H. Scott Fogler - UM Computing, Interactive Teaching, and CACHE

This talk focuses on the leading role Prof. Fogler played in the evolution of chemical engineering computing at the University of Michigan. To set the stage, it begins with the major projects on Computers in Engineering Education and Computers in Engineering Design Education in the early and mid-1960s. Then, it turns to the formation in 1969 of the inter-university CACHE (Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering Education) Committee that initially focused heavily on chemical process flowsheet simulators.

The novel contributions of Prof. Fogler began with his interactive, self-paced, paper-back book on reaction engineering in 1977, shortly before he was elected to CACHE. Using the first PCs, he contributed to the CACHE PC Lessons for courses other than design and control. This led to the major Michigan project Interactive PC Modules for Undergraduate ChE Education, directed by Prof. Fogler and Dr. Susan Montgomery (1988-1992). Shortly thereafter, Prof. Fogler hosted Profs. Michael Cutlip and Mordechai Shacham, who created POLYMATH, a student-oriented interface for implementing many numerical methods (to solve nonlinear equations, ODEs. nonlinear programs, and the like). This led to Prof. Fogler’s Essentials of Chemical Reaction Engineering textbook, with problems solved using POLYMATH interspersed throughout, following his interactive teaching approach. Throughout, Prof. Fogler focused on teaching engineering problem solving in another book, Strategies of Creative Problem Solving, with Prof. Steve LeBlanc and B. Rizzo.

For over 40 years, the chemical engineering profession benefitted from Prof. Fogler’s many contributions to computer-aided instruction in CACHE and in his textbooks.