Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Shaeiwitz, West Virginia University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

iscampus- or curriculum-based assessment. This paper does not address program educationalobjectives, which describe career and professional accomplishments of program alumni. Theformer usually requires different evaluation and assessment tools than the latter; although, someoverlap does exist. In addition, we will also refer to course objectives, which are not to beconfused with program educational objectives. Therefore, given this context and the imminent importance of using direct assessmentmethods, this paper provides a review of direct assessment measures. These methods include,but are not limited to, instructor end-of-course assessments, use of targeted assignments(assigned problems, exam questions, projects), capstone examinations

Conference Session

ChE: Bioengineering, nanotechnology, and systems engineering in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University; Danielle Amatore, Oregon State University; Shoichi Kimura, Oregon State University; Alexandre Yokochi, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

features to promoteactive learning, including (1) hands-on activities and demonstrations, (2) the integrated use ofwireless laptops through an in-house developed web-based learning tool to promotemetacognition and assessment of student learning, and (3) a capstone ethics project wherestudents complete a risk assessment of the impact of nanotechnology on society. Additionally,this course will focus on synthesizing fundamental concepts in science and engineering towardsapplications in nanotechnology. The other new sophomore course, Material and Energy Balancesin Nanotechnology (ChE 214), is a ChE specific laboratory-based course, emphasizing how thefundamental skills students have just learned couple to nanotechnology. For ChE students, theapproach

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brent Young, University of Auckland; Robert Kirkpatrick, University of Auckland; William Svrcek, University of Calgary

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

Kirkpatrick, University of Auckland Robert Kirkpatrick is the Distinguished Designer in Residence at Chemical and Materials Engineering and Director of the Energy Centre at the University of Auckland. He received his B.E. (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) degrees in Chemical Engineering from Auckland and the UK respectively. He has 30 years of experience in petrochemicals and oil & gas working for Union Carbide, Mobil Oil and Methanex. Roles included Technical, Operations, Design, Projects, Development and Management.William Svrcek, University of Calgary William Svrcek is a Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He received his B.Sc

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Raymond, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

course. A typicalcurriculum then can become a series of seemingly unrelated courses (in the student’s mind) thatare often only connected in a senior capstone or design course. Even the typical senior capstonecourse usually limits the application aspects directly to the students’ major and to what isconsidered mainstream or directly related to the discipline. Ideally, however, students shouldhave ample opportunities to integrate and apply previous course content to new courses, areas,and problems. This should include interdisciplinary concepts and areas that may be considerednon-traditional for a particular major. The courses described in this paper were designed to takeadvantage of proven pedagogical methods to improve student learning.In the

Conference Session

ChE: Bioengineering, nanotechnology, and systems engineering in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Marlin, McMaster University; Andrew Hrymak, McMaster University; John MacGregor, McMaster University; Vladimir Mahalec, McMaster University; Prashant Mhaskar, McMaster University; Christopher Swartz, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

policy systems. Whilethe opportunities are unlimited, PSE is initially introduced with examples of greatest importanceto chemical engineering undergraduates, with course projects and enrichment readings providingextensions to other applications. The decision support methods we include in PSE are modeling (first principlesfundamental and data-based), simulation, process control, applied statistics, optimization,synthesis and design. These topics overlap with many existing courses in engineering,operations research and applied mathematics, so that much excellent teaching and learningmaterial is available. However, a great challenge exists in teaching them at the appropriateundergraduate level, linking to practical engineering applications

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Marlin, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Design Education Thomas E. Marlin McMaster UniversityAbstract: This paper presents a proposal for increased emphasis on operability in the ChemicalEngineering capstone design courses. Operability becomes a natural aspect of the process designcourse for a project that is properly defined with various scenarios and uncertainty. Key topicsin operability are the operating window, flexibility, reliability, safety, efficiency, operationduring transitions, dynamic performance, and monitoring and diagnosis. Each is discussed in thepaper with process examples and its relationship to prior learning and process design

Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Robert Ofoli, Michigan State University; Dennis Miller, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

hadalready happened in our program with the application of the process modeling software,ASPEN. Seniors were spending a significant portion of class time in the capstone designcourse learning to use the software, thus compromising coverage of other importantcourse topics. Students were spending extra time out of class playing catch-up withASPEN proficiency. Therefore, ASPEN was implemented as a problem-solving tool incourses at all levels of the curriculum, most recently including our freshman course aswell. As a result, ASPEN use has become comfortable and second-nature to all chemicalengineering students allowing faculty and students to focus more on important coursecontent. Our expectation is that this will happen with MATLAB as