Applying an Optimization Mindset to Engineering Education: Junior Level Course Project Case Study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18260/2-1-370.660-114933

Abstract

Here we present our experience applying the principles of optimization and a wholistic student-centered engineering mindset to create an educational experience focused on long-term student success. Specifically, we have applied this approach to redesign a junior-level chemical engineering project that strives to develop student scholarship, citizenship, and leadership given the constraints of time, financial resources, and student/faculty motivation. We propose that using a wholistic optimization mindset can help other educators in designing customized educational experiences.

Author Biographies

Hayley Ford, Brigham Young University

Hayley Ford is a senior Chemical Engineering student at Brigham Young University who is passionate about education and outreach. She is involved in Global Engineering Outreach, the Society of Women Engineers, Women in Engineering, The Society of Biological Engineering, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Kristen M Wilding, Brigham Young University

Kristen Wilding is the Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Lab. She graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2018. She is the recipient of the NSF Graduate Fellowship, the NASA Rocky Mountain Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowship, and the Simmons Center for Cancer Research Graduate Fellowship.

Bradley C Bundy, Brigham Young University

Brad Bundy is a professor of Chemical Engineering at Brigham Young University. He is the recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award and the NSF CAREER Award which supports his research in engineering shelf-stable “just-add water” protein therapeutic production platforms, developing next-generation cancer biotherapeutics, building better biocatalysts, and developing fast low-cost biosensors. He was selected by the chemical engineering student body for the annual Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017.

Downloads

Published

2021-09-08 — Updated on 2021-09-08

Versions

Issue

Section

Manuscripts