The Future of Chemical Engineering - An Educational Perspective

By Cobb, James T Jr Patterson, !ary " #ic$ramasinghe, % &anil http'(()))*redorbit*com(ne)s(science(+,-./0(the1future1of1chemical1engineering11an1educational1perspectiv e(inde2*html3source4r1science 5iversification, globali6ation, emerging technologies***Times have certainly changed for chemical engineers* But, has the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum $ept pace3 The chemical engineering undergraduate curriculum, set by professors, not only provides students the traditional concepts and techni7ues for their practice, but also conveys their teachers8 best insights into the ne) concepts and techni7ues that they )ill need over the first ten years of their careers and ho) to ac7uire )hat they )ill need beyond that period* &evie)ing the first ,// years of the chemical engineering profession, it is clear that the description of a chemical engineer continues to evolve - and practitioners must be life-long learners 9Bo2, p* ::s;* From time-to-time, industry, government and academia gather to pro<ect the future of chemical engineering to assist educators in setting their curricula by defining and characteri6ing )here the profession is heading* At the recent meetings commissioned by the Council for Chemical &esearch 9CC& )))*ccrh7*org;, funded by the =ational %cience Foundation 9=%F )))*nsf*gov;, and organi6ed by the >assachusetts ?nstitute of Technology 9>?T )))*mit*com;, there )as a call for a ma<or ad<ustment to the strategy of the curriculum* T)o parallel sets of activities are )or$ing to)ard transforming the curriculum' several universities have given particular attention to embedding ne) and developing computeri6ed computational techni7ues into the curriculum and the =%F has contracted several universities to create ne) frame)or$s that could be used for such ne) curricular material, as )ell as for the standard sub<ects* ?ndustry and academia continue to )or$ together under the umbrella of ABET, ?nc* 9originally $no)n as the Accreditation Board tor Engineering and Technology; to set criteria for the various engineering curricula and verify proper alignment )ith the criteria by the engineering colleges and schools in the @*%* ?n .///, ABET thoroughly revised its approach to setting criteria and established the EC./// accreditation process that allo)s the ne) curricular strategy, defined at >?T, and the ne) frame)or$, developed at the @niv* of Pittsburgh, to be instituted* %tudies conducted in .//:-.//A indicate that implementation of these ne) criteria in .//, has had a positive impact on engineering education* Engineering programs are increasing the emphasis on areas of $no)ledge and professional s$ills that employers <udge to be the least )ell-developed in ne) engineering hires 9Figures ,-:;* This increased emphasis on professional s$ills has been accomplished )ithout substantive decreases in attention to the development of technical s$ills* %pecific to the emerging concepts and practices in bio-related aspects of a number of engineering disciplines, ABET continues to revise its criteria for biological engineering, bioengineering, biomedical engineering find biochemical( biomolecular engineering, sho)ing that bio-related engineering transcends the traditional disciplines and is truly multdisciplinary* ABET has established clear currirular criteria, the engineering licensing boards have the parameters they need to establish specifications and )rite items for e2aminations that verify the minimum competency of those see$ing to publicly offer their engineering services in these ne) areas throughout their careers* Currently the =ational Council of E2aminers for Engineering and %urveying 9=CEE% )))*ncees*org; offers licensing e2ams on behalf of @*%* %tate and Territory <urisdictions in many disciplines, including chemical engineering* AlChE, together )ith a number of other professional societies that represent engineers )or$ing )ith biological systems, are <ust beginning the process of establishing a bio-related engineering &E* license )ith =CEE%* Technical societies and universities provide valuable assistance to all engineers by defining and offering a variety of continuing professional development offerings, including continuing education courses describing emerging technologies and techni7ues* AlChE8s Continuing Education Program, no) $no)n as the Education %ervices Program, began in ,B0C and has offered hundreds of courses to thousands of chemical engineers over the decades* Currently, its courses are offered through the Continuing Education ?nstitute of the American %ociety of >echanical Engineers* !DEBAD A%PECT% !lobali6ation has un7uestionably affected the practice of engineering* For one, chemical engineers of today need different s$ill sets than )hat )as re7uired ,C years ago* Engineering teams are no) often multi-national* The ability to )or$ )ith engineering colleagues from different cultures, )ith $no)ledge and sensitivity of multicultural issues, is $ey* The effects of globali6ation are resulting in the offshoring of @*%* engineering <obs to overseas competition* ?n a recent report by the >c"insey !lobal ?nstitute, the offshoring potential of several professions related to eight industry sectors )as studied, engineering )as identified as the most FamenableF to offshoring 9,;*

Against this bac$drop, the =ational Academy of Engineering 9=AE )))*nae*edu; has challenged engineering schools to' develop )ays to disseminate information on international engineering programs, and foster an a)areness of the global nature of technology and to e2pand opportunities for students to study abroad by pairing @*%* schools )ith global counterparts and also to develop cooperative efforts bet)een engineering schools and other campus units in international economic and cultural affairs* A survey of undergraduate engineering curricula across the @*%* indicates that many schools are responding to globali6ation* E2amples of the global emphasis in chemical engineering programs include international internship opportunities offered by >?T and the dual degree program bet)een the @niv* of &hode ?sland and the Technische @niversitt Braunsch)eig 9!ermany )))*tu- braunsch)eig*de;, as )ell as numerous other study abroad programs 9., :;* ?n the future, many more chemical engineering departments )ill develop Fglobal optionsF programs )ithin undergraduate degrees, as )ell as international research e2periences for graduate students* These changes are actively promoted by funding agencies such as =%F through its Partnerships for ?nternational &esearch and Education 9A; program* 5evelopment of a global emphasis in chemical engineering programs )ill bo essential in order for @*%* chemical engineers to compete in a global environment* PAG?=! THE &EA5 AHEA5 Programs that are leading the )ay into the future for chemical engineering include the follo)ing' ,* Frontiers in chemical engineering education* ?n .//:, under the auspices of CC& and )ith financial support from =%F, >?T organi6ed three )or$shops to e2amine )hether and ho) to improve the e2isting chemical engineering curriculum ,C;* Based on the premise that chemical engineering is uni7uely positioned at the interface bet)een molecular sciences 9including molecular biology;, systems engineering, and management, >?T constructed a set of core organi6ing principle, including molecular scale transformations, multiscale descriptions, and system synthesis and analysis to use in the curriculum redesign* E2amples of systems that graduates might be )or$ing on are' hot-filament chemical vapor deposition, microreactors, chemotherapy drug delivery )afers and multiple- layered materials for micro devices and coatings* #or$shop attendees also suggested that the curriculum be consistently infused )ith relevant and demonstrative e2amples of open-ended problems and case studies, and challenges of engineering practice - safety, economics, ethics, regulation, intellectual property and mar$et(social needs* #ith this in mind, attendees proposed a ne) set of courses - 7uite different from the standard chemical engineering curriculum - for each year of study' I %ophomore year - molecular basis of thermodynamics classification of molecules molecular basis of reaction rates, interfaces and assemblies homogeneous reactor engineering I Junior year - molecular basis of reaction rates molecular basis of other properties and constitutive e7uations descriptions of reactive systems introduction to molecular systems I %enior year - special topics 9electives; bea$er-toplant implementation of multi-scale principles for product and process design, systems and the mar$etplace* The challenge to develop such a broad ne) curriculum as the one envisioned by >?T is immense, and the e2pense of preparing a comprehensive set of ne) instructional modules )ill be considerable* Ergani6ers of the three .//: )or$shops have held additional seminars - the last of )hich too$ place at the .//C A?ChE Annual >eeting in Cincinnati* ?t )as at this seminar that participants began to convert the vision of the ne) curriculum into action* ?t should be emphasi6ed that most colleges and schools )ill li$ely ma$e only incremental changes to their curricula along these lines, ta$ing the position that the molecular approach gives too little emphasis to specific unit processes* They )ill continue to grounJd their curricula on traditional lines that include standard courses, such as those in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer and reaction engineering* They )on8t ignore the multiscale approach, but )ill alert their students to the possibility of bringing molecular and process scales together* .* Computeri6ed computational techni7ues* Ene issue of gro)ing importance in ne) approaches to curricula is the integration of computing throughout the chemical engineering curriculum* The CACHE Corp* 9)))*cache*org; is leading the )ay )ith a comprehensive )ebsite filled )ith information on computer programming instruction, soft)are selection, mathematical modeling instruction, and teaching of process and product design* The )ebsite also includes a recent survey of computing practices in industry and descriptions of integrated computing approaches at selected departments 90;* A ne) )eb-based capability, available in the labs at the @niv* Tennessee-Chattanooga 9)))*utc*edu;, as )ell as other schools including the @niv* Te2asAustin, Columbia @niv*, @niv* of Toledo and >?T, enables real chemical engineering laboratory e7uipment to be controlled and monitored interactively by computers that are

connected to the ?nternet* This )ould permit faculty and students from any university to run #eb-connected e2periments at any time of the day or night, any day of the )ee$* The laboratory station computer operates the e7uipment 9pumps, valves, heaters, relays, etc*;, collects the data 9pressure, temperature, position, speed, concentration, etc*; and sends it to the )eb user* The @niv* TennesseeChattanooga )ebsite is accessed via http'(( chem*engr*utc*edu(, and even includes audio and video of the operating e7uipment* :* The pillars of chemical engineering* Each year, the =%F8s division of engineering education a)ards grants for department- level reform of undergraduate engineering education 9-;* This program supports* updating engineering degree programs developing ne) curricula for emerging engineering disciplines and meeting the emerging )or$force and educational needs of @*%* industry* For e2ample, in .//., =%F a)arded a grant to the chemical and petroleum engineering department at the @niv* of Pittsburgh for the development of FPillars of Chemical Engineering' A Bloc$ %cheduled CurriculumF 9+;* This curriculum )ill allo) students Fto integrate their $no)ledge across courses, disciplines Kand scales of activity 9molecules to chemical plants;L so that they are better prepared to address open-ended problems* A $ey element of the ne) curriculum is the use of bloc$ scheduling, in )hich the hours de-voted previously to t)o or three standard courses in one term are Fbloc$edF into one course )ith considerably longer contact hours* Topics in this bloc$ed course can be )oven together in an integrated fashion, connecting them not only in an intellectually satisfying manner, but also in the )ay they are encountered in practice* >any of today8s undergraduates have e2perienced this method of curricular organi6ation in their earlier education* Bloc$ed courses are made up of a series of modules* ?n the Pittsburgh version, the modules )ill be based on the standard core of chemical engineering 9including mass balances, thermodynamics, $inetics, separations, transport phenomena, process systems, control, laboratory, and design;* @sing modules allo)s the integration of diverse elements, many changing )ith time, such as modules that may be developed by the Frontiers in Chemical Engineering Education initiative* A* ABET EC./// and criteria for chemical engineering* ABET8s ne) general engineering criteria apply to all engineering programs and each program has criteria specific to its area* An important aspect of EC./// is the re7uirement that the curricular design and its ob<ectives be developed <ointly )ith its constituents, e*g*, industry, parents, students, faculty, etc* Evolution of the curricula depends on these constituents* The chemical engineering program criteria first established under EC./// )ere rooted in the traditional vie) of the needs of a chemical engineering graduate 9B;* Those criteria specified that they )ere for engineering programs including FchemicalF and similar modifiers in their titles* The program curriculum must demonstrate that graduates have' thorough grounding in chemistry as )ell as a )or$ing $no)ledge of advanced chemistry - such as organic, inorganic, physical, analytical and materials chemistry, or biochemistry selected as appropriate to the goals of the program )or$ing $no)ledge, including safety and environmental aspects, of material and energy balances applied to chemical processes thermodynamics of physical and chemical e7uilibria heat, mass, and momentum transfer chemical reaction engineering continuous and stage-)ise separation operations process dynamics $no)ledge and control process design and appropriate modern e2perimental and computing techni7ues* Dast year, A?ChE8s Education and Accreditation Committee proposed ne) chemical engineering program criteria* These )ere approved by the A?ChE Board and subse7uently by the ABET Board* Effective in .//-, these revised criteria, )hich apply to engineering programs )hich include FchemicalF, FbiochemicalF, FbiomolecularF and similar modifiers in their titles, are' the program must demonstrate that graduates have a thorough grounding in the basic sciences, including chemistry, physics, and biology appropriate to the ob<ectives of the program and sufficient $no)ledge in the application of these basic sciences to enable graduates to design, analy6e, and control physical, chemical, and biological processes consistent )ith the program education ob<ectives* ABET has also organi6ed a team to consider the division of responsibilities for various biologically oriented programs - presently bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biological engineering, biochemical engineering, and biomolecular engineering* ABET evaltiators from A?ChE )ill have specific responsibility for biochemical and biomolecular engineering and programs that emphasi6e process and molecular design* Bioengineering and biomedical engineering )ill be the responsibility of the Biomedical Engineering %ociety 9B>E% )))*bmes*org;* Biological engineering is the responsibility of the American %ociety of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 9A%ABE )))*asabe*org;* C* Chemical engineering and bio-relaled engineering P*E* e2aminations* Before graduate engineers are admitted to the public practice of engineering, state la)s re7uire that they ta$e and pass the Professional Engineering 9P*E*; E2amination in their discipline* The e2amination is prepared by the =CEE%, according to a set of specifications that are updated once every eight years or so 9,/;* &evised specifications are based on an e2tensive survey of hundreds of practicing engineers to determine the current professional activities and $no)ledge needed by graduates to practice engineering competently* The $no)ledge needed is both broad core $no)ledge as )ell as emerging $no)ledge - typically similar to )hat8s being added to the curricula by the undergraduate faculty under the guidelines of ABET* 5uring the last update of the specifications for the chemical

engineering e2amination in .//:, topics in thermodynamics )ere transferred from a previous section devoted e2clusively to this sub<ect and distributed throughout other sections* ?n addition, comple2 processing systems, such as fluid-bed reactors, )ere given greater prominence, and topics related to the operation of chemical facilities )ere added, such as operating manuals 9e*g*, startup, shutdo)n, maintenance;, performance of scheduled audits 9e*g*, testing safety valves, chec$ing rupture dis$s;, industrial hygiene and the design of pressure vessels per A%>E %ection G???* The committees that prepare the semi-annual P*E* e2aminations are charged to )rite 7uestions that meet the current specifications* Thus, the future of the discipline is an element of the P*E* E2amination in chemical engineering* @nfortunately, the actual content of these e2aminations is proprietary and can only be vie)ed by those )riting and ta$ing them* Therefore, only the specifications and a boo$let of sample 7uestions and solutions, )hich are publicly available, can be used by the general engineering community as an additional guide to the future of the disciplines* Eccasionally a significant ne) domain of engineering emerges that is given a distinct set of criteria by ABET, that e2periences the development of one or more individual technical societies 9or sub- societies; in the domain, and in )hich ten state engineering licensing boards re7uest that a licensing e2amination be given* @nder these circumstances, a ne) P*E* E2amination may be created* The bio-related engineering area, discussed in the previous section, is currently in this situation* ?n August .//0, =CEE% hosted a Bio %ummit )here representatives of si2 societies - American Association for Engineering Education, A?ChE, A%ABE, A%>E, B>E%, and ?EEE - met to consider a Bio-related Engineering P*E* E2amination* The boards of directors of the si2 societies are currently e2amining a prospectus that details a three-year pro<ect to validate the concept, set the specifications and prepare a first P*E* e2amination in this ne) field* ?f there is sufficient support from these si2 societies and from ten states, then a consortium of societies )ill begin )or$ to establish this ne) e2amination by ./,/* 0* A?ChE education services program* Ene of the charges of the A?Ch?' Education %ervices Committee is to develop ne) courses that fit the first purpose* To that end, the committee is )or$ing )ith prospective instructors for FFischer-Tropsch Catalysis Fundamentals and Practice,FF>icroprocess Engineering,F and F%i6e Enlargement of Po)ders and Bul$ >aterials by Agglomeration*F ?n the future, more and more vehicles for maintaining continuJing professional competency )ill be computer- and )eb-based* &ecently an online course has been added - FT)o Phase Flo) and Heat Transfer,F Another is being developed from FChemical M Bioengineering Fundamentals for Technical and %cientific Professionals*F An emerging techni7ue no) available on the A?ChE )ebsite is the )ebcast 9or vvebinar;* A?ChE pre-conference courses at the Annual and %pring =ational meetings are obvious candidates for )ebcasts* The Education %ervices Committee is e2ploring its possibilities for offering advanced seminars on state-of-the-art topics, such as the )ebcast in %eptember .//0 on F>odeling and 5esign of >ultiscale Chemical %ystems*F The committee )elcomes proposals from A?ChE members for other courses in emerging areas 9,,;* Diterature Cited ,* >c"insey !lobal ?nstitute, FThe Emerging !lobal >ar$et' Part , - The 5emand for Effshore Talent in %ervices,F %an Francisco, CA, p* :A: 9.//C;* .* http'(()eb*mitedu*(career()))(<obs(internshipsaboraod*html :* http'(()))*uri*edu(iep(into(pire*htm A* http'(()))*nsf*gov(funding( pgm1summ*<sp3pims1id4,.+,BMfrom4fund C* http'((mit*edu(che-curriculum( 0* CACHE Corp*, FComputing through the Curriculum' An ?ntegrated Approach for Chemical Engineering,F http'(()))*chc*ute2as*edu(cache( Edgar-computingN ./through*html -* http'(()))*nsf*gov(pubs(.//C(nsf/CC:,(nsf/CC:,(htm +* http'((granular*che*pitt*edu(curriculumn( B* http'(()))*abet*org(Din$edN./5ocuments@P5ATE(CriteriaN./and N./PP(E//,N .//0-/-N./EAC N./CriteriaN./C-.C-/0-/0*pdf ,/*http'(()))*ncees*org( ,,* http'(()))*aiche*org(uploadedFiles(CarreersEducation( Education(deparme nt@pload(.//0--N./A?ChEN ./Catalog*pdf

,.* Gol$)ein, F*, et al*, FThe ?mpact of Accreditation on %tudent E2perience and Dearning Eutmar$s,F paper presented at the meeting of the Association for ?nstitutional &esearch, Chicago* ?D 9>ay ,-, .//0;* JA>E% T* CEBB, J&*, P*E* @=?GE&%?TO EF P?TT%B@&!H !A&O "* PATTE&%E= @=?GE&%?TO EF >?%%E@&?-&EDDA %* &A=?D #?C"&A>A%?=!HE CEDE&A5E %TATE @=?GE&%?TO JA>E% T* CEBB* J&*, P*E*, is associate professor emeritus at the @niversity of Pittsburgh 9,A, 5eerfield 5rive Pittsburgh* PA ,C.:C Phone' 9A,.; -B:.+0B Fa2' 9A,.; 0.A-B0:B E-mail' cobbPengr*pitt*edu;* An A?ChE Fello), Cobb is also a general chemical engineering consultant speciali6ing in rene)able energy, including biomass gasification* He )as the founding chair of A?ChE8s Education %ervices Committee* For the =ational Council of E2aminers for Engineering and %urveying, he is chair of the ChE %ubcommittee of the FE E2am Committee, a member of the chemical engineering PE E2am Committee and the leader of the development of the bio-related engineering PE e2amination* He received a B%ChE from >?T, and an >% and Ph5 in chemical engineering from Purdue @niversity* !A&O "* PATTE&%E= is emeritus professor of Chemical Engineering at the @niversity of >issouri-&olla 9Ene @niversity Boulevard %t* Douis, >E 0:,.,-AA// Phone' 9:,AL C,0-C/// Email' garypPumr*edu;, )here he also served as associate dean for research and graduate affairs for the %chool of Engineering in the ,BB/C* Patterson8s industrial e2perience includes Proctor M !amble, Columbia-%outhern Chemical Company* Esso &esearch Daboratories, and Da)rence Dlverrnore Daboratory* He has been active in A?ChE as committee chair of the "inetics, Catalysis and &eaction Engineering Committee, chair of the Education and Accreditation Committee, and a member of the board of directors of the =orth American >i2ing Forum* He served on the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission for five years and has been an ABET program revie)er since ,B++* He has Ph5 in chemical engineering from @niversity of >issouri* %* &A=?D #?C"&A>A%?=CHE, P*E*, is >onfort associate professor in the 5epartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado %tate @niversity 9Fort Collins* CE +/C.: Phone' 9B-/; AB,C.-0 Fa2' 9B-/; AB,--:0B E-mail' )ic$ramPengr*colostate*edu;* He received both his bachelor8s and master8s degrees in chemical engineering from the @niversity of >elbourne* Australia, and his Ph5, also in chemical engineering, from the @niversity of >innesota* He is a life member of A?ChE* His research speciali6ation is membrane-based separations* ?n particular, he focuses on bioseparations* applications of membrane separations in the production of rene)able energy and value-added compounds from lignocellulosic feeds stoc$s and biomedical separations* He is the .//A-.//0 chair of the Professional 5evelopment Committee* He is also a member of the Chemical Engineering PE E2am 5evelopment Committee for the =ational Council of E2aminers for Engineering and %urveying* Copyright American ?nstitute of Chemical Engineers Jan .//9c; .//- Chemical Engineering Progress* Provided by ProQuest ?nformation and Dearning* All rights &eserved* %ource' Chemical Engineering Progress