An Undergraduate-Led, Research-Based Course that Complements a Traditional Chemical Engineering Curriculum

Authors

  • Salwan Butrus University of California, Berkeley
  • Kevin Greenman Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Eshita Khera University of Michigan
  • Irina Kopyeva University of Washington, Seattle
  • Akira Nishii University of Michigan

Abstract

The interdisciplinary roots of chemical engineering have shaped its history and fostered its rapidly evolving nature. Through ongoing research, graduate students in chemical engineering departments remain abreast of the field’s evolution. Yet core undergraduate curricula often fall short of introducing students to the breadth of current research in the field, rendering undergraduates underprepared for elements of the modern discipline that research is currently defining. Herein, we discuss a strategy for supplementing chemical engineering curricula by introducing research topics and skills through an undergraduate-led course.

Author Biographies

Salwan Butrus, University of California, Berkeley

Salwan Butrus graduated from the University of Michigan with a BSE in Chemical Engineering in May 2019 and is now pursuing a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley under the supervision of Prof. Karthik Shekhar. He is interested in developing experimental and computational tools that probe complex biological systems such as the vertebrate retina.

Kevin Greenman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kevin Greenman graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering in May 2019 and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Computation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests include the use of first-principles calculations and data science to solve problems related to catalysis and other areas of chemical engineering and materials science.

Eshita Khera, University of Michigan

Eshita Khera is a graduate student in Prof. Greg Thurber's lab pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She earned a B.S.E. in Biotechnology from Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, and an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Her research is focused on engineering non-Lipinski molecules such as antibody-drug conjugates as targeted cancer therapeutics and developing design guidelines for improving their clinical efficacy.

Irina Kopyeva, University of Washington, Seattle

Irina Kopyeva graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E in Chemical Engineering in May 2019. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her research interests include biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Akira Nishii, University of Michigan

Akira Nishii is pursuing a B.S.E in Chemical Engineering and B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan. His interests include biomedical research in aging and surgery education research.

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Published

2020-03-30

Issue

Vol. 54 No. 2 (2020): Spring 2020

Section

Manuscripts