Module Review - 2009/2010 Semester 2 Module Review

Exam result came out this morning so I can write my review about the modules which I have taken during the last semester without having the anxiety of waiting for my result nagging at me. Admittedly, last semester was tough and it taught me many great lessons not only in studies, but also in my life. Without further ado, lets look at my opinions on last semester's modules:

CN2108 Chemical Engineering Process Laboratory I

Sometimes, in life, you need luck to get by. Otherwise, you just have suffer through it. This module is about "applying what you learn in CN2121 and Cn2122" in the technical procedure of lab work then writing 40-page worth of report. Of course, this is not a one-man job, as students are grouped into clusters of threes or twos. One of my groupmates happens to be the most "amazing" person I have ever met. Never have I encountered an individual of such profound laziness, deplorable attitude to work, and an unflinching disregard for his own self-esteem.

As his groupmate, I learn to "wipe his ass" for him by doing his part of the project for every experiment (there are six altogether) either because he conveniently forgot that lab report is a must-do, or he has some "concert" going out, or worse, he submit a work so deeply marred by the doings of plagiarism. Then, I learn to stand up for my own right as well as the right for my other poor lab partner, who has to shoulder some of the burden, by making sure that he does not reap what others sow.

When he found out that one of the report did not bear his name on the front page, a testimony of his lack of contribution to that report, it was the first time I saw fear in his eyes - the sort of guilty fear that you know you would experience when you do wrong. Not that it is particularly delighting to watch, but he needs to first learn to give contribution before he can sow the benefit of producing a good lab report. Omg, why the hell is he the first thing to come to mind when I think of CN2108?!

Nonetheless, I do thank dear Joey and Mr Qin Zhen for casting some bright light on the otherwise dim outlook of this module.

CN2116 - Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design

This is a truely difficult and eye-opening module. The concepts are hard to grasp, but once you are able to do so, it is a great feeling of enlightenment. The questions are tough, but once you know the tricks of doing it, everything else is standard procedure. How I wish i could have gotten an A+ for it, not really because I need to pull up my grades, but to prove to myself I have mastered the in's and out's of this module. This module provides the core knowledge for the chemical engineering discipline (it is what distinguishes us most from other branches of engineering anyway) around which ancillary knowledge of other chemical engineering modules are clustered. I think I will taking an advanced technical elective module which has its foundation on this module so I really look forward to the challenge ahead!!! I really love Prof Lee's funny English accent (it's between Singlish and Brit-ish English) and Prof Tan's funny character.

CN2125 - Heat & Mass Transfer

Everything about this module is very well structured and defined down to the equations and parameters definitions for the equations. Most of the time, it is tweaking the brain a bit, then applying the formula, and walaa, you can see for yourself how much heat boiling water imparts to your egg, how long after one farts that the whole room would realise it and more. It is very practical as evidenced through the mini-project assignment. Both Prof Wang and Prof Tong are great educators aspiring for all their students to learn and understand the modules. You should see the amount of effort they put up in form of posting summaries, reviews and other helpful notes for circulation among the students.

CN3124 - Particle Technology

Like CN2125, it is a plug-into-equation-and-answer-will-come-out module with some brain tweaking. The exam paper for my year is relatively tougher compared to the previous years but the concept behind these questions never veer too far from those in the past year papers. The lecture durations are very short and sometimes there is no lecture at all in the entire week!!! Adding the fact that the lectures are on webcast, it is small wonder that the lecture hall is usually empty even though there is actually a session. Prof Uddin is soft-spoken to the extent that people think he is not a good lecturer, but he is very attentive to the questions that are posed to him either after lecture or via email.

ESE2001 - Environmental Processes

Haha, I didn't really finish this paper (Don't know why I did the paper so slowly)... But learning stuffs from this module is really fun. As an engineer, I find it very useful to have a qualitative measure of everything, and this is what the module seeks to do to the environment. I learn to calculate the dosage required for a poison to kill someone, the amount of CO2 needed to raise the temperature by 1 degree celcius, the time taken for an oil spill to spread through the groundwater system and contaminate the water supply and more. Prof Lin is really nice and shares his daily experience which is related to the subject matter, which makes learning all the more enjoyable as it can be easily identified with everyday life.

Singing

Finally, exam is over heralding the end of a tiresome semester. This semester, I have worked with the most inspiring as well as the most difficult individuals.But this post is not dedicated to ranting about what happens in school, rather it is to reflect on how far my passion in singing has gone.

My revelation to the wonders of singing has come rather late when I got a chance to perform in the hall choir. Back then, the diction, tone and richness of the notes that were sung were downright disgraceful. Over the years, I have learnt much and have encouraged by friends to sing.

More than just fooling people into believing that there is a girl singing in the guy's toilet in Block Six, I find singing a new area where i can invest my hope, passion and emotion. Of course, there were episodes of coughing and sore throat hindering the vocal production but everyday, I learn something new about singing.

First, i learn that different music is catered to different voices. There are songs that others can sing but I can't and vice versa. It has to do with quality of the notes produced and the "feel" of the song, whether it should be dark and eerie, light and ethereal or hip and poppish.

Secondly, i learn that it is not enough to just generate the right pitch for the notes. Even if the whole song is sung with such pitch perfectness but without emotion, then the song would meaningless. Singing a song is like telling a story and every story is unique unto itself. It is up to the singer to blend his or her techniques with the song to deliver the song to its greatest effect.

As a a fledgling countertenor, i find that my voice has changed very much since I first sang in falsetto register. The notes are now deeper, richer and less strenuously produced than before. Of course, I am not a master in singing but I am glad to learn something every step of the way.

Somehow, singing has allowed me to communicate with my inner self. It has made me realise that there is a purpose to music, which touches at the very core of the human soul. Why else do people weep when they hear the tenor aria delivered by Luciano Pavarotti? Why else is the Phantom of the Opera such an immemorial musical to which many individuals have gravitated?It is no small wonder that the human voice, in such daring stroke of agility and power or in the subtlety of mere humming, would evoke emotions deep seated within our hearts.

To me, music is a journey of self discovery. I find peace in the harmony of music and challenge in the agility of scaling notes and leaping from one octave to another. In my opinion, there are few things more soothing yet more exciting than music.