Alumnus
creates new lab from discarded computers
Jon Cook / On-line Forty-Niner
Laboratory
technician Min Tran works in the computer
lab he helped revive in the chemical engineering
department.
By
L’Oreal Battistelli
On-line Forty-Niner
The
chemical engineering department experienced
a windfall when members of its staff rescued
several computers and brought long-needed
resources to the small, struggling department.
Tung
Trinh graduated from Cal State Long Beach
with a master’s degree in chemical
engineering. He said he has taken advantage
of every opportunity to repay the campus
for his education. Trinh said his motto
is, “It’s payback time.”
As
a university employee, Trinh works as a
computer technician in the College of Natural
Science and Mathematics.
According
to Trinh, the college’s computer systems
are overburdened because of so many users.
Students become excited about new equipment,
but nobody ever gives much thought to the
disposal of old computer parts and software,
except Trinh, laboratory technician Min
Tran and the chemical engineering department
head, Larry Jang.
The
chemical engineering department, the smallest
of all the departments under the engineering
major, graduates approximately 30 full-time
students per year, a relatively small number
considering the job market for engineers.
Because of the department’s size,
chemical engineering students have never
had their own laboratory in which to calculate
scientific data and have had to compete
with other engineering departments for access.
Tran
said that in 1997 he discovered a computer
lab with about 30 computers in it loaded
with software for an engineering class.
When the class ended, however, the software
was not compatible with any of the other
engineering programs so the doors were closed
and locked. The computers sat unused for
two years.
Tran
said he had an idea. After obtaining access
to the computers and permission to convert
them for student use, the computers were
reformatted to Windows XP and were ready
to use.
A
week prior to the beginning of the spring
2003 semester the lab was reassigned to
the electrical engineering department. Tran
was assigned to run the computer lab for
the electrical engineering students and
his chemical engineering students were again
only permitted limited access. However,
the electrical engineering chairman, Fumio
Hamano, offered lab access to the chemical
engineering department when classes were
not in session.
A
year ago, the lab was “scrapped,”
according to Tran, and the chemical engineering
students were still being bumped from one
computer lab to another with no lab to call
their own.
At
the beginning of this semester, one of the
labs the chemical engineering students had
access to was robbed. It was a turning point
for the department. In addition to their
computing needs, they required software
specifically designed for calculations,
said Tran. According to Tran, the chemical
engineering students’ needs were a
low priority. So breeds the mother of invention.
With
Jang’s assistance and permission from
Sandra Cynar, chairwoman of the computer
science department, Tran arranged to recover
and refurbish all the PCs, monitors, keyboards
and components that were already marked
for disposal.
Salvaging
approximately 18 monitors, 18 hard drives
and miscellaneous components from the shipping
and receiving, Tran and Trinh went to work.
Trinh’s passion is making out of date
or incompatible software work.† Undaunted
by new technology, he considers his efforts
repayment for his schooling.
Tran,
with Trinh’s assistance, created the
first chemical-computing lab the engineering
department has ever had.
“Our
philosophy is, whatever we can do for the
sake of the students is our goal,”
Tran said.
Trinh
said he considered it an opportunity to
pay back the institution that gave him his
foundation in the engineering field.
Although
enrollment is low in the chemical engineering
department, about $300,000 was spent on
the chemical engineering laboratory when
the building was erected.
About
15 years ago, the chemical engineering department
purchased a bench-top process control unit,
one of the few of its kind in the area.
The computer and software stopped working
after about six years. After making the
appropriate calls, the department decided
that it would be too expensive to fix or
have them replaced by the manufacturer.
The unit sat, collecting dust, for five
years.
Three
years ago, while chatting with an associate,
Tran realized that his associate operated
a similar processor that used a program,
called Labview, that could work at CSULB,
and the reduced cost of $3,000. Tran called
Trinh and they went to work.
Jang,
with the help of Trinh and Tran, used his
sabbatical leave to work on the design of
the control loops using this software.
“I
consider it one of the best investments
of my life,” Jang said.
When
Jang ran into a hurdle when trying to connect
signal wires properly to the data acquisition
box, Trinh came to the rescue and correctly
identified the leads for connection of the
many signal wires.
Jang
said he was very impressed with Trinh’s
ability to identify the wires that were
not designed or linked to up-to-date equipment.
The
three of them were able to get the machine
up and running on their own.
“Minh
and Tran are my heroes,” Jang said.
The
machine runs so well that BP Oil toured
the lab to view it. The company was so amazed
by the machine’s abilities that they
plan to send employees, who need this type
of experience, for more specialized training.
The
students can now process experimental data
into the computer lab located next to the
unit operations lab. They can give their
Powerpoint presentations from the computer
stations in front of their seats. Students
can even design a whole chemical plant on
the computers connected to the server. They
can also simulate controller designs that
supplement the hands-on experience gained
in the real-world, bench-top control unit.
In
1989, Tran and Minh turned the university’s
loss of $32,000 for the process control
unit into a specialized unit that has surpassed
its original design and has become a highly
desirable piece of equipment for hands-on
training. The campus saved an additional
estimated amount by avoiding hazardous waste
disposal fees. Those fees are about $15
per unit. Also, they may have saved the
chemical engineering department an estimated
$30,000 by creating a computer lab from
salvaged hardware. The lab is now located
in VCS-114. Total savings equal $62,540.
Trinh
and Tran said they took initiative and consolidated
their expertise. Trinh has since transferred
to the computer-science college but continues
to assist Tran with ongoing maintenance
when asked.
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