UW
ChemE Curriculum
What does the
graduate of 2014 need to know?
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Interactions between students and their educational program go both ways. In creating a new curriculum we, as educators, need to ask, "What does the graduate of 2014 need to know?"
Why 2014? Because that is the date when all UW Chemical Engineering graduates will have been through the new curriculum.
One does not embark on a project to change the curriculum without some good reasons. Below are summarized a number of desired attributes for tomorrow's graduates. The attributes are grouped so as to make a "3D Engineer," that is, an engineer skilled in the technical, professional, and personal dimensions.
The attributes are consistent with the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) recommendations for educating the engineer of 2020. Those recommendations were derived from Boeing's Desired Attributes of an Engineer.
Attributes of a 3D Engineer
1) Technical
- Engineering science fundamentals
- Mathematics, including statistics
- Physical and life sciences, including molecular and nanoscale principles
- Information technology, including programming
and use of computer modeling software
- Design, including design for products and process
design
- Multidisciplinary, systems perspective, including multi-scale methods that incorporate molecular level phenomena with overall systems performance
2) Professional
- Context
of engineering: economics (including business practices), history, the
environment, and customer and societal needs
- Communication
skills: written, oral graphic, and listening
- High
ethical standards and reasoning
- Profound
understanding of the importance of teamwork
3) Personal
- Critical
and creative thinking, independently and collaboratively
- Flexibility:
the ability and self-confidence to adapt to rapid or major
change
- Curiosity
and a desire to learn for life