Chemical Engineering curriculum renewal for the twenty first century:a work in progressPeter Holt, Jose Romagnoli and Ali Abbas

Background

Internationally– Traditional + emerging areas for Chemical

Engineers• E.g. nano technology, life sciences, sustainability

– Information age (internet+communications+travel)• information readily and easily available• rapid information exchange

Locally– Geographical - Sydney & Asia – University moving towards 6 credit point

subjects (4 subjects per semester)– Improve horizontal and vertical integration

1

Curriculum renewal: we are… Starting with a “clean slate” Working in a team and communicating with

staff Bringing educational theory within the

context of chemical engineering Re-evaluated the status quo & questioning:

– What attributes do a future engineer require?– What concepts and content should our

graduates possess?– What does that mean for curriculum at the

University of Sydney?

2

The big picture

Key concepts

and fundamental

s

(chemical engineering science and fundamental

s

Team

Projects

Generic and transferable

skills development

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Progression through degree

Breadth and depth Electives

Or Combined

degrees

3

Attributes

Critical thinking– Problem solving, reflection

and evaluation, integration, generalisation

Professionalism– Team work, management,

ethics, responsibility Communication

– Written, oral, listening, computer

Personal– Creativity, self learning,

motivation

For example, Communication - Oral presentation

Required by IChemE, IEAust, University of Sydney

Year 1 Be able to present ideas to peers.

Year 2 Be able to gather ideas from others and analyse the outcomes.

Year 3 Adapt oral communication (tone, language, manner) to your audience.

Year 4 Actively engage other people (using a variety of mechanisms) to seek their opinions. Be able to evaluate their ideas and select relevant information for your situation. Actively engaged in a debate being able to justify your position and recognise your limitation.

4

Chem Eng - key concepts

Conservation laws– Mass, energy, momentum

Equilibrium Rate processes Sustainability Systems approachMulti-scaled applications

How do these concepts relate to a curriculum?

5

The curriculum map

Organize concepts, core knowledge, enabling tools

6

SUSTAINABILITY Economics Profitability Sustainability Product Characteristic Operability Safety

Computational tools

Linear & non-linear algebra

Algebraic Equations

ODE PDE Stochastic Environmental

Impact Assessment

Optimisation Computational

Skills Matlab HYSYS gPROMS CFX, etc Degrees of

Freedom

Experiments

Uncertainty

Statistical Analysis

Correlations

Data Reconciliation

System characteristics & instrumentationPressureTemperatureFlowratepH

SimplificationAssumptionsControlling MechanismSteady and unsteady States Mechanical/Physical Separation Process Equipment ConstraintsSensorControllerActuator

CONSERVATION LAWS Mass Energy (1st Law) Entropy (2nd Law) Momentum

Living SystemsPeoplePlantsPlanetCells

MacroWhole Plant

+ Social Political Environmental

+LCAMulti-Criteria Decision MakingMulti-Objective Optimisation

+System definition & boundaries

InformationAggregation(Level of Detail)

+ SYSTEMS APPROACHNodes and StreamsFinancialEnvironmentalEcological

+Integration (synthesis) Cradle to Grave

GlobalWhy? Motivation

What? (Defines scale)

How? (Methodological Development)

Problem formulation & problemdefinition

SUSTAINABILITY

Design

Creativity

Analysis (So what?)SolutionData/Real LifeConstitutive Equations

FundamentalsScaleChange

SUSTAINABILITY Economics Profitability Sustainability Product Characteristic Operability Safety

Computational tools

Linear & non-linear algebra

Algebraic Equations

ODE PDE Stochastic Environmental

Impact Assessment

Optimisation Computational

Skills Matlab HYSYS gPROMS CFX, etc Degrees of

Freedom

Experiments

Uncertainty

Statistical Analysis

Correlations

Data Reconciliation

System characteristics & instrumentationPressureTemperatureFlowratepH

SimplificationAssumptionsControlling MechanismSteady and unsteady States Mechanical/Physical Separation Process Equipment ConstraintsSensorControllerActuator

CONSERVATION LAWS Mass Energy (1st Law) Entropy (2nd Law) Momentum

Living SystemsPeoplePlantsPlanetCells

MacroWhole Plant

+ Social Political Environmental

+LCAMulti-Criteria Decision MakingMulti-Objective Optimisation

+System definition & boundaries

InformationAggregation(Level of Detail)

+ SYSTEMS APPROACHNodes and StreamsFinancialEnvironmentalEcological

+Integration (synthesis) Cradle to Grave

GlobalWhy? Motivation

What? (Defines scale)

How? (Methodological Development)

Problem formulation & problemdefinition

SUSTAINABILITY

Design

Creativity

Analysis (So what?)SolutionData/Real LifeConstitutive Equations

FundamentalsScaleChange

FUNDAMENTALENABLING

TECHNOLOGY

PROJECT PROJECT

Semester projects

Academic team responsible for project– Links with semester content – Attribute development

Vertical and horizontal integration Close connection to application

– Real life problems (ill defined and ambiguous)– Opportunities for research led teaching– Hands on

Evolution of projects and their complexities throughout program

7

How does it fit together?

Curriculum

Attributes

Key concepts

Professional requirements

Education research

Institutional requirement

s

Staff, student, industry response

and feedback

Context (application)

Teaching and learning

experience (staff &

students)

8

So what and where to next? Conclusions

– Key attributes and concepts identified– Awareness, interest and involvement from

many staff

Where to next?– Contextualise concepts – the context– Integration of attributes, projects, modules

and align with assessment– Implementation 2005

9

Contact: Dr Peter Holt – pholt@chem.eng.usyd.edu.au or (02) 9036 9642