Teaching

CHBE 356: Process Dynamics and Control

The course is divided into two main parts – a first part that deals with modeling, representation of models in Laplace domain, analysis of transient response, and a second part that deals with design of feedback control systems, analysis of closed loop stability and frequency response. This is one of the largest undergraduate courses in our department and typically has over one hundred students.


CHBE 362: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

This is an undergraduate laboratory for third year students. This lab complements the theory taught in unit operations courses. There are typically about eighty students from process, biotechnology, and environment options.


CHBE 363: Chemical Engineering Laboratory II

This is a follow-up undergraduate laboratory for third year students in the process option. The students perform experiments on unit operations. This course typically has an enrollment of about forty students.


CHBE 464: Chemical and Biological Engineering Laboratory

This is a unique laboratory course that was designed recently in our department. In conventional labs, students are given a set of pre-defined instructions on how to perform experiments. In this lab, students perform problem-based experiments that are open ended. Students are given a real- life problem, and asked to form a team of engineers to design and implement a solution. This course typically has an enrollment of about eighty students.


CHBE 474: Process Control Engineering

This is a higher level undergraduate course typically offered to the fourth year students. This course covers advanced control topics that include cascade, feedforward, nonlinear, adaptive, and fuzzy control systems. The course also introduces students to multivariable control systems such as model predictive control.


CHBE 551: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics

This is a graduate level course on thermodynamics of chemical engineering systems. The topics include, pressure-volume-temperature relations; chemical equilibria by Gibbs’ method; vapor-liquid equilibria; thermodynamic calculations by third law and quantum-statistical methods; irreversible thermodynamics and information theory.


CHBE 552: Optimization Methods

This is a graduate level course on engineering optimization. The course is divided into two main parts – the first part deals with formulation of optimization problems, in particular convex optimization problems, and in the second part, algorithms for solving optimization problems are discussed. This course introduces students to a number of standard optimization problems in modeling, design of experiments, and statistical inference. This is one of the largest graduate courses in our department with an enrollment of 28 students in the academic year 2008-2009, and about 20 students in 2010-2011.


CHBE 553: Mathematical Operations in Chemical Engineering

This is one of the core graduate courses on numerical techniques in chemical engineering. It covers techniques for solving linear and nonlinear algebraic systems, ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, and basic concepts in probability, time series analysis and experiment design. This course typically has an enrollment of about twelve to fifteen students.