(198g) Flowing Futures: Empowering High-Schoolers in Chemical Engineering

Undergraduate Chemical Engineering (ChE) programs are currently experiencing declined enrollment due to factors including the dominant industry, alternative job offers, long graduation times, unstandardized curricula, and variable salary rewards. Misconceptions surrounding the ChE major as “abstract” or “polluting” are also contributors. Exposing students to experiential learning via hands-on activities earlier in their educational journey has the potential to boost enrollment and retention in the major. Outreach efforts are underway to encourage pre-college students to pursue chemical engineering.

A desk-scale fluid flow module has been developed and utilized by the University of Florida (UF) as an alternative to diversify the scales of experimentation in ChE laboratories and its potential use in remote learning. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) offers various week-long summer courses for high-school students under the Summer Enrichment Academy (SEA) umbrella. The “Introduction to Chemical Engineering” at the SEA aims to provide students with a preview of the exciting world of ChE while raising awareness of various career pathway opportunities.

In this work, we feature the collaboration of the two institutions that have partnered to seamlessly integrate the mini fluid flow module within SEA, aiming to expose high-school students to fluid flow phenomena, a cornerstone topic in ChE. The hands-on module, a testament to its effectiveness, consists of a 3D-printed fluidic bench featuring pipes of varying diameters and orientations, aquarium pumps, flexible tubing for flow connections, and a differential pressure sensor connected to an Arduino microprocessor. Students conduct differential pressure measurements across different flow paths, engaging in discussions with teammates and instructors to analyze the impact of pipe characteristics on pressure drop. The module's effectiveness is underscored by drawing parallels between small-scale fluid flow experiments and real-world pipe networks, ranging from industrial-scale manufacturing processes to microfluidic devices for biomedical applications.

The initial feedback from the first two iterations of the summer program is positive, indicating improved understanding and interest in chemical engineering among participants. Plans are currently underway to implement pre- and post-module surveys to qualitatively and quantitatively assess students’ comprehension and interest in ChE, aiming to gauge any increase in self-reported familiarity with the various fluid flow topics such as flow rate, friction, pressure drop, viscosity, heat exchange, and other.

The collaborative efforts introduced in this work not only showcase broader strategies for enhancing STEM outreach but also emphasize the innovative nature of our partnership. This partnership enables us to pioneer new approaches via experimental demonstration, proven effective in engaging K-12 students and cultivating a dynamic learning environment for high-school students. This exciting prospect underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and long-term societal impact.