STUDENT-FACULTY CONFERENCE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 14, Chemical Engineering

Committee Members Sabrina Sun Senior, Biomolecular Track Reuben Britto Senior, Materials Track Kevin Gu Senior, Process Track Alex Wang Senior, Biomolecular Track Connor Coley Junior, Materials Track Richard Flagan Irma and Ross McCollum- William H. Corcoran Professor; Executive Officer John Seinfeld Louis E. Nohl Professor Michael Vicic Lecturer Zhen-Gang Wang Professor 2

Topics of Discussion 1. ChemE curriculum  Incorporation of new core  Numerical methods course 2. Career plans  Interest in industry  Life after Caltech 3. Miscellaneous issues  TA-to-student ratio  Senior thesis  Student-faculty interaction 3

INCORPORATION OF NEW CORE NUMERICAL METHODS COURSE ChemE Curriculum 4

New Core Requirements and Course Changes New core  Ma1abc (27)  Ph1abc (27)  Ch1ab (15)  Bi1, Bi1x, or Bi8 (9)  Menu (9)  Ch3a and other intro lab (12)  Scientific writing (3)  Hum/SS (108)  PE (9) Changes to Ph2 series  Ph2a: Waves  Ph2b: Quantum  Ph2c: Stat mech / thermo 5

New Core Requirements (Cont.) Majority rated Ma2 and Ph2 as neutral or above in importance to the option Ma2/Ph2 are prerequisites for required courses  Ma2 for ACM95  Ma2/Ph2 for Ch21a 6

Incorporation of New Core Proposal:  Keep Ph2a  Preparation for Ch21a  Replace Ph2b with Ch21a  Quantum taught by Prof. Okumura  Replace Ph2c with Ch21c  Stat mech / thermo taught by Prof. Miller  Keep Ma2a  Preparation for ACM95  Replace Ma2b with ChE statistical analysis course  Programming focus 7

ChE Numerical Methods Course 8

Numerical Methods Course (Cont.) Issue:  Strong interest in computation class tailored to chemical engineers Action:  Implement numerical methods class as option requirement  9 unit course taught by Professor Flagan  Replaces Ma2b  Focuses on MATLAB and Mathematica  Possibly incorporate probability/statistics 9

Sample Schedule FallWinterSpring Sophomore Ma2aNumerical MethodsElective/Hum/SS Ph2aElective/Hum/SSCh9 Ch41aCh41bCh41c ACM95aACM95bACM95c ChE62ChE63aChE63b Junior Ch21aCh21b/Ch24Ch21c ChE103aChE103bChE103c Elective/Hum/SSChE101ChE105 Elective/Hum/SS 10

INTEREST IN INDUSTRY LIFE AFTER CALTECH Career Plans 11

Familiarity with Industry 12  Students are not well informed about opportunities in industry

Experience in Industry 13  Some have experience working in industry

Interest in Industry 14  Despite overwhelming interest…

Life After Caltech 15  Most students plan to go to graduate school

Interest in Industrial Contacts 16  Strong interest in access to industry contacts

AIChE Student-to-Industry Mentoring Program 17  Mixed opinions about AIChE’s mentoring program

Careers in Industry 18 Issues:  Lack of familiarity with opportunities in industry  Very few chemical engineering companies at career fair  Lack of accessibility to industry contact information

Careers in Industry (Cont.) 19 Actions:  Continue asking the career center to invite more chemical engineering companies  Develop online database of contact information  Refer students to Dr. Vicic for advice/contacts  Work with AIChE to improve industry mentoring program

TA-TO-STUDENT RATIO SENIOR THESIS STUDENT-FACULTY INTERACTION Miscellaneous Issues 20

TA-to-Student Ratio 21 Objectives of improving ratio:  Graduate: shorter turnover period for grading  Undergraduate: more individual help during office hours

TA-to-Student Ratio (Cont.) Issue:  Strong interest in more TAs, especially graduate TAs Action:  Survey former TAs of ChE courses  Graduate: Hours spent weekly?  Undergraduate: Comfort with grading sets? 22

Senior Thesis Issue:  Students do not know what is expected or how they will be evaluated for senior thesis Action:  Post detailed instructions on CCE website  Prof. Flagan will hold organizational meeting at beginning of term to go over guidelines 23

I would be interested in student-faculty lunches with ChE professors How often would you like to have these lunches? Student-Faculty Lunches 24

Student-Faculty Lunches (Cont.) Issue:  Student faculty lunches are desired for increased interaction between undergraduates and professors Action:  Informal monthly lunches with faculty who regularly go to Chandler  Arrange on ad hoc basis for a group of 4-5 ChemE undergrads  Requires minimal effort to set up  Not ideal for students interested in particular faculty member 25

Discussion Time! Incorporation of new core Numerical methods course Careers in industry TA-to-student ratio Senior thesis Student-faculty lunches Other questions/concerns? 26