A Message from the Outgoing Chair

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

Conference Newsletter

A Message from the Chair-Elect

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!

Very Respectfully,
Reg Rogers
Chair-Elect

Special Election Newsletter

Vote via the Google Form by Friday, June 14th, 2023!

Hello, ChED Colleagues!

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!

Elif Eda Miskioğlu

Newsletter Editor, Outgoing Director

Summary of Announcements

1. Call for ASEE ChED Executive Board Nominations! Submit nominations by Friday, April 14!
2. ASEE 2023 Conference Updates
3. Call for Volunteers: AIChE Education Division Elections Committee

Detailed Announcements

Call for ASEE ChED Executive Board  Nominations! 

Submit nominations by Friday, April 14^th  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 14^th 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
• 2^nd 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!