This paper describes an innovative, new, laboratory experiment conceived as a Senior Capstone Project by the student authors to provide experience with heat pipes for students in our junior-year Process Laboratory course at the University of Utah. Heat pipes can transport energy over long distances with minimal temperature gradients and no moving…

A hydroponics experiment growing microgreens was piloted by seniors where trials were conducted over 9-day growth periods and designed to test 12 different growth conditions in triplicate, including varying nutrient supply, nutrient flow rate, and seed density. Plant growth was assessed through changes in daily mass, height, and final dry weight.…

In an effort to offer modern and engaging senior design projects, as well as to improve ABET student outcome achievement, students were tasked with proposing their own design project idea for potential use as a senior project. Survey results from two cohorts have indicated that the majority of the students felt they achieved targeted ABET student…

Most chemical engineering (ChE) students know very little about professional licensure and the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Many of those who know think that licensure is something civil engineers have to get but nothing they (as chemical engineers) have to bother with. In fact, licensure is something all ChE students should be thinking…

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,…

In Saatdjian, E., Lesage, F., and Mota, J.P.B, "Transport Phenomena Projects: A Method to Learn and to Innovate, Natural Convection Between Porous, Horizontal Cylinders," "Chemical Engineering Education," 47(1), 59-64, (2013), the numerical solution of natural convection between two porous, concentric, impermeable cylinders was…

The authors describe an alternative format for the senior laboratory in which students are allowed--indeed, expected--to communicate with previous groups and build on their results. The effect is a unit operations laboratory in which students are empowered to propose the experiments they wish to do and in which the cumulative experience of the…

A project that involves the numerical simulation of transport phenomena is an excellent method to teach this subject to senior/graduate chemical engineering students. The subject presented here has been used in our senior/graduate course, it concerns the study of natural convection heat transfer between two concentric, horizontal, saturated porous…

This paper discusses a two-semester senior design course that combines traditional steady-state economic process design with dynamic plantwide control. This unique course has been taught at Lehigh for more than a decade and has garnered rave reviews from students, industry, and ABET. Each student design group has its own industrial consultant who…

Inter-group peer evaluation through wikis was implemented as a method for senior capstone design teams to improve writing and the critical evaluation of data. Each group was evaluated by peers using a qualitative discussion and evaluated quantitatively by instructors. Students had an increased interest in contributing to online knowledge centers,…

A new laboratory course has been developed at the University of Virginia for senior- level chemical engineering students. The new course is based on three 4-week long experiments in bioprocess engineering, energy conversion and catalysis, and polymer synthesis and characterization. The emphasis is on the integration of process steps and the…

An established methodology involving the sequential presentation of five skills on ASPEN Plus to undergraduate seniors majoring in ChE is presented in this document: (1) specifying unit operations; (2) manipulating physical properties; (3) accessing variables; (4) specifying nonstandard components; and (5) applying advanced features. This…