this period was from indigenous and foreign sources. The mean water table is much lower at the gully edge, and there are pronounced interannual fluctuations. These conditions have not affected the integrity of the Pb and Cu records but have caused postdepositional mobilization and redistribution of As and Sb. Cumulative inventories show significant loss of As and Sb at the gully edge site. Long-term water table draw-down in ombrotrophic peat bogs has the potential to alter the geochemistry and fate of previously deposited As and Sb.     

Changes in Nutritional Value of Cyanogenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trifolium repens</Emphasis> Grown at Elevated Atmospheric CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Global food security in a changing climate depends on both the nutritive value of staple crops as well as their yields. Here, we examined the direct effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on the toxicity of the important pasture crop, Trifolium repens L. (clover). Shoots of T. repens contain cyanogenic glycosides that break down to release toxic hydrogen cyanide when damaged. The ability of animals to tolerate cyanogenic compounds is dependent, in part, on their overall protein intake. We grew T. repens communities at ambient and approximately twice-ambient CO₂ in a controlled environment greenhouse experiment. We found that the ratio of total cyanogenic glycosides to total protein ratio was nearly two times higher in leaves of T. repens grown at elevated CO₂. This study highlights the importance of assessing the nutritive value of this and other plants in response to rising CO₂ so that steps can be taken to address any adverse consequences for herbivores.     

Can carbon offsetting pay for upland ecological restoration?

Upland peat soils represent a large terrestrial carbon store and as such have the potential to be either an ongoing net sink of carbon or a significant net source of carbon. In the UK many upland peats are managed for a range of purposes but these purposes have rarely included carbon stewardship. However, there is now an opportunity to consider whether management practices could be altered to enhance storage of carbon in upland peats. Further, there are now voluntary and regulated carbon trading schemes operational throughout Europe that mean stored carbon, if verified, could have an economic and tradeable value. This means that new income streams could become available for upland management. The ‘Sustainable Uplands’ RELU project has developed a model for calculating carbon fluxes from peat soils that covers all carbon uptake and release pathways (e.g. fluvial and gaseous pathways). The model has been developed so that the impact of common management options within UK upland peats can be considered. The model was run for a decade from 1997-2006 and applied to an area of 550 km² of upland peat soils in the Peak District. The study estimates that the region is presently a net sink of − 62 ktonnes CO₂ equivalent at an average export of − 136 tonnes CO₂ equivalent/km²/yr. If management interventions were targeted across the area the total sink could increase to − 160 ktonnes CO₂/yr at an average export of − 219 tonnes CO₂ equivalent/km²/yr. However, not all interventions resulted in a benefit; some resulted in increased losses of CO₂ equivalents. Given present costs of peatland restoration and value of carbon offsets, the study suggests that 51% of those areas, where a carbon benefit was estimated by modelling for targeted action of management interventions, would show a profit from carbon offsetting within 30 years. However, this percentage is very dependent upon the price of carbon used.     

Radio communications: components, systems and networks [guest editorial]

Radio communications and networks continue to be one of the most exciting areas of science, technology, and business. Innovations continue to provide society with capabilities we could not have dreamed possible just a decade or two ago. The news is replete with examples of the application of new wireless technology, from entertainment (e.g., video clips and games) to unexpected uses such as messages to supporters from political candidates on the campaign trail. Novel technology, enlightened wireless and telecommunication policies, and exciting (and profitable) applications can be expected to continue in a cycle that is highly beneficial to society. In this issue we offer some further ideas that we hope will continue to support this cycle.     

Construction and validation of a psychometric scale to measure consumers’ fears of novel food technologies: The food technology neophobia scale

Consumers’ fears of novel food technologies are documented. The ability to identify population segments that have greater or lesser neophobia, thus enabling identification of early adopters of innovative products, would be useful. The Food Neophobia Scale [FNS; Pliner, P., & Hobden, K. (1992). Development of a scale to measure the trait of food neophobia in humans. Appetite, 19, 105–120] is a useful tool for assessing reactions to ethnic foods (and sensation seeking) but less suitable for assessing receptivity to foods produced by novel technologies. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new psychometric tool that identifies food technology neophobia.In a three stage validation exercise, 81 statements (items) were reduced to 31 (n = 193) and subsequently reduced to 13 items (n = 459) by factor analysis. After a face validity check, the new 13 item Food Technology Neophobia Scale was tested (n = 295) and found to have predictive (criterion) validity (willingness to consume foods produced by novel food technologies). Furthermore, convergent validity was found between the FTNS and Trust in Science scale [TISS; Bak, H. (2001). Education and public attitudes toward science: Implications for the ‘deficit model’ of education and support for science and technology. Social Science Quarterly, 82(4), 779–793] and FNS.     

Non‐geostationary satellite orbit communications satellite constellations history

This special issue of the journal on ‘constellations’ comes at a critical time in their development as a second wave of such non‐geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) systems is being planned and deployed. These mega‐constellations as they have become known are, with a few exceptions, very much larger than those in the first wave and are focused on broadband and 5G applications rather than speech and narrow band data as those deployed in the first wave during the 1990s. However, as we explain in this editorial, there are many similarities in the design and business plans to the first wave and, perhaps, many similar lessons to be learned.