Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Send feedback about this page to Dr. Robert Hesketh (Rowan University)

Freshman Engineering

• Rowan University Freshman Engineering Handbook
• Hesketh Section (Rowan University): Emphasis on ChE Examples
• Drexel University
• Villanova University
• Purdue University

Introduction to Engineering Syllabi

• Purdue University
• University of Notre Dame: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Analysis - includes a large number of examples

Textbooks

• General Freshman Engineering Textbooks

• Developing a Freshman Introduction to Engineering Textbook: This is an ASEE article reviewing current freshman engineering texts and developing a new one

Screencasts

• LearnChemE (University of Colorado Boulder): Learning strategy videos
• Art of Engineering: Freshman introduction from Columbia University
• Top 10 Tips for Engineering Freshmen from StayWithItEng
• Engineers Beyond Engineering - The Art of Being an Engineer: Philippe Rival at TEDxImperialCollege
• Why We Need Engineers Now More Than Ever | Elanor Huntington | TEDxSydney
• How to Pass an Engineering Exam
• Freshman Engineering Lectures: Marshall University
• Introduction to Chemical Engineering Lectures: Stanford University
   

What Does a Chemical Engineer Do?

• Opportunities and Challenges for Chemical Engineers (from Dr. Mark J. McCready's Homepage)
• History of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology: A history of chemical engineering that encompasses its conceptual origins in Great Britain, subsequent struggle for survival in the United States, and a cornucopia of contributions made in this century (by Wayne Pafko)
• "What is a Chemical Engineer?": This website defines chemical engineering and gives examples of the work of chemical engineers (by Wayne Pafko)
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
  • What do Chemical Engineers do?
  • Career FAQ's: A summary of the results of an interview of three AIChE members, representing different career paths in chemical engineering. They answer students' most frequently asked questions about education and launching their careers
• "Cool Careers - Chemical Engineer": YouTube video by MindFuel Canada
   

Experiments and Activities Employed in First-Year Introduction to Engineering Courses

• Reverse-engineering coffee machines:
  • The Competitive Assessment Laboratory: Introducing Engineering Design via Consumer Product Benchmarking - Marchese, Ramachandran, Hesketh, and Schmalzel
  • Wake-Up to Engineering: - Hesketh
• An Introduction to Drug Delivery for Chemical Engineers: - Farrell and Hesketh
• Fluidized Bed Polymer Coating Experiment - Hesketh, Slater, Farrell, and Carney
  • Fluidized bed lab handout
  • Pictures of coated objects
• Using a Cogeneration Facility to Illustrate Engineering Practice to Lower-Level Students: - Hesketh and Slater
  • Cogeneration
    
    • Student tour handout
    • HYSYS simulation of collected data
  • Flowrate and temperature (Data acquisition & analog)
  • Pressure hydrostatic and vacuum (Data acquisition & analog) Penny Seymour
• Chromium Pollution: An Experiment Adapted for Freshman Engineering Students -Seymour
• ChemECar Experiments in a Chemical Engineering Freshman Seminar - Bowman
• Freshman Chemical Engineering Experiment: Charged up on Electrophoresis & Brewing with Bioreactors - Minerick and Schulz
• Ideas for Freshman Engineering Course - Keith, Silverstein, Visco, and Bullard
• Survey of First Year Engineering Programs - Brannan and Wankat
• Who Needs These Headaches - Felder
• How We Teach: Freshman Introduction to Chemical Engineering: Survey on the freshman engineering courses and details on how freshmen are introduced to engineering, what topics are taught, in what environment they are taught, and how they are assessed. Teaching methods and novel approaches are focus elements of this survey. While the survey focuses on courses specific to chemical engineers, innovative teaching methods in general introduction to engineering courses are included as well (Silverstein et al.)
• Current Resources for Freshman Engineering: ASEE (American Society of Engineering Education) First-Year Programs Division
• A Survival Guide to Chemical Engineering - Ballard
• Teach Engineering: A resource for K-12 educators
• Results & Lessons Learned from a Chemical Engineering Freshman Design Laboratory - Butterfield and Branch (University of Utah)