(364i) Chemical Engineering in a Maker Studio for All Engineers

Laboratory courses are a fundamental portion of chemical engineering education but most students only encounter such courses in their junior and senior years. At UC San Diego, a coordinated effort across all engineering programs has been made to develop so-called "Experience Engineering" courses for freshman and sophomore students to increase exposure to the engineering disciplines and improve retention in subsequent courses. These courses utilize a common work area known as a Maker Studio or Maker Space, a flexible learning space that allows students to a great deal of flexibility in tackling hands-on problems. Here, an Experience Chemical Engineering laboratory course utilizing the Maker Studio is described as a low cost, readily implemented, and generally well-received addition to the Experience Engineering program at UC San Diego.