Just before writing this, I put the finishing touches on my last quiz for the semester. I know I’m probably not the only one scurrying around frantically trying to wrap up the semester (and/or trying to get well deserved rest as the summer starts), so I will try to keep this short! Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter and engage with our division.
I am continually impressed by the dedication of our division members, and particularly our officers, to not only our community of chemical engineering educators, but to our students and the quality of the field. We in chemical engineering have a tight-knit group that sets a high bar for quality and consistency of teaching and learning, which makes us stand out amongst engineers.
To that end, I’m looking forward to the ASEE Conference in beautiful Portland, where we will be able to catch up with old friends, make new friends, celebrate achievements, and learn from others about how to be better at our craft. This year’s theme is “The Future of Engineering Education”, which invites us to imagine what the future can and should be. I know I am striving for a future that is more diverse, more inclusive, and more effective at training our students to be responsible, ethical, and of course competent at engineering. When I ponder what will get us to that future, I have every confidence that our community of educators is on the right track.
Greetings from the ASEE Membership Committee! George Prpich, Joanne Beckwith, and I (Tracy Carter) are your committee members. We are the folks that remind you to renew your membership. We recognize the importance of this community for our professional development, and we encourage you to reach out to your faculty colleagues and invite them to join. We also suggest you invite our future faculty, graduate students, to become members of ASEE! Please be sure to check the Chemical Engineering Division box when you renew.
The full description of responsibilities for each office are posted on the Division website and can be found through the links with each officer above.
Nominations are being accepted by the current Past Chair, David Silverstein, at david.silverstein@uky.edu). Self-nominations are encouraged, as are nominees for Director and Secretary-Treasurer who are fairly new to the Division and looking for a way to meaningfully contribute. Nominations are requested as soon as practical but will be accepted through February 29, 2024. Questions about the offices may be sent to the same email address as nominations.
ChE Division “Engineering Education” Mentoring Grant
All chemical engineering or chemistry faculty who have not attended an ASEE Annual Conference in the past five years are eligible for this grant. More than one grant may be given annually. A faculty member may apply for this grant by the last day of February. The application consists of a curriculum vitae and a maximum one-page statement of interests in educational scholarship.
Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of the awards chairs and directors. If there is a conflict of interest, the directors will identify another member of the committee.
The grant will be a ticket to the ChE Division Banquet. The grant winner(s) will be provided with a ChE Division mentor (an individual determined by the ASEE ChED executive committee) who will meet with the grant winner for both formal and informal interactions during the meeting. Nomination information can be found on the division website: http://ched.asee.org/awards/ and any questions can be directed to our awards chair, Ashlee Ford Versypt, at ashleefv@buffalo.edu.
ASEE CP12 Teacher Conference
The 2024 ASEE CP12 Teacher’s Conference (centered on K-12 teaching) will be held immediately before the 2024 ASEE Conference on June 22, 2024. It will be hosted at Portland State University’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.
ASEE Map of PreK-12 Engineering Opportunities
Get listed on the ASEE map of PreK-12 engineering opportunities. Check out the map and provide feedback using the gray button on the home page. If you have an engineering program, camp, or event it can be highlighted on this website!
Call for Abstracts for the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education
Abstract submission is now open for oral and posters presentations for the 28th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE 2024) to be held at the University of Kentucky July 28-August 1, 2024.
The conference will be organized around four themes:
Classroom Practice and Learning Environments
Curriculum and Cognition
Assessment and Research Methods
Professional Development – within the K-12, two-year college, and university communities.
College/university faculty and staff, K-12 teachers, graduate students, postdocs, and anyone else working in chemical education are welcome to submit an abstract. The deadline for submissions is February 28. Information about the conference is available at https://bcce.divched.org/ or by contacting the program co-chairs, Kim Woodrum or Irv Levy at bcce2024@uky.edu. Abstracts should be submitted at https://bcce24.exordo.com/. Instructions for presenters can be found at http://bcce.divched.org/presenters.
Teaching Professor Position at UC Merced
The Chemical Engineering faculty at the University of California Merced invites applications for the open-level position of Assistant/Associate/Full Teaching Professor to coordinate, develop and teach undergraduate courses and coordinate laboratories in all areas of Chemical Engineering with an anticipated start date as early as July 1, 2024. Please see the link for more information or email Kara McCloskey (kmccloskey@ucmerced.edu) directly with any questions. Apply by March 15. More info: https://aprecruit.ucmerced.edu/JPF01645
Postdoc Position at Cornell
The Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) is seeking a highly motivated and talented individual to join our Active Learning Initiative (ALI) team as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Engineering Education. This position is part of an exciting project aimed at deconstructing the existing Unit Operations Laboratory course and developing new inquiry-based learning modules to be embedded across the curriculum to achieve our vision of making the School a “living laboratory.”
The postdoctoral scholar will work directly with Professor Allison Godwin, a tenured engineering education faculty member in CBE. The impacts of this change will be studied using both qualitative and quantitative tools to understand how active and open-ended problem-solving throughout the curriculum affects student learning, identities as engineers, motivation, and career pathways. Interested candidates should apply online at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/27060. If you have other questions or comments, please contact: Allison Godwin, afg64@cornell.edu
Dear ASEE Chemical Engineering Division,
It seems hard to believe that the summer is well underway, and that means it is time for the ASEE Annual Meeting and Exposition. Our time to Baltimore will be well spent thanks to the efforts of Program Chair Janie Brennan, Local Arrangements Chair Neha Raikar, and the scholarship of our authors presenting their work. If you haven’t already made your plans to participate, perhaps the schedule of sessions plus special events (starting page 4) will entice you to make a last-minute trip to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor!
In addition to the aforementioned conference information, we have more news of importance. Our elections were recently concluded resulting in some terrific additions to your Division leadership (see page 2). As a bonus for those attending, you’ll have the opportunity to meet those officers (and other members) that you don’t already know. While the scholarly aspect of our meeting is important, I have always believed that the opportunity to engage with our colleagues was the real value-add of attendance. So do not hesitate to reach out and meet a few new people (even if you’re an introvert like me—we can meet and then talk or not talk depending on where our social reserves are at the time!) while at the conference.
I would be remiss if I didn’t emphasize that if you’re interested in getting involved with Division activities, we have a range of chances for you to do so. Some are elected positions, and some are appointed. Plus we’re always interested in supporting our colleagues with ideas we can help make a reality. Just come to our business meeting on Tuesday of the Conference, or reach out to any of our officers.
This conference also marks the beginning of the end of my service to the Division as your chair. I am grateful for the chance to serve in this role as our Institutional Leadership has risen to the need to address the fiscal challenges faced by ASEE. Despite the constraints of deferred financial resources, we’ve still been able to plan our banquet (thanks again Neha!), award our recognitions (thanks committee co-chairs Margot Vigeant and Ashlee Ford Versypt and our many reviewers), and execute our conference plan. Our key activities (both of which are funded independently from ASEE) remain strong, with an excellent 2022 Summer School led by Margot Vigeant and her crew and a high quality yet rapidly developing Chemical Engineering Education journal led by Editor Don Visco and Publications Board Chair Milo Koretsky.
In the midst of facing acute challenges, I have been highly impressed (and not extremely surprised) at how our community has responded. There have been many good questions asked, but none with malice. There has been concern expressed, but often accompanied by offers to help. Because of our shared commitment to our students and each other (and the leadership resulting from that commitment), ASEE and the ChED will emerge from this situation stronger than ever.
I am very pleased to be able to turn leadership of this Division over to the very capable Reg Rogers as incoming Chair and Janie Brennan as incoming Chair-elect at the end of the month. While I cannot imagine a time not being involved with the ChED, I know each of these individuals will leave their mark in service through their leadership.
I look forward to seeing many of you in Baltimore! David Silverstein 2022-23 ASEE ChED Chair
Classes are winding down (if not already done)…the air is warming up…and that can only mean one thing: summer has arrived! I hope all of you had a successful academic year and are looking forward to some much deserved down time before the 2023-2024 academic year kicks into high gear.
Summer is also a season of transition. As we prepare for the upcoming annual conference in Baltimore, we look forward to the transition of officers, thanking those who have spent many hours in the background facilitating the continual forward movement of the Chemical Engineering Division.
While ASEE continues to work through some challenges, we continue to build upon our current successes to usher in new ideas and innovation within the Chemical Engineering classrooms and laboratories. We also look forward to celebrating the achievements of several individuals through our division awards. Many of you have done exceptional jobs in various facets within the teaching realm. Those we highlight during our celebration have, and continue to do, superior work in Chemical Engineering education. Let us look forward to learning from them as well as the rest of our colleagues. We will always be continual learners of the field. Let us come with an open mind to embrace new knowledge that we can carry back to our respective institutions.
This year’s conference theme is “The Harbor of Engineering Education”. Let us, as the Chemical Engineering community, be a shining example of serving as a harbor for continual education and growth of the next generation of chemical engineers. I look forward to seeing many of you next month in Baltimore!
I hope this finds you well. As your Newsletter Editor, part of me feels that by writing this month’s “letter from…” I’m breaking some sort of fourth wall. Hopefully this doesn’t ruin the magic!
Our highlight this month is the Call for Nominations for division positions – see the first announcement below! Whether you’re a long-time member of our division or just joining, the executive committee is a great opportunity to work with an amazing group of leaders in the Chemical Engineering Education community.
As Newsletter editor I have had the privilege of working closely with our chairs, past chairs, and web directors in particular throughout the years. Each has led with a clear mission to serve our community, and support our members in any way we can.
I know we all have a lot on our respective plates and taking on additional service roles can sometimes be daunting. For what it is worth, there is no group I know that is more supportive, more gracious, or more understanding to work with. The first time I ran for an elected position a few years ago, I lost, but running gave me the opportunity to articulate my relationship with the division and further increase my presence in the community. The next time around, I won a seat of Director – a position I especially recommend for anyone seeking to get involved but unsure where to begin! I am truly honored to be a part of this team, and I want to share a little bit about what the division means to me. This is both my thank you letter to the division, and my argument for getting involved.
I first started engaging with members of the division as a graduate student. Upon discovering the discipline of engineering education, I began sneaking away from my labmates at AIChE and heading over to see the sessions in the Education Division. I sat in the back, taking furious notes in amazement at all the cool things happening in education that I was unaware of. I soon realized this is where I wanted to be, and kept showing up.
I started dabbling in engineering education work, and presenting first at AIChE (since I was there already) and then ASEE ChED. I’ll be the first to admit I had a lot to learn, and I will never forget how readily I was welcomed into the ChED community. Every person I approached gave me their time, and seemed genuinely excited to speak with me. I received both validation and constructive feedback from this community when presenting my work. This support gave me the courage to pivot from my technical research in genetic engineering to pursue a career as an engineering education scholar. I could not be happier that I took that leap.
To our long-time members, thank you for creating such a strong and positive culture. To our new(er) members, welcome to the community – this is a great one to be a part of. To all, please consider standing for election!
Submit nominations by Friday, April 14th via email to Past Chair Tony Butterfield and Newsletter Editor Elif Miskioğlu.
Nominate yourself or a colleague for the following 2023-24 positions:
Chair-Elect (then serves as Chair in 2024-25)
Director (2-year term)
Secretary/Treasurer (1-year off-cycle term, current incumbent willing to remain)
Have a question on a position? Feel free to reach out! All terms begin after the annual conference in June.
ASEE 2023 Conference Updates
Final Draft Revision deadline extended
Draft Revision deadline is now April 14th at 11:59 PM!
ChED Banquet tickets available!
Tickets are now available for purchase for ticketed conference events. If you have registered for the conference (and are logged into the site), you can purchase tickets to the CHED Banquet on the NEMO.
Unit Ops Tour at Johns Hopkins (free, ticketed event) tickets available!
ChED will also be coordinating a tour of the Johns Hopkins Unit Ops lab for anyone who is interested and can provide their own transportation. This will be a free event, but it does require a ticket. You can get a ticket after registration for the conference and as an event on NEMO.
Call for Volunteers: AIChE Education Division Elections Committee
The Education Division of AIChE needs a volunteer to serve on our elections committee.
We will be holding elections in Summer/Fall 2023 for 4 positions:
Secretary/Treasurer
2nd Vice-Chair
Director 1
Director 2
The committee will likely meet 2-3 times between now and the conclusion of elections on October 1, 2023. If you are willing to volunteer for this role, please reach out to the Division Past Chair Ben Davis. Thank you!
