In Love with Science

April 13, 2023

Jolyn Ang remembers when she first fell in love with science. She was in primary school and she was visiting her cousin in her lab. Her cousin had demonstrated a colorful crystallization reaction in a test tube. She watched, spellbound. As the crystal bloomed, so did her interest in chemistry.

That tiny reaction launched her on a path to an eventual #phd in #chemical engineering at National University of Singapore. She was accepted into P&G and joined the P&G Chemicals team.

During this stint, a manufacturing plant she was working with had been struggling with a critical decision of whether to open a chemical reactor and check on whether the catalyst – a substance that increases the rate of the chemical reaction - was still active. If they opened it too early and found that the catalyst was still active, the catalyst would have to be changed out anyway, because the catalyst would be quickly rendered useless due to exposure to air. This would have resulted in premature spending in millions on catalyst changeout. If they opened it too late, the reaction yield would decrease from the reduced activity of the catalyst, impacting ongoing production volumes.

The team had gathered reams of process data, but nobody had made sense of it yet. Her manager challenged her to step back and do so. It was a good thing that her PhD was in catalysis. As she pored over the data, variables and equations began to float into view. Before long, she had created a predictive model that spared them the need to open the reactor prematurely. This model is still used at the plant today. It’s led to millions in cost savings.

At home, Jolyn is the family barista, pulling shots and perfecting her latte art. Even here, her training comes in handy, as she hones the fluidity, rheology and dosage of pouring the perfect cup.

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