The project aimed to enhance early-stage chemical engineering students’ engagement, conceptual understanding, and career confidence by integrating authentic, research-style inquiry into the core curriculum. Ultimately, the goal was to foster a stronger sense of belonging while equipping students with practical skills in applying thermodynamic principles.
In this initiative, student teams designed, built, and tested small-scale experimental rigs to investigate thermodynamic relationships through a structured process that included pre-lab proposals, hands-on lab sessions, and final video presentations.
The project had a positive impact on student learning, leading to measurable gains in students’ sense of belonging, confidence in applying thermodynamic concepts, and overall engagement. This impact was assessed using a pre- and post-project survey (comprising 33 questions) that evaluated self-efficacy, community perception, and attitudes toward chemical engineering, complemented by qualitative feedback from final presentations.
2025 GTREET (Georgia Tech Retreat Exploring Effective Teaching)
Participating in the TTL initiative helped me to introduce a research component into a required course to promote student thinking about open-ended problems in the field of Chemical Engineering.