Education for Chemical Engineers最新文献

{"title":"Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in chemical engineering: Preparing students for multicultural and international work environments","authors":"Luis Vaquerizo ,&nbsp;Iván Darío Gil ,&nbsp;Salvador Tututi-Avila ,&nbsp;Rafael B. Mato","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In today’s interconnected society, chemical engineering students must be prepared to work in international and multicultural environments. However, in our experience, current chemical engineering curricula often fail to develop these competencies. This study aims to demonstrate the benefits of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in chemical engineering education. For the first time, the COIL approach has been implemented in a simulation course. In addition to preparing students for international and multicultural work environments, this experience enhances their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Unlike other COIL applications, this project allows for multiple valid solutions, though not all are necessarily optimal. After two successful COIL projects involving chemical engineering students from the Universidad de Valladolid (Spain), the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (Mexico), students reported feeling more confident in their knowledge and abilities, better prepared for multicultural and international work environments, and more capable of performing well in their first job. In both project editions, survey responses to related questions averaged above 4 out of 5. Key takeaways from this work are that, to accomplish the objectives of a COIL, it is essential to define the project timeline in advance, ensure a similar level of knowledge among students, confirm software access, establish a unified communication platform, and conduct individual kickoff meetings for each team. Additionally, effective international collaboration is more likely when no more than 50 % of a team’s members come from the same institution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"53 ","pages":"Pages 26-36"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accreditation of chemical engineering degrees: Recent changes and case studies in curriculum development","authors":"Jarka Glassey","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"53 ","pages":"Page 25"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Games in engineering: Exploring the use of spreadsheet-based Sudoku within a chemical process optimisation class","authors":"Godfrey K. Gakingo ,&nbsp;Peter N. Kabia","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Game-based learning has long been recognised to facilitate learning through various ways such as improved motivation among students and improved cognitive skills (critical thinking, content understanding). Consequently, educators in different fields have incorporated various games into their teaching practice. Building on these efforts, this work sought to introduce spreadsheet-based Sudoku to a Chemical Process Optimisation course and to gather students’ feedback on the initiative. A 4 × 4 Sudoku problem was presented using two implementation methods (integer space formulation and binary space formulation) as part of a class-based tutorial. Thereafter, the students were tasked to solve a 6 × 6 problem using both approaches and a 9 × 9 problem using any preferred approach. The findings from the submitted assignment as well as responses to an exit questionnaire suggested that the initiative led to an enhanced interest while giving the students an opportunity to learn new skills. Furthermore, it was observed that the success of the students was not likely to be influenced by the problem size or the students’ familiarity (or lack thereof) with Sudoku or the relevant software platforms as long as adequate tutorials were given beforehand. Finally, it was observed that the students had a preference for and obtained better success with the binary space formulation though it was more involving in its setup procedure as compared to the integer space formulation. The former gave a linear programming problem that solved easier than the non-linear programming problem obtained using the integer space formulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"53 ","pages":"Pages 8-16"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Causation in chemical engineering education: Application of machine learning in fault diagnosis","authors":"Manasvinni Laul,&nbsp;Daniela Galatro","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study integrates the design and preassessment of an exercise, incorporating a causation modeling approach into the Tennessee Eastman Process (TEP) dataset to enhance engineering students' understanding of process monitoring and fault diagnosis. The dataset, which contains 41 measured and 11 manipulated variables under normal and faulty conditions, was used to illustrate the application of the machine learning algorithm causal random forests (CRF) and treatment effect estimation in chemical process analysis. This approach differs from traditional ways of teaching/learning complex chemical engineering phenomena through governing equations, heuristics, and lab experiments. Three learning outcomes were developed for this exercise: understanding the impact of dataset composition on model interpretation, understanding how the model performance metrics differ when applied to regression and classification tasks, and understanding causality using different treatment variables. These learning outcomes were proposed to provide students with strong foundations in data integrity, model evaluation, and causal inference. In the context of engineering education, our preassessment of the effectiveness of applying this exercise to a course cohort was conducted by a summer student and closely supervised by the instructor. While the 3-hour session proved valuable and somehow feasible, some logistic challenges were gathered from this preassessment, mainly regarding time constraints and the complexity of the dataset, suggesting that breaking the exercise into smaller sessions and offering additional resources would enhance student understanding, as well as providing students with clearer explanations of technical concepts, and interactive feedback to increase engagement in future implementations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"53 ","pages":"Pages 17-24"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144535993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementation of a continuous assessment system through the creation of a problem book using DOCTUS in general chemistry subjects","authors":"Carlos Leiva ,&nbsp;Fátima Arroyo Torralvo ,&nbsp;Yolanda Luna-Galiano ,&nbsp;Alicia Ronda ,&nbsp;David Muñoz de la Peña Sequedo","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A continuous evaluation system, integrating both formative and summative assessments has been implemented in a Chemistry subject with a high number of students. This system employs a personalized problem notebook developed through an application (DOCTUS), enabling the generation of individualized complex problem statements, easy correction, and multiple submission opportunities. This approach facilitates effective feedback, promotes autonomous and cooperative learning, accelerates the learning process, and enhances activity achievement levels. The experience has been carried out with a group of 91 students enrolled per year in the subject 'Chemistry' corresponding to the first academic year in degree of Chemical Engineering at the Higher Technical School of Engineering (University of Seville), although only 71 have participated in the activity. The platform used, which offers free access, was utilized to create personalized problem notebooks for each student. It assigns identical problems with personalized data and corrects submissions via Excel files in under 10 s. An improvement in the results has been observed; since the students have obtained a numerical grade for their work instantly after delivery of the problem, and they can redo it at a short time (hours), when the students still have the problem in their mind, where they want and with the material that they consider, and without a large increase in the amount of time spent by the teacher. The final qualification was on average 1.2 points higher than previous years. Compared to other subjects in the same academic year, Chemistry had a lower percentage of students who did not participated in the subject (22 % compared to 30–54 % in other subjects from the same course). The number of approved students has increased, reflected in the number of repeaters, which decreased in the next year from 42 % to 29 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"53 ","pages":"Pages 1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144502604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors influencing the academic performance of chemical engineering students in physical chemistry","authors":"Edgar Clyde R. Lopez","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Academic success in Physical Chemistry is influenced by personal, institutional, and social factors. Key predictors include prior academic performance, study habits, motivation, and time management. A strong foundation in prerequisite knowledge, effective learning strategies, and self-efficacy are crucial for overcoming challenges. Institutional factors, particularly instructional quality, academic policies, and resource accessibility, significantly impact outcomes, with structured pedagogy proving more influential than interactive learning environments. Peer interactions, including group cohesion and instructor engagement, emerged as the strongest social predictors of success. Students with clear grade expectations and strong self-efficacy exhibited higher persistence and achievement, while stress, physical health, and administrative support played indirect roles in overall well-being. Regression analysis confirmed the predictive strength of these factors. Student feedback highlighted the need for additional practice problems, tutoring, and online resources, while faculty emphasized challenges in conceptual understanding, mathematical skills, and workload management. Addressing these concerns through evidence-based teaching, flexible assessments, and targeted interventions can enhance student performance. Universities should integrate personalized learning, motivation-driven strategies, and institutional support to foster resilience and long-term academic success.</div></div><div><h3>Tweetable Abstract</h3><div>Academic success in Physical Chemistry is shaped by prior achievement, study habits, motivation, and peer interactions. Structured pedagogy, self-efficacy, and institutional support drive performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"52 ","pages":"Pages 119-132"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144220816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Teaching chemical product design","authors":"Warren D. Seider ,&nbsp;Saad Bhamla ,&nbsp;Jennifer Dunn ,&nbsp;Mahmoud El-Halwagi ,&nbsp;Tobias Hanrath ,&nbsp;M.M. Faruque Hasan ,&nbsp;John Hedengren ,&nbsp;Laura Hirshfield ,&nbsp;Xiaoxia “Nina” Lin ,&nbsp;Christos T. Maravelias ,&nbsp;Minnie Piffarerio ,&nbsp;Stuart W. Prescott ,&nbsp;Patrick T. Spicer ,&nbsp;Todd M. Squires ,&nbsp;Cristina U. Thomas ,&nbsp;Jean Tom ,&nbsp;Kathleent M. Vaeth ,&nbsp;Elaine Wisniewski ,&nbsp;Victor M. Zavala","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The CACHE Design Task Force has conducted a comprehensive, year-long study on the teaching of chemical product design across global chemical engineering programs. This paper reviews existing literature and highlights distinctions between product and process design, emphasizing the predominance of process design education in universities. Drawing from co-author contributions and responses to a widely distributed questionnaire, we present recent teaching methodologies for chemical product design. The paper discusses trends in chemical engineering diversification and the gradual inclusion of diverse applications in curricula. It concludes with a call to action for chemical engineering educators to integrate well-established product design strategies into undergraduate programs and reflects on insights shared during the 2024 FOCAPD Conference.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"52 ","pages":"Pages 101-110"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144190308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating CDIO framework into polymer engineering education: A hands-on approach to design, process, and evaluate biodegradable 3D printing filaments","authors":"Yanyan Zheng ,&nbsp;Yong Luo ,&nbsp;Xiuhai Zhang ,&nbsp;Jun Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces a hands-on polymer engineering curriculum integrating the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) framework to bridge material design, processing, and evaluation of biodegradable 3D printing filaments. To address the brittleness of polylactic acid (PLA), students formulated PLA/poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) blends with an epoxy-based compatibilizer (ADR) and compounded pellets via twin-screw extrusion. Specimens for mechanical test were fabricated using an industrial-grade injection molding machine, with processing parameters guided by Moldex3D melt flow simulations. Continuous filaments (1.75 ± 0.05 mm diameter) were produced via single-screw extrusion with real-time filament diameter monitoring. The performance of the material formulations was evaluated through mechanical testing, rheological measurements, and assessment of the 3D printing quality. Students achieved successful filament printing in 100 % of cases (vs. &lt;50 % in the prior year), attributed to simulation-aided parameter optimization, historical data sharing, and structured feedback mechanisms. Systematic analyses established the interplay between material formulation, processability, and mechanical properties. Evaluations of student performance demonstrated enhanced technical skills (27/34 students scored B or higher) and sustainability-driven problem-solving abilities. This curriculum bridges theoretical knowledge with industrial applications, offering a scalable model for sustainable engineering education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"52 ","pages":"Pages 111-118"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144220815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Generative AI in graduate bioprocess engineering exams: Is attention all students need?","authors":"Zhengyang Xiao ,&nbsp;Eunseo Lee ,&nbsp;Sophia Yuan ,&nbsp;Roland Ding ,&nbsp;Yinjie J. Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>State-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) can now answer conceptual textbook questions with near-perfect accuracy and perform complex equation derivations, raising significant concerns for higher education. This study evaluates the performance of LLMs on graduate-level bioprocess engineering exams, which include multiple-choice, short-answer, and long-form questions requiring calculations. First, allowing students to use LLMs led to a 36 % average score increase compared to exams taken with only textbooks and notes. Second, as students gained more experience using LLMs, their performance improved further, particularly among students with disabilities. Third, under optimized conditions on two exams, OpenAI’s GPT-4o scored approximately 70 out of 100, while more advanced models, such as OpenAI o1, o3, GPT-4.5, Qwen3–235B-A22B, and DeepSeek R1, scored above 84, outperforming 96 % of human test-takers. This indicates that students with access to more capable AI tools may gain an unfair advantage. Fourth, we propose guidelines for developing exam questions that are less susceptible to LLM-generated solutions. These include tasks such as interpreting graphical biological pathways, answering negatively worded conceptual questions, performing complex numerical calculations and optimizations, and solving open-ended research problems that demand critical thinking. This article calls for urgent reforms to bioprocess engineering education, advocating for the integration of LLM literacy through hands-on activities that address both practical applications and ethical considerations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"52 ","pages":"Pages 133-140"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144230532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Teamwork training and teaming skills to promote the development of professional competencies in chemical engineering students","authors":"Carlos Landaverde-Alvarado","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ece.2025.05.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We have implemented a sequential teamwork training focused on the development of teaming skills to enhance the perception of teamwork in the classroom and promote teaming as central to learning and to the practice of the chemical engineering profession. Our motivation for this work is the limited chemical engineering education studies emphasizing the benefits of a teamwork training centered around teaming skill development, implemented in laboratory environments, and developed within this context. As such, this training proposes an approach that promotes the practice of individual teaming skills, emphasizing psychological safety, and facilitating team learning through reflection within the classroom environment unique to the chemical engineering laboratories. This approach promotes effective teamwork by providing students with opportunities to experiment, contextualize their learning, and reflect on the teamwork experience. The training was incorporated to the chemical engineering laboratory sequence at the University of Texas at Austin. Our implementation suggests that the perception of teamwork in chemical engineering students can be enhanced by integrating activities and assignments that promote the development of teaming skills within a course structure that highlights the benefits of working in teams and creating effective collaborations. In addition, these course activities can be effective at helping students evaluate teamwork by assessing team learning and reflecting on how this learning can be applied to their future work in engineering teams. Student feedback on the experience indicates that the integration of a sequential training can help students perceive the benefits of working in teams and collaborating with their peers. In addition, our results suggest that by participating in the courses, our students have become more aware of the importance of teaming skills in the profession, and they are able to perceive teamwork and collaboration as practical tools to become more effective engineers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"52 ","pages":"Pages 84-100"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144190307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}