As part of an ongoing College of Engineering Curriculum- Laboratory Revitalization Program, the Chemical & Materials Engineering Department is developing an innovative Unit Operations Lab consisting of nine new experimental stations and nine new corresponding computer simulation programs and data acquisition systems. Together with a modular control lab and analytical instrumentation, this forms a new laboratory complex for a flexible, modular approach to chemical processing at the systems level. It features industrial caliber equipment compatible with laboratory scale operations. The intent is to provide the undergraduate student with an education involving equipment, program simulators, data acquisition systems, and a mode of conduct representative of professional employment situations, consistent with a wide diversity of the chemical industry. The planning and implementation of this effort is being closely coordinated with an industry advisory group.This project involves the procurement of three items, i.e., heat exchanger, gas absorption, and chemical reactor units for the Unit Operations Lab. These constitute the threshold core from which the comprehensive curriculum-laboratory structure evolves.
