Dallas Section Virtual Meeting

Topic: "Transition of Process Control from Analog to Digital by an Eyewitness"

The talk starts by offering some historical perspective on process control. Then it moves, although lightly, into some aspects of process control theory, with a description on how the most common control concepts were implemented pneumatically. Then it covers some history of digital computing leading to an intersection of analog and digital process control. The story then transitions into first-hand experience and involvement as some petrochemical operations of Union Carbide were redesigned and modernized with the insertion of (then) state-of-the-art computing, data acquisition and process control. The talk will be conducted from the personal point of view of the speaker, with interesting anecdotes and insights.

Speaker: Jose Ramiro Rodriguez Perazza

Ramiro is a retired chemical engineer with ample engineering, management, and teaching experience. He has worked as design engineer, process engineer, department head, and top management in companies in the petrochemical and consumer products fields, as well as professor of engineering, human resources, waste management, chemical engineering thermodynamics, engineering ethics. During his early years as a process engineer, he was involved in the transition from analog/pneumatic control systems to the then under development digital control applications. He had learned to use a slide rule and mechanical calculators for process engineering and operations. At that time, he was assigned to a job in which he had to make complicated design and control computations. He had to catch up with technology and learn how to use novel tools (at that time) that could pull him through his new assignment. He likes to share first-hand experience on those developments. Ramiro is currently offering part-time services in technical and literary translation and interpreting, as well as some management consultation to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.