Honeywell announces winners of student competition focused on process industry innovation

Anne Muller from University of Dresden, Germany, won the process simulation category and Mohamed Abdul Galeel Salih Mohamed and Mohamad Tamer Nader Chaklab from the Electrical Engineering Department of the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE, won the wireless technologies category.

The competition was open to technical students in universities across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The winners, selected by a panel of Honeywell experts, presented their papers in front of a live audience at the Honeywell EMEA Users Group 2008 Conference, was held in Berlin.

The wireless technologies competition, challenged entrants to demonstrate the future impact of wireless on process technologies.

Mohamed Abdul Galeel Salih Mohamed and Mohamad Tamer Nader Chaklab's winning submission was titled "The Future Impact of Wireless Technology in the Process Industry" and detailed the potential wireless represents for the industry and for the people using it every day. The runner up was Johannes Leithner of Fachhochschule Technikum in Vienna, with his entry "The Future Impact of Wireless."

The process simulation competition encouraged applicants to overcome process simulation design challenges using Honeywell's UniSim Design software.

Anne Muller's entry, "Testing Automation Software with Dynamic Process Models," examined the critical role of process control in modern industrial plants. Devon Clack of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, was the runner up with his entry titled, "Getting the most from a UniSim Design Simulation."

"The process industries are facing a shortage of skilled workers," said Norm Gilsdorf, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Process Solutions EMEA.

"This new EMEA-wide competition is helping to nurture talent and uncover the process industry leaders of tomorrow from multiple countries and academic institutions. It's also serving to better align higher education with the realities and challenges of the industry."

"Each of the winners and runners-up has demonstrated exceptional critical thinking in their entries, looking at how leading edge technology can be applied in new ways to solve real-world challenges. I am delighted to see that today's students are using their education to come up with practical solutions," concluded Gilsdorf.

By participating in the conference, the student winners will also have the opportunity to learn more about the process industry, network with over 700 attendees and potentially meet a future employer.

Honeywell is planning additional student competitions next year.

One focused on innovation in plant security is planned for the Honeywell Middle East Users Group 2009 Conference (March 24-26 in Amman, Jordan).