Curriculum Revitalization in Chemical Engineering

建议编号：0230655 PRINCIPAL调查员：阿姆斯特朗，罗伯逊研究人员名称：麻省理工学院TITLE：化学工程课程更新摘要化学工程学科在过去的40年里发生了巨大的变化，但核心课程只发生了很小的变化。始于1960年左右化学工程的工程科学范式仍然主导着整个领域使用的核心课程和主要教育文本。这一模式为我们提供了很好的服务；事实上，它使化学工程成为一门核心的工程学科。化学工程对分子转化、过程、定量分析和多尺度问题处理的独特关注，为在我们这个时代最令人兴奋的技术领域与广泛的其他科学和工程学科进行富有成效的互动提供了理想的平台。化学工程基础的广泛适用性已经成为该学科的一个决定性特征，我们面临着将这种广度传达给我们的学生的挑战。因此，课程改革的一个主要驱动力是需要将学生与这些应用程序联系起来。由于工程课程通常主要通过例题来教授，如果要做好这项工作，这是一项重大的任务。目前化学工程课程改革的第二个主要驱动力是分子生物学的出现。我们专注于分子相互作用和转化的学科使我们与分子生物学建立了自然和令人兴奋的联系。最后，我们发现自己正处于一个快速教育改革的时代，在这个时代，让学生参与课堂和实验室的方法正在被重新审视，将新技术应用于教育的方法正在被探索。化学工程课程改革的机会是如此令人信服和广泛，以至于适当的回应需要整个学科的广泛参与。除了对这一机遇作出更丰富的回应外，学术界的广泛参与还将促进改革成果的广泛采用。因此，这项建议针对的是一个广泛的规划练习，以使化学工程学科在应对广度、生物学和新的教学方法方面的挑战。这将通过一系列向社会广泛宣传的工作坊来完成。第一期讲习班的重点将是(重新)确定化学工程的核心课程，其产品是列举这些核心领域的一系列较小专题讲习班的主题。主题工作坊负责开发关于创建文本、基于网络的辅助材料、模块实验、设计问题以及补充和补充主题的副主题的建议。

PROPOSAL NO.: 0230655PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Armstrong, RobertINSTITUTION NAME: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyTITLE: Curriculum Revitalization in Chemical EngineeringAbstractThe discipline of chemical engineering has evolved dramatically over the past forty years, yet the core curriculum has undergone only minor changes. The engineering science paradigm that began in chemical engineering around 1960 still dominates the core curriculum and major educational texts used throughout the field. That paradigm has served us well; indeed, it has been enabling for chemical engineering to become a central engineering discipline . The unique focus of chemical engineering on molecular transformations, processes, quantitative analysis, and multiscale treatment of problems provides an ideal platform for productive interactions with a wide range of other science and engineering disciplines at boundaries that are among the most exciting technology areas of our time. This broad applicability of chemical engineering fundamentals has become a defining feature of the discipline, and we are challenged to convey this breadth to our students. Hence a major driver for curriculum reform is the need to connect students to these many applications. Inasmuch as engineering curricula are often taught largely through example problems, this is a major undertaking if it is to be done well. A second major driver for curriculum reform in chemical engineering at this time is the advent of molecular biology. Our disciplinary focus on molecular interactions and transformations makes for a natural and exciting connection with molecular biology. Finally, we find ourselves in an era of rapid educational reform, in which both methods of engaging students in classrooms and laboratories are being reexamined and methods of incorporating new technology for education are being explored.The opportunities for reform in chemical engineering curricula are so compelling and broad that an appropriate response requires wide-ranging participation across the entire discipline. In addition to providing a richer response to this opportunity, extensive engagement of the academic community will facilitate wide adoption of the results of the reform. Hence this proposal is directed to a broad planning exercise to engage the chemical engineering discipline in responding to the challenges of breadth, biology, and new teaching methods. This will be done through a series of workshops, broadly advertised to the community. The first workshop will be focused on (re)defining the core curriculum in chemical engineering, with the product being enumeration of themes for a series of smaller topical workshops in these core areas. The theme workshops are charged with developing proposals for creation of texts, web-based supporting material, and modular experiments, design problems, and subtopics for augmenting and supplementing subjects.