CHE: FROM PROBLEM TO SOLUTION: MODERNIZING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING COURSES FOR SUCCESS

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TITLE
FROM PROBLEM TO SOLUTION: MODERNIZING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING COURSES FOR SUCCESS

ABSTRACT
Teaching-focused faculty positions have become more prevalent in recent years in Engineering departments at major universities. In this seminar, our four teaching-focused faculty will share their insights and perspectives about effective teaching in the modern Chemical Engineering curriculum. Dr. VJ Tocco will share an innovative way of posing problem statements in Material and Energy Balances to better evaluate students’ ability to perform a degree-of-freedom analysis. Dr. Fernando Mérida will discuss a model merging different experimentation scales in the Unit Ops 1 Lab course, offering a contemporary and versatile spin on the traditional unit operation experiments. Dr. LiLu Funkenbusch will overview the current experiments in the Unit Ops 2 Lab course, including ideas for updates and modernization. Dr. Sumant Patankar will share how the concepts of design of experiments can be incorporated into the Advanced Chemical and Biological Process Laboratories.

Bios: the four speakers are Teaching Faculty at the UF Chemical Engineering Department

• Dr. Tocco completed his bachelor’s degree in 2012 at the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of Florida, both in Chemical Engineering. His doctoral research focused on forces acting upon the nucleus in cells. He joined the department in August 2018. He has taught 5 courses, most frequently ECH3023: Material and Energy Balances
• Dr. Fernando Mérida completed his bachelor’s degree at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, both in Chemical Engineering. His doctoral research focused on magnetic hyperthermia and ultrasound used in ovarian cancer therapies. He has worked as a consultant for the food industry and as a molecular biotechnology specialist. He then joined UF in January 2019. He has taught 4 courses thus far at UF, most frequently ECH4224L: Fluid and Energy Transfer Laboratory (aka Unit Operations Lab 1).
• Dr. LiLu Tian Funkenbusch completed her bachelors’ degree in 2012 at the University of Rochester and Ph.D. in 2017 at Michigan Technological University, both in Chemical Engineering. Her doctoral research focused on the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and other products. She then spent a few months consulting before coming back to teach at Michigan Tech as an instructor for 3 different classes across 4 semesters. She then joined UF in August 2019. She has taught 5 different courses thus far at UF, most frequently ECH4404L: Separations and Mass Transfer Laboratory (aka Unit Operations Lab 2).
• Dr. Patankar completed his bachelor’s degree at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India, and his Ph.D. in 2016 at The Ohio State University, both in Chemical Engineering. His doctoral research focused on properties of nanopore confined supercritical fluids. After graduation, he worked for 4 years as a Process Development Engineer at Intel Corp. He joined the department in January 2021. He has taught 4 courses thus far, most frequently ECH 6937: Advanced Chemical and Biological Processes Laboratories.