. Someinstitutions (20%) have design courses throughout the curriculum in addition to the capstonedesign sequence, but more programs (40%) have design projects within non-design coursesthroughout the curriculum. The course or courses in the capstone design sequence are primarilyoffered only once a year (78%) with a slight edge to the spring semester/winter quarter (80%)over the fall semester/quarter (72%). Most institutions (78%) include instruction in software orprogramming as part of the course(s). The culminating design project is most often a theoreticaldesign (68%) as opposed to one based on experiments (3%) or resulting in a prototype (7%), andmost institutions do not use the AIChE Design Competition problems (70%). Professional skillsare mainly
Paper ID #41378Work in Progress: Implementation of a Curricular Development Project forExperiential Learning in a Senior Capstone Product-Design CourseDr. Chris Barr, University of Michigan Dr. Christopher Barr is the Instructional Laboratory Supervisor in the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Michigan. He obtained his Ph.D. at University of Toledo in 2013 and is a former Fellow in the N.S.F. GK-12 grant ”Graduate Teaching Fellows in STEM High School Education: An Environmental Science Learning Community at the Land-Lake Ecosystem Interface”. His main responsibilities are supervising and implementing
evolving landscape of chemical engineering applications in societyand necessitates a commitment to fostering a culture of sustainability and social responsibilitythat prepares graduates for the complexities of modern engineering challenges.3. Course Structure and ImplementationThe Capstone process design course at Northeastern University is a one semester, 4 credit hour,project-based course where teams design a chemical process for a product or system withconsideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social,environmental, and economic factors. All projects require applications of chemical engineeringcurriculum such as material and energy balances, kinetics, thermodynamics, and mass and heattransport and using
the University of California, San Diego has integrated agroup project analyzing a chemical processing plant throughout the curriculum. The goal of theproject is to tie together concepts in the core courses, which can otherwise appear disconnected.Students first analyze the chemical plant in Material and Energy Balances. They then build uponthat analysis using the material they learn in Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, ChemicalReaction Engineering, Separation Processes, Chemical Process Dynamics and Control, and,finally, in the capstone Chemical Plant and Process Design course.This paper presents quantitative and qualitative survey results from students at different stages inthe curriculum. A 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the
Paper ID #38836Process Control Laboratory Projects: Technical Training, TeamDevelopment, and Global CollaborationDr. Joaquin Rodriguez, University of Pittsburgh 2018+ University of Pittsburgh. Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department. Assistant Professor. Teaching track. 1999-2018. Universidad Monteavila (Caracas, Venezuela). Founder, Academic Coordinator (1999-2004), Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs (2004-2005), Chancellor (2005-20015), President of High Studies Center (2015-2017) 1983-1998. Petroleos de Venezuela. Research Center (Caracas, Venezuela). Professional Engineer (1983- 87). Project Leader
Baysal, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteProf. Joel L. Plawsky, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Teaching Modular Design: Mobile Processing Plants to Reduce Food WasteIntroduction This paper details a recent collaboration at RPI whereby undergraduate researchers andfaculty from chemical engineering worked with capstone design students and instructors fromfour additional engineering departments on a collaborative, multidisciplinary project aimed atmodular design of agricultural waste processing plants. Chemical engineering processsimulations were integrated with concepts of modular manufacturing and transportable designover the course of two academic calendar
differentlyacross campus. The context of sustainability is important to consider as we develop newcurricula for engineering students. While engineering traditionally operates in a value systemgoverned by technical and economic considerations, a sustainability paradigm can help reassessthese considerations to value the human and non-human actors. An opportunity within thecurriculum to bring together concepts in energy and sustainability is within the capstone designsequence – which asks students to apply the problem-solving process to larger projects. Thejunior-level design and process safety course is a newly envisioned course for the chemicalengineering curriculum at [State University]. This course was created as a way for students toapply their
some type of participation in capstone design projects, as industrialcollaborators [1], sometimes as industry liaisons in real-world projects [2], or as industrialadvisors to meet with students and review their reports, or industrial partners pitching projectsfor students’ choice, attending, and grading final presentations, or invitees for special topics (i.e.,safety, team building, PI&Ds) [1].2.0 Project Description2.1 An initiative inserted in the capstone course for chemical engineers.Teaching the capstone course for chemical engineers (generally a process design course) isalways very challenging. Students come with the expectation of wrapping up all that they werelearning in college and projecting their application in the upcoming jobs
class sizes and the interest, 1-3 interns can be assigned to a team by theinstructors.The students who do not participate in this internship experience or those who don’t get placedare assigned a separate project to fulfill the requirement. Once the pairing is complete, the actualimplementation of the project starts. The design teams then develop the project promptcomparable to the regular controls project but adapted to their capstone project. The twoinstructors ensure that the scope of the work assigned is feasible. The interns start their workwith background information collection based on the assigned prompt. Although, at this point,the juniors haven’t learned all the concepts needed for project completion, they are advised towork on it as
, vertically integrated in different core and optional courses bydesigning standalone solutions (e.g., sizing shell and tube heat exchangers in Heat Transfer), andknowledge-integrative courses (e.g., capstone courses). In a typical capstone project-based course,teams are formed to solve open-ended engineering design problems following the traditionalworkflow of developing process simulations, heat and material balances, process flow diagrams,piping and instrumentation diagrams, safety assessments, and economic analysis [3]. Ideally,projects are linked to industry needs, for which real-world clients interact with students, boostingnon-technical skills required for chemical process design, such as communication andcollaboration. Combining technical and
ofcourse concepts). Other cases were assigned as homework (weeks-long)–with case-basedproblems replacing additional problems on a problem set-–and as a final design project (1 monthlong). By placing students as the decision-makers in the story, students are forced to considertheir engineering decisions holistically, leveraging their sustainability awareness and ability toevaluate impact to determine how to take action. This is demonstrated most in a final designproject, where students design and evaluate a proposed engineering project and give an up ordown decision. In past years, topics for the final project have included evaluation of greenhydrogen and carbon sequestration projects.Chemical Process Design Capstone (Northeastern University
alternative solutions”, “evaluatealternatives”, and “evaluate prototype testing” [1,4].Development and ImplementationThe module on critical thinking was developed and implemented in two Fall 2024 coursessimultaneously, a freshman introduction to engineering course (GEEN 1201 Engineering as aCareer) and the first semester course (CHEN 4316 Chemical Process Design I) of a two-semestersenior design capstone sequence. The latter course serves to bring together the technical contentof previous ChE courses into a culminating capstone design experience. The course introducesstudents to process simulators, and includes group project assignments which challenge thestudents in understanding and applying sophomore and junior level course content. The
students easy, perhaps even commonplace, making faculty rethink globalcooperation in higher education [19, 20].The unique nature of capstone engineering courses resulted in additional challenges towardeffective delivery during the pandemic, with one faculty member commenting “lack of in-persondiscussions, team collaboration and time spent in the lab all have negative impacts on the project”[21]. Many adaptations were made during the pandemic to allow students to effectively work onchemical engineering capstone projects as part of a team, such as focusing on design tasks usingsimulation tools (e.g. ASPEN) and managing group meetings through video conferencing software(e.g. Google Meet) [22]. It is possible that knowledge of these practices
and usage in a second-year chemical engineering fundamentals and design course ata large research intensive Canadian public university.ContextThe course is a second-year chemical engineering course focusing on physical chemistryfundamentals as well as an introduction to process design. At the institution students complete ageneral first year and then in the second year start coursework in their discipline of interest. Thecourse covers topics including reaction characterization, vapour-liquid phase equilibrium, energybalances and unsteady-state balances. During the same term students are taking a material andenergy balances course and this content is also relied upon for the design project that studentsundertake. For the course design project
or skills for high performance teams. Some professors useCATME to configure teams for their course projects and/or tracking team performance, but mostprofessors allow for self-selection of team members and alternative students’ assessments onteam performance. One lecture for a 2-hour session with embedded team activities has beenprepared (expanding on [23]) and used in capstone courses to recap on main teamwork skills andreinforce the importance for professional development.A sample of student perception on teamwork skills is presented in Figure 1. The plot is the resultof a recent survey with 48 students attending the capstone course. They were asked to highlightup to 5 of the main skills they acquired and developed during their career
as reported below in Table 1. The assignments in the sophomore and junior year areintended to provide students with the foundation they need to complete larger scale projects duringtheir senior year, in three capstone courses (Process Control, Safety & Ethics, and Process Design).Simultaneously, rubrics have been developed, used, and refined to assess the attainment of theseoutcomes. Some basic rubrics have been established at the departmental level (Tables 2 and 3).However, instructors are encouraged to develop variations of these rubrics to better assess thespecific assignments. In addition, during lectures of each of the classes – the students are providedspecific examples of considerations in terms of the global, environmental
, evaluation, and results of these integrated curricula in chemicalengineering has been provided elsewhere [A1], [A2], [A3], [A4], [A5]. The technical content ofthese courses and unit operation laboratories have been progressively enriched with training insafety. Lectures on safety have been added in close connection with the specific content of someof the six pillar courses. Projects have been included in several pillars for students to incorporatesafety analysis and proposals. Table 1. CHE Core CurriculumYear (Semester) Core course Cr Companion course CrSophomore (I) Foundations in Chemical 6 Foundations of CHE Lab 1
, Engineering and Technology)Gladysz, B., Urgo, M., Stock, T., Haskins, C., Sieckmann, F., Jarzebowska, E., Kohl, H., Ola Strandhagen, J., &Tollio, T. (2020). Sustainable engineering master module - insights from three cohorts of european engineeringteam. International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing, 4(2-4: Special Issue), 413 - 432. (IndersciencePublishers (IEL))Ismail, N., Aziz, N. A. A., Hong, C. K., & Zainal, M. Z. (2019). Assessing Teamwork Value in Project-Based Learningof Capstone Project Course Proceedings of the International Conference on Student and Disable StudentDevelopment 2019,Lin, Y., & Zhang, H. (2021). “I finally marginalized myself from the mainstream”: An Autoethnography Study ofChinese International Student’s
Paper ID #47592Introducing Programmable Logic Controllers in Undergraduate ChemicalEngineering Process Control Laboratory using a Liquid Level SystemTata Serebryany, University of WashingtonJennafer Marsh, Brigham Young UniversityHayden Scott WestDr. Stacy K Firth, University of Utah Stacy K. Firth is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah. In her role, she focuses on Engineering education in grades K-12 and undergraduate education. She has developed an inclusive curriculum for a year-long Engineering exploration and projects course that is now taught in 57 Utah
excerpts of studentresponses.In addition to reporting on the research question itself, this paper will serve as a process guide foranalysis of a small set of qualitative data in the context of chemical engineering education. Theintent is to make thematic analysis more accessible for faculty who might otherwise not considerthis approach in pedagogical work.IntroductionLaboratory courses are often the first, and sometimes only, place where undergraduate ChemicalEngineering students encounter real Chemical Engineering equipment and work in a large-scalelaboratory environment. Beyond technical and sensory experience, capstone laboratory alsoaffords students the ability to practice other critical skills, such as safety, experimental planning
diverse needs of society globally.DEI Statements in Senior Design Projects:The requirement for DEI statements in senior design projects at UIC's Chemical EngineeringDepartment is a significant educational innovation. These statements require students to considerand articulate the societal, cultural, and ethical implications of their engineering solutions. Byintegrating DEI considerations into the capstone projects, students are encouraged to thinkcritically about the broader impact of their work, fostering a mindset that values diversity andinclusivity. This integration ensures that students are not only capable engineers but alsoconscientious contributors to society who understand the importance of their work in variouscultural and societal
capstone designcourses starting in 2016. No other concern, weakness or deficiency was raised about thedepartment ABET assessment in the 2015 ABET review. When the 2021 ABET reviewoccurred, a weakness was assigned for our program in Criterion 4: continuous improvement.The weakness was attributable to (a) faculty not assessing all elements of certain studentoutcomes (SOs), (b) inconsistency in which aspect of SOs were assessed by different instructorsteaching two different sections of the same course, and (c) faculty averaging their assessmentscores in an ad-hoc manner. ABET determined that the department assessment results did notrepresent a systematic assessment process that was applied in a consistent manner throughout theprogram.The new
of Cincinnati (UC). He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His past research has focused on membrane science, adsorption, and ion exchange. He currently serves as the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Program Director at UC and teaches the capstone process design sequence. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio.Dr. Troy J. Vogel, University of Notre Dame ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Paper ID #47605 Troy Vogel is the Assistant Chair, the
a Professor-Educator in the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati (UC). He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His past research has focused on membrane science, adsorption, and ion exchange. He currently serves as the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Program Director at UC and teaches the capstone process design sequence. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2024 How We Teach: Chemical Engineering ElectivesAbstractThe AIChE Education Division’s Survey Committee covered elective
of electrochemical processes will grow rapidly in the comingdecade [1], [2], [3]. A major enabler to climate-change mitigations will be the electrification oftransportation, industry, and buildings, which currently rely on fossil fuels as their primaryenergy input [4]. Stochastic renewable energy sources like solar and wind are expected todramatically increase the number of batteries that will be needed to store energy [3].Additionally, it is projected that the global demand for lithium-ion batteries will grow by almosta factor of ten by 2040, primarily driven by growth in electric vehicles [1], [2]. These batteriesuse electrochemical processes to store electrical energy as chemical energy.As production scales, there will be a rapidly
, specifically in Process Control [3], but the implementation of labexperiences in process control courses have been largely constrained in many higher-educationinstitutions by several factors like lack of equipment and technical support [4]. Several initiativeshave been reported to compensate for this deficiency including classroom lab kits [3], remotelabs [4], [5], [6], virtual lab simulators [6], [7], [8], [9], and the use of data from unit operationexperimental modules [10] among others.Our chemical engineering curriculum includes a capstone senior course on Process Control, 5credit units, with a companion laboratory course (1 credit hour). The lab includes six fullyautomated experimental setups, three for liquid level control and three for
University of Texas at Austin. His past research has focused on membrane science, adsorption, and ion exchange. He currently serves as the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Program Director at UC and teaches the capstone process design sequence. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio.Dr. Bruce K Vaughen P.E., American Institute of Chemical Engineers Bruce K. Vaughen, Ph.D., P.E., CCPSC, (brucv@aiche.org) is the Lead Process Safety Subject Matter Expert at the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), a Technology Alliance in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He has more than two decades of industrial experience, has authored or co-authored five books on Process Safety, co-chaired
brainstorming acommon chemical to produce, and drawing on their knowledge of chemistry, what raw materialsthat can be used – in small groups they come up with possible steps in the process and then togetherwe create a process flow diagram – over the course of the semester, they master material andenergy balances on splitters, distillation columns, pumps, compressors, furnaces, reactors withrecycle, etc. On the last day of class, we revisit the process flow diagram that was created on thefirst day of class, to help them understand how what they have learned provides the foundation ofbecoming a successful chemical engineer. This process flow diagram is revisited with the samestudents in the capstone process design course – so that they can reflect on
involves the contribution of studentsand faculty from chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer sciences, as a partof a Capstone design project looking for innovations on undergraduate engineering education.The chemical engineering lab-on-a-kit will contribute to modernize unit operations laboratoriesand provide opportunities for K-12 experimental demonstrations and outreach initiatives.IntroductionLaboratory-based courses provide engineering students with important skills including hands-onexperimentation, team dynamics, troubleshooting, and communications. These and other skillshave been recognized as well-defined pillars supporting the relevance of practical work inengineering majors[1], [2]. Unit operations laboratories (UOLs
by chemical engineering educators identified an approach toassess student understanding of moral reasoning through the development of the EngineeringProcess Safety Research Instrument (EPSRI); however, given that many chemical engineeringstudents have not completed a course in ethics or moral reasoning it has not been easy to implementthe tool. The goal of this project was to develop a learning module to teach students about differentapproaches to moral reasoning and ethical concepts associated with these approaches to betterprepare them for careers in which they can (and most likely will) encounter supervisors and co-workers who use different moral frameworks and exhibit varying stages of moral development.Indeed, one objective of the