COURSES TAUGHT
ChE 212: Thermo II/Physical Chemistry for Engineers (3 credits, Junior-level)
Description: This course builds upon fundamentals of classical equilibrium thermodynamics, tackling macroscopic thermodynamic concepts unique to the chemical engineer’s toolbox, including thermodynamics of mixtures and chemical reaction equilibria. A focused study of quantum theory subsequently establishes the necessary background for interpreting and understanding key atomic- and molecular-scale phenomena, with the development and application of an introductory statistical mechanics framework helping to link these microscopic properties with equilibrium thermodynamics of macroscopic systems. The final study of kinetics rounds out the core tenants of physical chemistry, underscoring its utility for interpreting, predicting, designing, and engineering complex engineering systems. Examples from introductory equilibrium electrochemistry and macro- and supra-molecular systems, among others, are introduced and employed as illustrative applications of physical chemistry.
ChE 201: Methods of Analysis in Chemical Engineering (4 credits, Junior-level)
Description: This course is intended to develop fundamental, analytical, and numerical skills required for analysis of various chemical engineering processes. The overarching objectives of the course are three-fold: 1) formulation of well-posed models to describe dynamic, discrete, and continuous chemical engineering processes as well as 2) analytic and 3) numerical (MATLAB-based) solution methods for solving common mathematical models consisting of individual or systems of linear and non-linear algebraic as well as ordinary and partial differential equations. The skills learned in this course for posing and solving mathematical models serve as critical tools in the chemical engineer’s toolbox for analyzing and engineering chemical processes.
ChE 203: Unit Operations Laboratory (2 credits, senior-level)
Description: This course provides senior Chemical Engineering undergraduates with an opportunity to apply knowledge and analytical skills developed throughout the core curriculum in order to design, carry out, analyze, and report on hands-on experimental studies focused on individual unit operation test systems. Given its placement in the curriculum, it complements the senior capstone design course in offering students a chance to review, apply, and practice key chemical engineering concepts on “real” data.
ChE 415: Transport Processes (4 credits, graduate-level)
Description: This course provides a comprehensive analysis of fundamentals of heat, mass, and momentum transport through equations of continuity, motion, and energy. It highlights the analogies between these phenomena, explores transport in single-component and multicomponent systems, introduces and applies advanced analytical techniques for solving ordinary and partial differential equations, and highlights scaling analysis useful in understanding transport phenomena and rational simplification of complex transport models.
ChE 398/497: Fundamentals of Functional Nanoporous Materials (3 credits, advanced undergraduate/graduate-level)
Description: The ability to match porous materials to specific applications, to modify those materials in order to achieve specific functionality, or to design new porous materials to better meet existing and emerging needs requires detailed knowledge of the breadth of porous material platforms, their intrinsic and tailorable properties, and strategies for material design and characterization. The overarching goal of this course will be to equip students with a comprehensive knowledge base and tool set for applying, analyzing/characterizing, and/or designing porous materials. This course will include a detailed study of the design, synthesis, and characterization strategies spanning microporous to mesoporous bulk and thin film structures. Material classes to be covered will include porous polymers, activated carbons, carbon molecular sieves (CMS), polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolites, porous oxides, ordered mesoporous materials, and layered/pillared structures. The course will compare and differentiate materials based on synthesis strategies, properties, and applications, with detailed discussion of transport (i.e., molecular, charge), adsorption, and reaction under confinement in the pores or walls of these materials. In addition, common techniques suitable for characterization of porous materials across multiple length scales will be detailed. Specific techniques to be covered will include gas physi- and chemi-sorption, porosimetry, X-ray scattering (XRD, SAXS), electron microscopy, and solid-state NMR, with numerous opportunities for students to obtain hands-on insight into data collection and analysis.