Patricia Kirkwood and Necia Parker-Gibson Receive Award for Engineering Research Book

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Patricia Kirkwood and Necia Parker-Gibson. Photograph by Russell Cothren

Informing Chemical Engineering Decisions with Data, Research, and Government Resources by University of Arkansas associate librarians Patricia Kirkwood and Necia Parker-Gibson was chosen as the best publication of 2013 by the Award Committee of the Engineering Libraries Division of the American Society for Engineering Education.

In their book, Kirkwood and Parker-Gibson outline approaches to developing and teaching information and research literacy skills in chemical engineering.

Just as a lack of information inhibits decision making, too much information presents its own set of barriers. Kirkwood and Parker-Gibson describe the process of searching for and evaluating information. They show readers how to identify research needs, determine which tools are best suited for the project, and find and evaluate the resources. The authors use case studies to illustrate how these skills are applied in the chemical or agricultural engineering field. 

Informing Chemical Engineering Decisions with Date, Research, and Government Resources is published in the Morgan & Claypool Publishers series Synthesis Lectures on Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Engineering. The series is edited by Robert Beitle Jr., University Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. The book is intended to support individuals who teach engineering research skills, such as librarians and educators, as well those learning such skills—students and working engineers alike. It is available online free to campus users through the Libraries’ catalog: http://library.uark.edu/record=b3268217~S1.