(147e) Lessons and Discoveries From Teaching (nearly all) the Core Chemical Engineering Courses Over a Three Year Period

Over the last three years I have had the unique experience of teaching nearly the entire core course sequence in chemical engineering. The courses taught during this period include: ? Computational Methods and Computer Programming for Chemical Engineers ? Thermodynamics I (General Principles) ? Thermodynamics II (Theoretical and Applied Modeling of Equilibrium) ? Process Control and Dynamics ? Unit Operations I ? Separations (sometimes called Rate Ops or Unit Ops II) ? Mass Transport Laboratory ? Unit Operations I Laboratory ? Unit Operations II Laboratory For the program at Lafayette College the above list represents nine of the 14 core requirements and in two of the missing core courses I have had significant previous experience: Introduction to Material and Energy Balances (Intro ChemE) and Reaction Kinetics. The few contemporary core courses that in which I have not been the primary instructor include Transport and the Capstone Design sequence. In the process of what represents nearly redoing my original undergraduate degree I was presented with both unexpected challenges and also provided with an unusual opportunity to perceive our curriculum from a new perspective. My presentation aims to first outline our present curricula considering the goals of accreditation (ABET) alongside the objectives and requirements of specific and individual course objectives. Following this foundation approach the curricula will be discussion in regard to the issues of what students learn in comparison to what we teach ? specifically do our course and degree objectives and the outcomes match? Several curricula improvement suggestions are proposed that range from the somewhat simple (communication) to the complex (integration) that may provide value to both students and to broader field of chemical engineering as we continue to move forward with new challenges.