Experience on Implementing a Project for Educating Students on Runaway Reaction Dynamics

Abstract

To build awareness in second-year chemical engineering undergraduate students on runaway reaction dynamics and associated safety concerns, and to help students better identify crossovers between two different courses, a combined team project between the Heat and Mass Transfer and Applied Differential Equations courses at the University of Toronto has been implemented. To evaluate the effectiveness of this combined project on students learning, a survey was conducted around four different perspectives: (A) Contribution to learning, (B) Motivation and awareness, (C) Project structure and support, and (D) Personal experience and skills development. The results of the survey demonstrated that the project was effective at bringing awareness about safety issues and the role of students as future professional engineers. It helped them better learn the concepts seen in both courses and develop their team skills. A critical analysis of these results helped to provide guidance for improvement in future years are discussed.