This project will plan major strategic restructuring in the chemical engineering (ChE) curriculum at Washington University (WU) in St. Louis. The strategic plan will address key issues such as: how to utilize to maximum potential the unique strengths of Washington University (WU) in bio-sciences, how to reach the clientele outside the St. Louis region in an interactive fashion via information technology, and how to reach out to minorities. The focus of the plan will be; i)on ways in which advances in biosciences can be incorporated into the engineering curriculum, ii) on methods by which ChE fundamentals can be applied to lead to product design that requires multiscale engineering, iii) on the use of information technology (IT) in creating and disseminating instruction modules that will contribute to multidisciplinary learning, promote collaborative design and vertical integration of curriculum and allow user customization, and iv) on involvement of minorities in the process and increased role of research. The plan will aim to establish a set of realistic goals, taking advantage of special opportunities at Washington University, for a modern curriculum based on biosciences and information technology leading to possible specialization tracts in product synthesis and design, environmentally benign processing, real time control and optimization. This planning will involve the entire faculty in the ChE department, affiliate faculty in the Biomedical Department, as well as faculty in Computer Science, Systems Science and Mathematics, Biology and in the School of Medicine, and distinguished outside consultants. The departmental advisory board, consisting of individuals with distinguished industrial and academic careers will actively participate in the formulation and evaluation of this strategic plan. Recent and past graduates, students and distinguished chemical engineering educators will be invited to workshops to evaluate and constructively criticize the strategic plan in its various phases of development.
