Adaptation of a Unit Operation Laboratory and Simulation Center for Environmental Engineering

环境工程专业的代表经常评论说，进入劳动力大军的大学毕业生了解过程理论，但缺乏平稳过渡到工作场所所需的实践经验。他们所指的实践经验是关于工业中用于污染处理的过程的基本工作知识。在美国的几所大学，化学工程专业的本科生有机会在大学运营的试点工厂设施的课堂上发展所在行业的实用知识。密歇根理工大学土木工程与环境工程系正在通过建立一个试点规模的环境处理系统的实验室，将这种实践方法应用到环境工程教育中。该项目将由密歇根理工大学自己的化学工程项目以及全国各地的其他项目提供信息。在这个环境过程模拟实验室(EPSC)上课的本科生在许多方面受益于这些经验，包括：实施学生在以前课程中学到的理论工具；更好地理解这些理论工具；熟悉真实世界中的处理单元如何运作；工业过程控制的经验；工业安全实践的更多知识；污染预防策略的入门；以及在一个共同项目的多学科团队中工作的经验。最终的结果将是学生拥有先进的技能，并对治疗过程的理论和机制有更好的理解。

Engineering - Civil (54) Representatives from the environmental engineering profession frequently comment that university graduates entering the workforce understand process theory but lack the hands-on experience necessary for a smooth transition into the workplace. The hand-on experience they refer to is a basic working knowledge of the processes used in industry for pollution treatment. At several universities in the US, undergraduate students in Chemical Engineering are given the opportunity to develop a working knowledge of their industry in classes taught at pilot plant facilities operated by the university. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University is adapting this hands-on approach to Environmental Engineering education through the implementation of a laboratory with pilot scale environmental treatment systems. The project will be informed by Michigan Tech's own chemical engineering program as well as other programs throughout the country. Undergraduate students taking classes in this Environmental Process Simulation Laboratory (EPSC) are benefiting from this experience in numerous ways including: implementation of the theoretical tools the students learned in previous classes; a better understanding of these theoretical tools; a familiarity with how the real-world treatment unit functions; experience with industrial process controls; an increased knowledge of industrial safety practices; an introduction to pollution prevention strategies; and the experience of working in a multidisciplinary team on a common project. The end result will be students with advanced skills and an improved understanding of the theory and mechanics of treatment processes.