Prairie State Generating Company is pleased to welcome Stephen Richardson as the chemical engineering intern for the summer of 2018.
From Belleville, Illinois, Richardson is a chemical engineering major at Iowa State University. He is involved in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Chem-E-Car, a group that created a car operated completely on chemical reactions; his team has qualified for the national competition in the fall. Richardson is also a lab manager for the Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Majors.
Richardson has been working mowing lawns since the sixth grade, which helped him realize that manual labor was not his calling. He knew of Prairie State because of his father, who is an employee. “I have been on tours of the campus and all of the employees were very friendly.” He also mentioned that working at a power plant is one of the most applied versions of chemical engineering.
This summer, Richardson will be working on projects such as ball mill optimization, Fuelsolv trials, chloride monitoring, and more. He is excited about interacting with experienced operators and engineers. “It is nice to experience a more applied version of what I have learned in class.”
In the fall, Richardson will return to Iowa State for three more semesters, where he will complete his degree with a minor in energy systems. He would like to have a career in the power generation industry or petrochemicals and refining.