Lehigh University Summer Engineering Institute (SEI): Snyder and colleague, Prof. Kelly Schultz, teach a one-day chemical engineering module within this multi-week summer institute that hosts ca. 100 high school students annually. The module includes instruction and hands-on demonstration related to chemical kinetics and reaction engineering (Snyder) and fluid flow/mixing and microfluidics (Schultz) that culminates in a laboratory exercise where students design and fabricate lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices capable of enhancing mixing despite fluid flow at very small scales. Students evaluate a chemical reaction with a dramatic color change at the lab-bench scale, test their engineering capabilities when challenged to evaluate the reaction of a mystery sample to determine the concentration of the reacting components, and predict/test the capabilities of microfluidic devices to continuously process reacting and non-reacting fluids at very small scales, assessing and interpreting the effects of microscale mixing.
This educational module and the formative and summative assessment of its impact during implementation has been published in the following educational article:
K.M. Schultz* and M.A. Snyder*, “Chemical Engineering ‘On-a-Chip’: Capturing the integrated scope of chemical engineering in STEM outreach,” invited article, in press, Chemical Engineering Education (CEE) (2018).
AIChE Outreach to Broughal Middle School: As faculty advisor to Lehigh’s student chapter of the AIChE, Snyder helped raise support from ExxonMobil to develop the scientific material for a Chemical Engineering-focused STEM outreach effort at Broughal Middle School in an effort to influence student’s thinking and motivation during a key developmental stage to help evoke an early interest in science, math, and engineering.
Lehigh University CHOICES Programs: Outreach program organized by Lehigh’s Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science to introduce STEM fields to middle school girls. Educational modules clarify the nature, extent, and impact of Chemical Engineering in society.d
Lehigh University OPTIONS Programs: Outreach program organized by Lehigh’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to introduce STEM fields and college level education options to high school girls. Educational modules clarify the nature, extent, and impact of Chemical Engineering in society.