How We Teach: Thermodynamics
- Conference
- Location
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Tampa, Florida
- Publication Date
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June 15, 2019
- Start Date
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June 15, 2019
- End Date
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June 19, 2019
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Chemical Engineering
- Page Count
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34
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--32903
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/32903
- Download Count
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807
Paper Authors
Margot A Vigeant Bucknell University
Margot Vigeant is a professor of chemical engineering at Bucknell University. She earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from Cornell University, and her M.S. and Ph.D., also in chemical engineering, from the University of Virginia. Her primary research focus is on engineering pedagogy at the undergraduate level. She is particularly interested in the teaching and learning of concepts related to thermodynamics. She is also interested in active, collaborative, and problem-based learning, and in the ways hands-on activities such as making, technology, and games can be used to improve student engagement.
Jennifer Cole
Northwestern University
orcid.org/0000-0001-7104-2986
Jennifer Cole is the Assistant Chair in Chemical and Biological Engineering in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University and the Associate Director of the Northwestern Center for Engineering Education Research. Dr. Cole’s primary teaching is in capstone and freshman design, and her research interest are in engineering design education.
Kevin D. Dahm Rowan University
Kevin Dahm is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. He earned his BS from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (92) and his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (98). He has published two books, "Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics" and "Interpreting Diffuse Reflectance and Transmittance." He has also published papers on effective use of simulation in engineering, teaching design and engineering economics, and assessment of student learning.
Laura P. Ford University of Tulsa
LAURA P. FORD is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Tulsa. She teaches engineering science thermodynamics, mass transfer/separations, and chemical engineering senior labs. She is a co-advisor for TU’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA. Her email address is laura-ford@utulsa.edu.
Lucas James Landherr Northeastern University
Dr. Lucas Landherr is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University, conducting research in comics and engineering education.
David L. Silverstein P.E. University of Kentucky
David L. Silverstein is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky. He is also the Director of the College of Engineering's Extended Campus Programs in Paducah, Kentucky, where he has taught for 19 years. His PhD and MS studies in ChE were completed at Vanderbilt University, and his BSChE at the University of Alabama. Silverstein's research interests include conceptual learning tools and training, and he has particular interests in faculty development. He is the recipient of several ASEE awards, including the Fahein award for young faculty teaching and educational scholarship, the Corcoran award for best article in the journal Chemical Engineering Education (twice), and the Martin award for best paper in the ChE Division at the ASEE Annual Meeting.
Christy Wheeler West
University of South Alabama
orcid.org/0000-0003-0172-7212
Abstract
While thermodynamics is a core engineering area common to many disciplines, chemical engineering thermodynamics tends to be distinct from other engineering disciplines’ implementations in its consideration of vapor-liquid and reaction equilibrium, among other topics. For the 2018 survey, the AIChE Education Division Survey Committee focused on the thermodynamic portion of the chemical engineering undergraduate curriculum. Over 80 programs from the Americas and Europe completed the survey, which asked about course structure, content, and pedagogical approach. The typical undergraduate takes a course in physical chemistry and one or two thermodynamics courses within engineering and chemical engineering. While students use the concept of an “energy balance” within their thermodynamics course, this course is not usually the first place this concept is introduced. Typical coverage of thermodynamics concepts such as cycles, equations of state, and reactions is described in the paper and compared to past survey results, as is the use of computing, and choice of textbook. This paper reports on the survey’s key findings as well as some of the highlights of innovative course design and pedagogy.
Vigeant, M. A., & Cole, J., & Dahm, K. D., & Ford, L. P., & Landherr, L. J., & Silverstein, D. L., & West, C. W. (2019, June), How We Teach: Thermodynamics Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32903
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