LIT upgraded

A $1.5 million upgrade to Lamar Institute of Technology’s Process Operating unit was recently completed to further train students to meet the growing demands in an automated, industrial environment and enter the workforce industry-ready, LIT Process Operating Technology instructor Dr. Valerie Worry announced.

“Instrumentation on our inside and outside units have been upgraded to state-of-the-art levels,” Worry said. Emerson and local partner Scallon Controls donated $1.1 million in equipment, which helped modernize the 3-story ethylene-glycol distillation separation unit by incorporating the DeltaV™ distributed control system (DCS). Hargrove Engineers and Constructors donated time for the planning phase.

“We also now have a new control room inside the ExxonMobil PATC building,” she added. The project included renovated instrumentation technology labs at LIT with Rosemount™, Micro Motion, Fisher and AMS devices and instrumentation to aid students with configuring, calibrating and diagnosing field equipment.

“One of the things our students and their future employers value most is real-world experience,” said LIT President Dr. Lonnie L. Howard. “Emerson’s donation will provide that experience, helping us send our students out into the world with more confidence and more knowledge than ever, making them highly sought-after assets to employers. In addition, it will help LIT achieve its ambitious 10-in-10 (10,000 students in 10 years) enrollment target as part of our 2020-25 Strategic Plan.”

Jim Nyquist, president of Emerson’s Systems and Solutions business, echoed Dr. Howard’s sentiments. He said, “Providing these students with the newest technologies is a win-win for students and local industry--both of whom benefit from hands-on experience with the technologies that will drive the future of industrial manufacturing.”

In February of this year, The Texas State University System TSUS voted to rename LIT’s Petrochemical and Advanced Technology Center (PATC) to the ExxonMobil PATC. Room 114 of the ExxonMobil PATC was renamed the Emerson Central Control Center.