Co-op Ambassador:
Neal O'Sullivan
Major: Chemical Engineering
Graduation Date: May 2017
Co-op Company: Ascend Performance Materials & BASF
Why did you decide to co-op?
I decided to co-op about 7 years ago. I was with my parents attending a Clemson orientation meeting with my parents when my older brother was an incoming college freshmen. There was a student speaker at the meeting who spoke about her co-op experience at NASA and I just thought that was the coolest thing. She talked about visiting different NASA facilities, working with engineers, operators, production personnel and how she was able to help make things that would go up into space. So right then and there I wanted to join the co-op program…and it’s something that I’m proud that I did. I had such a great experience after completing all three rotations with Ascend Performance Materials that I decided to co-op again with BASF.
What types of projects did you work on?
Throughout my two years of being a co-op I had the opportunity to work on pretty much everything that a chemical engineer can do. Projects that spanned several years where I worked on one specific portion to projects that dealt with the day-to-day problems of manufacturing. My favorite project, and most important one I’ve worked on, was at BASF where I was in charge of gathering information on and helping size safety valves in the plant. I was working with operations to find the valves in the field and discuss operating procedures trying to learn about why these valves were there, if they needed to be installed, where other valves needed to be placed. I worked with contractors and in house engineers to learn about the types of failures each piece of equipment could experience and sizing of each valve to determine if they could and if each of the valves were large enough for the equipment. I also worked with maintenance to repair broken valves and install and test new valves. This project got me around the plant, meeting people, and being on the floor for most of the day. This project also allowed me to see a chemical plant from a different prospective that revolved around safety and not money.
Describe your relationship with your mentor(s) and other colleagues:
I still keep up with my mentor from BASF and several of the co-workers there. My mentors at both Ascend and BASF were great people and really do love what they do. Both companies I co-oped with had structured programs and made it easy to make connections and learn what a chemical engineer actually does in the field.
What was your most memorable moment on assignment?
My most memorable moment on assignment was during my first rotation at Ascend Performance Materials. I was working with my mentor on determining why a hydroclone was not separating slurry as efficiently as it should be. During one of these meetings I finally had enough courage to ask a question about the hydroclone based on something I learned in school, and my boss though it was a great questions and asked me to investigate it. I was able to give a different perspective on the problem at hand, did some investigation on the hydroclone, and figure out where all the missing mass of the slurry was going. This ultimately led us in the right direction to solve the problem in the plant. It was such a rewarding feeling to actually apply what I had learned in school in the “real world” and better yet be right in fixing the problem. That was when I knew that co-oping would not only provide a new way to grow and develop as an engineer but would solidify my learning’s as one.
What aspect of your co-op assignment do you feel will be the most beneficial after you graduate?
Communication. Learning how to communicate inside of an industrial setting is something you can only learn while on the job and out in the field. Being flexible in meetings and more importantly letting people know when and where to meet sounds trivial but it is something that is difficult in industry. Keeping everyone up to speed on projects is vital and is a huge part of functioning in a manufacturing setting. Learning how to communicate properly with different areas of the plant and across the company has been the most beneficial thing about my co-op experience.
