Chemical Engineering Majors Research Articles

Research on Practical Training Mode of Chemical Engineering Specialty from the Perspective of City-Wide Industry-Education Consortium

This paper focuses on the construction of an industry-education consortium in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, analyzing the difficulties in practical training for chemical engineering majors under this background. It initially outlines the “learning site” practical training curriculum system. Building upon this system, it proposes methods for constructing training modules, setting training objectives, enhancing training content, designing training methods, and establishing evaluation criteria. It then summarizes the significance of research on the training model for chemical majors from the perspective of urban-industrial-educational consortiums.

Finding a Job: An Intersectional Analysis of Search Strategies and Outcomes Among U.S. STEM Graduates.

Many STEM degree holders, especially women and minorities, are not employed in STEM occupations in the United States, and transitions into the STEM labor force among recent graduates have been declining since the 1980's. We examine transitions from school to work at two large U.S. universities in 2015-16, focusing on the internship experiences and job search strategies of graduating chemistry and chemical engineering majors. Surprisingly, 28% of our STEM respondents had no post-graduation plans, though women were significantly more likely than men to already have a job. Overall race differences in post-graduation plans were insignificant, though Black and Hispanic students were more likely to have no post-graduation plans compared to Whites and Asians. While Black, Hispanic, and LGBT students reported fewer job search behaviors overall, potentially explaining this pattern, no gender differences in job search behaviors or internship experiences emerged to explain women's employment advantage. However, better grades led to early job offers, reducing most of women's initial hiring advantage along with positive internship experiences, which did not alter men's likelihood of a job offer but were associated with a higher likelihood of a job offer among women.

Creating Our Gendered Selves-College Experiences, Work and Family Plans, Gender Ideologies, and Desired Work Amenities Among STEM Graduates.

Studies often cite climate issues in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment to explain the lack of diversity by gender and race. Yet, little research directly attends to gender and racial differences in the college experiences, expected family roles, and ideological beliefs about gender that create the racialized "gendered selves" graduates bring to STEM occupations. We examine the experiences and beliefs of graduating chemistry and chemical engineering majors at two U.S. universities, showing where they coalesced into intersectional gender groups whose work and family involvement and desired working conditions substantially differ. Gendered family expectations and workplace beliefs at labor market entry subsequently predict career confidence and family-based limits on job searching, both important factors affecting retention in STEM employment. We find that women at career entry are more likely to have lower confidence and more limits on their job search, though patterns differ by ethnicity. This occurs in part because both male and female graduates who report greater expected family responsibility also report lower confidence and more limits in job searching. Overall, aspirational fulfillment is easier for men whose intersectional gender identities fit the dominant STEM workplace culture, and harder for women and non-white graduates with more flexible gender ideologies and greater anticipated household responsibilities.

Can Video Experiments be as Effective as Hands-on Experiments for Conceptual Learning?

In 2019 and 2020, third-year chemical engineering majors completed a concept inventory at the beginning and end of the semester in their thermodynamics course. Midway through spring semester of 2020, the course switched to emergency remote instruction, replacing hands-on inquiry-based laboratory activities (IBLAs) with short videos. Analysis of learning gains on the concept inventory demonstrated that while both groups made significant gains in their learning, the 2019 cohort showed larger gains than the 2020 cohort.

SCI Scholars accepting applications for 2018 internships

The SCI Scholars Program is accepting applications for its 10-week industrial internships. Up to 32 college sophomores and juniors will be selected for summer 2018. The SCI Scholars Internship Program was developed by the American Chemical Society, the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers to introduce chemistry and chemical engineering students to careers in the chemical industry. Participants receive a $6,000 to $10,000 stipend and a certificate. An additional $1,000 is provided to support further professional development. Participants also have the opportunity to recognize an influential high school science teacher, who receives a certificate and $1,000. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, college sophomores or juniors, and chemistry or chemical engineering majors and have at least a 3.5 GPA. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 30. For more information, visit www.acs.org/sci.

Research and Practice of Organic Chemistry Curriculum Examination Reform for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Majors

Research and Practice of Organic Chemistry Curriculum Examination Reform for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Majors

Applications open for SCI Scholars Program

The SCI Scholars Program is accepting applications for its 10-week industrial internships. The SCI Scholars Summer Internship Program was developed by the American Chemical Society, the Society of Chemical Industry, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers to introduce chemistry and chemical engineering students to careers in the chemical industry. Participants receive a $6,000 to $10,000 stipend and a certificate. An additional $1,000 is provided to support further professional development. Participants also have the opportunity to recognize an influential high school science teacher, who receives a certificate and $1,000. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, college sophomores or juniors, and chemistry or chemical engineering majors and have at least a 3.5 GPA. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 30. For more information, visit www.acs.org/sci.

Special Issue on Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Engineering Education

Just 10 years ago, very few engineering programs in the United States offered courses in sustainability or even mentioned sustainability in the curriculum. At that time, I was interested in entering academia and wanted to combine my construction and development experience with my environmental engineering education in a more formal way. First, an opportunity arose for me as a lecturer at Yale with the development of a course in air pollution that would be meaningful to a diverse student base, including graduate students in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and chemical engineering majors. This course gave a solid background on the policies and science of air pollution, but also focused on a sustainability issue: the various contributions of motor vehicle use to air pollution problems and alternatives for mitigation or prevention. I was then fortunate to find a position in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of South Carolina. There I was given the opportunity to develop a course in sustainable construction, with lectures on both the concept of low-impact development (LID), a method for development that strives to mimic natural hydrologic cycles, and also green building, through the use of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which provides a template of issues for civil engineers to become familiar with and incorporate into designs. By that time, there were still few programs and courses available in the nation on sustainability engineering, although the interest was growing. In fact, the National Science Foundation sponsored a workshop we titled “Construction and the Environment,” focusing on many of the aspects of sustainability and green construction, that attracted a diverse group of educators and professionals from around the country. This workshop and many other nationwide initiatives have prompted groups of interdisciplinary engineers and practitioners to explore ways to incorporate sustainability into the engineering education at many universities and colleges in the United States. The goal of this special issue on Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Engineering Education is to compile many of these initiatives into a single issue so that other educators may incorporate the techniques and lessons learned in their classrooms and so that research into the efficacy of many of the educational practices can be accelerated. The response to this special issue was great—in fact, not all of the submissions could be included in just one issue—so look forward to additional articles that will appear in the next issues of the Journal. Finally, please consider continuing to submit sustainability engineering education case studies and research results for publication. The special issue starts with a forum titled “Intelligent Sustainable Design: Integration of Carbon Accounting and Building Information Modeling,” by Alexander Stadel, Jonathan Eboli, Alex Ryberg, James Mitchell, and Sabrina Spatari. It focuses on integrating life-cycle assessments and building information modeling through the example of a very difficult and important sustainability issue, carbon accounting. The issue then expands to a series of technical papers, each addressing the incorporation of specific sustainability topics into courses or evaluating sustainability learning techniques.

Making sense of the arrow-pushing formalism among chemistry majors enrolled in organic chemistry

This paper reports results of a qualitative study of sixteen students enrolled in a second year organic chemistry course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors. The focus of the study was student use of the arrow-pushing formalism that plays a central role in both the teaching and practice of organic chemistry. The goal of the study was to probe how students made sense of the arrow-pushing formalism by examining their responses to seven organic chemistry problems that required the use of this formalism. This paper discusses common barriers to students’ understanding of the arrow-pushing formalism, the concepts and ideas students apply when they use this formalism to solve mechanism problems, and implications of the observation that they used this formalism in a meaningless, mechanical manner.

What can we do about ‘Parker’? A case study of a good student who didn't ‘get’ organic chemistry

This paper is based on a qualitative study of seven students enrolled in a two-semester organic chemistry course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors that focused on the reasoning the students had used to answer questions on the course exams. Narrative analysis was applied to create case records for each participant that were then subjected to a cross-case analysis of similarities and differences among the participants. The data were found to be consistent with a theoretical framework that differentiates between instrumental and relational learning. The intense speed with which material was covered and the complexity of the material was found to drive even those students who valued a relational understanding towards functioning as instrumental learners. Particular attention is paid to one participant in the study, Parker, who had been a successful chemistry major until he entered the second year organic course.

Effectiveness of an Applied Microbiology Course Specifically Designed for Chemical Engineering Majors

Effectiveness of an Applied Microbiology Course Specifically Designed for Chemical Engineering Majors

Effectiveness of an Applied Microbiology Course Specifically Designed for Chemical Engineering Majors

In recent years, the disciplines of microbiology and chemical engineering have developed an increasing convergence. To meet the needs of their future employers, today's chemical engineering students must receive some background in microbiology. This report describes the development and content of "Biological Systems and Applications," a novel course specifically designed to provide basic biology and applied microbiology knowledge, skills, and experience to sophomore chemical engineering majors. Data collected from entrance and exit surveys of the students demonstrated that the course is successful. The importance of the "project-base" learning technique and of interdisciplinary faculty-student and faculty-faculty collaborations are proposed as elements essential to the success of this particular course.

Effectiveness of an Applied Microbiology Course Specifically Designed for Chemical Engineering Majors

Effectiveness of an Applied Microbiology Course Specifically Designed for Chemical Engineering Majors

Industrial Applications of Inorganic Chemistry: A Junior-Senior-Level Interdisciplinary Course

We report the development of a one-semester lecture and laboratory course in inorganic chemistry that focuses on industrially relevant topics. It provides the students—both chemistry and chemical engineering majors—with a realistic perspective and appreciation for this important branch of chemistry and chemical technology, thus better preparing them for future careers in industry. We summarize the topics considered in the lecture part of the course, the learning objectives and organization of the course, and the underlying teaching philosophy. A summary of the associated laboratory, which both illustrates and complements the lecture topics, is included. The course is team-taught by faculty from chemistry and chemical engineering. We found this partnership to represent a great strength, since fundamental issues of chemistry (bonding, reactivity, physical properties) and fundamental aspects of chemical engineering (material and energy balances, process design) are interlocked, and each aspect is presented by an instructor in that field.

Who Set the Fire? Determination of Arson Accelerants by GC-MS in an Instrumental Methods Course

Forensic scenarios have advantages over traditional experiments in the instrumental laboratory from the perspectives of both teaching and learning. First, students feel that they are calculating more than just a number from their experiments and that their results have meaning. Second, we are teaching techniques that are used in the real world and students can no longer complain, is not how it is done in the real world. This experiment is designed for upper-division chemistry and chemical engineering majors taking an instrumental methods course. The experimental approach simulates the steps an arson investigator would take to determine if arson was the cause of a fire. Charred (unknown) samples of wood and five standards of liquid accelerants are prepared in sealed containers and presented to the students for headspace gas chromatography (GC) with quadrupole mass spectrometric (MS) detection. Students interpret the standards and the charred samples using chromatographic retention times and MS data....

Creative Educators Drawing Wide Range Of Students Into Chemistry

At a Pacifichem '95 symposium on innovations in teaching chemistry, several speakers snared their experiences in devising programs that bring chemistry to inner-city high school students or integrate chemistry and the arts for both nonscience and chemical engineering majors. The session also heard a report on innovative efforts by the American Chemical Society aimed at helping students discover science. Ajay K. Bose, a professor of chemistry at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J., described the institute's efforts for high school students from the inner city. Five years ago, Stevens faculty members helped implement an advanced placement course in chemistry for the Union City, N.J., school system, which is 95% Hispanic. In doing so, they discovered that many teachers were afraid to do laboratory experiments, Bose explained. The faculty members came up with an idea—loan equipment to the schools and train the teachers to use it. Thus, the Equipment of the Month Club was born. The ...