We present an educational unit to teach computational modeling, a vital part of chemical engineering curricula, through the lens of synthetic biology. Lectures, code, and homework questions provide conceptual and practical introductions to each computational method involved in the model development process, along with perspectives on how methods…

Project-based learning (PBL) empowers students to become active learners. In this work computational reverse osmosis (RO) projects developed from industrial case studies and research were implemented in several chemical engineering courses to enhance student learning experience. Students not only gained knowledge in water treatment, but also…

Digital tools, from spreadsheets to process simulators, used by chemical engineers in industrial settings have become embedded into the chemical engineering curriculum in recent decades. One class of tools, learning management systems, is ubiquitous in academia with limited or no use once working as an engineer. However, many new communications…

Three real-world datasets are introduced for a petroleum engineering capstone design course, providing detailed problem statements, assessment criteria, team-building practices, and required software packages. Two surveys reveal that students prefer real datasets over synthetic ones, and despite initial challenges, students feel proud of their…

Applications or "apps" for computers and mobile devices are ubiquitous in modern technology. Several apps are available for teaching chemical engineering and are disseminated inexpensively or are freely available online. This paper highlights software apps that chemical engineering instructors may use "off the shelf" for iOS,…

Student success and attempts on hundreds of online homework problems housed in a fully interactive online textbook, Material and Energy Balances zyBook, were studied over three cohorts of students (n=284). Auto-graded homework questions with randomized numbers and content can explore proficiency in the course material. Students are allowed to…

GitHub is increasingly finding a role in academia to both encourage reproducible computational research and to foster a collaborative environment. We show that employing GitHub as an implementation of version control in engineering-related fields reinforces the 'design-build-evaluate' way of thinking and prepares students with skills they can use…

Simulation software has experienced growing interest in chemical engineering curriculums for its usage in commercial engineering practices. This article describes the ASPEN Plus® version 10 (V10) simulations and a student teach students approach to integrate ASPEN in the chemical engineering curriculum at the University of Kansas (KU). Videos,…

Plagiarism is an area of increasing concern for written ChE assignments, such as laboratory and design reports, due to ease of access to text and other materials via the internet. This study examines the application of plagiarism screening software to four courses in a university chemical engineering curriculum. The effectiveness of plagiarism…

A problem that illustrates two ways of computing the break-even radius of insulation is outlined. The problem is suitable for students who are taking an introductory module in heat transfer or transport phenomena and who have some previous knowledge of the numerical solution of non- linear algebraic equations. The potential for computer algebra,…

Introductions of computer-aided software and simulators are implemented during the sophomore-year of the chemical engineering (ChE) curriculum at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). Our faculty concurs that software integration within the curriculum is beneficial to our students, as evidenced by the positive feedback received from industry…

A single equation of state (EOS) such as the Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS can accurately describe both the liquid and vapor phase. We present several applications of this equation of state, including estimation of pure component properties and computation of the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) diagram for binary mixtures. We perform high-pressure…

Chemical process simulation is one of the most fundamental skills that is expected from chemical engineers, yet relatively few graduates have the opportunity to learn, in depth, how a process simulator works, from programming the unit operations to the sequencing. The University of Calgary offers a "hands-on" postgraduate course in…

This white paper focuses on the integration and enhancement of the computing experience for undergraduates throughout the chemical engineering curriculum. The computing experience for undergraduates in chemical engineering should have continuity and be coordinated from course to course, because a single software solution is difficult to achieve in…

Experience in using a user-friendly software, Mathcad, in the undergraduate chemical reaction engineering course is discussed. Example problems considered for illustration deal with simultaneous solution of linear algebraic equations (kinetic parameter estimation), nonlinear algebraic equations (equilibrium calculations for multiple reactions and…