Monday, October 17, 2016

Scuola Mattei UPDATE



“Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet.” -- Dave Barry (American Writer and Humorist best known for his weekly newspaper column. b.1947)

A 2010 post on the Desulfurization Blog highlighted a corporate university known as Scuola Mattei (http://desulf.blogspot.com/2010/06/academic-faculty-scuola-mattei.html). It has been one of the most popular posts on the blog.  Unfortunately, the link included in that post is obsolete.  Here is a current link, along with some information from the Scuola Mattei Web …

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The Scuola Mattei and the MEDEA Masters (https://www.eni.com/en_IT/careers/training-and-guidance/the-scuola-mattei-and-the-medea-masters.page )
The Scuola Enrico Mattei organises and runs the Masters degree in Management and the Economics of Energy and the Environment (MEDEA).
Practical information
The programme runs from September to June at the headquarters of Eni Corporate University in San Donato Milanese and features two courses of study: Global Energy and Managing Technical Assets. The courses are taught in English and are full-time. Students who pass the examinations are awarded a Masters degree in Management and Economics of Energy and the Environment (MEDEA). Every year Eni offers full scholarships covering the cost of the programme. For information on requirements, methods of selection and scholarships, please refer to the details at the bottom of this page.
The subjects: energy and the environment
The MEDEA Masters degree is aimed at Italian and international graduates in technical, scientific and economic disciplines, as well as people already working in the energy and environment sector who want to study these subjects more deeply. The school’s training programmes are distinguished by an international and interdisciplinary approach with a specific focus on energy and environment issues. Our excellent academic course leaders – made up of an internal team and professors from leading Italian and foreign universities, alongside successful managers and experts from Eni –add to the value of the courses, which are designed to provide analytical tools that can be immediately applied to operational realities. The teaching consists of lectures, flipped classroom and blended training, case studies, learning by doing and project work, seminars and conferences, as well as guided visits to industrial plants of particular interest.
source: https://www.eni.com/en_IT/careers/training-and-guidance/the-scuola-mattei-and-the-medea-masters.page
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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Support Your Researchers With Master Classes



"No man is free who is not a master of himself" -- Epictetus (Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, AD 55-c.135)

Original research involves one set of skills.  Communicating research results requires a completely different skill set.

Researchers need help in developing their communication skills.

TIP: Sign up for Nature Master Classes (https://masterclasses.nature.com/)

According to the Web site, the courses are designed to ‘support your researchers with training in scientific writing and publishing, delivered by nature journal editors

Here is a sampling of course titles on offer …

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  • How writing a paper can help you to plan and conduct your research
  • About the module: What Makes a Great Paper
  • What makes a good paper
  • Common issues in scientific writing: complexity and passive voice
  • A case study of misconduct. What would you recommend?
  • What excellent referee reports look like FREE SAMPLE
  • Think like a peer reviewer when you read a paper FREE SAMPLE
  • Useful resources: Titles and Abstracts
  • About the module: Understanding Peer Review

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Saturday, October 1, 2016

Titillating Titles and Serious Subtitles

I don't mind what the opposition say of me so long as they don't tell the truth about me. But when they descend to telling the truth about me I consider that this is taking an unfair advantage. – Mark Twain, Speech, 1879

Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship From Truman to Obama,” by Dennis Ross

Not yet having read this book, I intend to do so … largely because of BOTH the thought provoking title and its informative subtitle.

And here’s my thought provoking contribution … Why not employ the same strategy when naming a scientific contribution?

“Well!” one might reply, “That would trivialize serious research.”  I disagree.  The quest for peace in the Middle East is not trivial. And the use of eye catching, seemingly trivial titles, is an effective tool in advancing that endeavor.

The same reasoning can be applied to academic research.  Case in point … The Tales That Rust Can Tell.

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The Tales That Rust Can Tell: The Use of Corrosion Product Analyses In Corrosion Failure Investigations
Michael G. Burns (Stress Engineering Services)
Society of Petroleum Engineers
SPE International Oilfield Corrosion Conference and Exhibition, 9-10 May, Aberdeen, Scotland
Abstract
Premature corrosion failures are often due to unanticipated environmental conditions. Identifying those conditions after the fact can be a challenge. However, since each specific chemical compound in a corrosion deposit is formed in a specific range of thermodynamic conditions, an analysis of the corrosion deposit can often help determine the cause of the corrosion. This paper will describe the conditions under which various corrosion products of iron are formed, provide some case histories where a corrosion product analysis proved helpful, and discuss the limitations of this technique.
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