Computers chem. Engng Vol. 20, Suppl., pp.

SI341-SI346, 1996
Pergamon Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
S0098-1354(96)00230-X Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0098-1354/96 $15.00+0.00

The Place of the Computer in Chemical Engineering Education

H. O. Kassim and R. G.Cadbury, Division of Chemical Engineering,

South Bank University, Borough Road, LONDON SE1 0AA

ABSTRACT
The rapid pace of technological development in computers makes for special problems in
treating the subject in the best way on a chemical engineering degree programme. The
computer's strengths and weaknesses in an educational context are considered in general
terms, as are the broad objectives of chemical engineering education to a degree level. Four
areas of computer application likely to feature in a degree programme are identified as:
process modelling; programming; computer-based control of processes, and computer-
interactive mathematics tuition. Each of these is reviewed. A reflection on teaching
simulation at undergraduate level using a commercial package is presented. The paper
discusses the difficulties which fresher students experience with mathematics. Finally, some
methods of assessing computer-acquired skills are discussed.

INTRODUCTION
The core teaching of an engineering discipline in a university is concerned with branches of mathematics and
sciences, and how these may be usefully applied. For many branches of engineering the industry to which the
discipline is applied is now mature, and practices change only slowly.

But in one field change is endless: that of the computer. In all branches of engineering the importance of the
computer is growing, and its applications constantly change. Whereas a technology for manufacture of a
chemical, or for transportation, may have a useful life of more than a hundred years, computer technologies
mostly become obsolete in fifteen years, often less. Besides its industrial importance the computer is, perhaps,
useful as an educational tool. As university teaching can involve teaching both about computers and teaching
with computers, this paper seeks first to clarify what places the computer occupies in engineering teaching. It
then examines some of these in greater depth. Although the paper is written from the particular standpoint of
teaching chemical engineering, it is meant to be generally relevant to a range of degrees in applied science and
technology where computers and IT feature but are not the central focus of the course.

COMPUTERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TEACHING

The following are the main places of the computer in engineering teaching.
(a) Basic IT skills: the desktop computer and peripherals, word processing, spreadsheets, databases.
(b) Computers as tools in design, modelling, simulation and management.
(c) Programming of computers and programming languages.
(d) Control of industrial processes using computers.
(e) Computer-assisted learning.

Basic IT skills are now part of almost every undergraduate curriculum. IT presents relatively few problems at
undergraduate level, and topic (a) is not considered further. The paper considers topics (b), (c), (d) and (el).

QUES770NS TO BE ASKED
This paper seeks to ask the following.
• What can students learn by study of, or with, the computer?
• What knowledge and skills should they acquire? Because of the short currency of specific computer
technologies, the enquiry will stress transferability.
• How should we facilitate this learning?
• How should we assess this learning?

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES' OF COMPUTERS

Engineering degrees must satisfy above all the requirements of their accrediting professional bodies. The
Engineering Council stresses the value of the computer in engineering education, particularly by using it to
model real-life situations (Engineering Council 1990). The Institution of Chemical Engineers provides a list of
"enabling technologies" of which most are expected to be taught, and includes process control, IT, modelling
and programming among these (IChemE 1989).

S1341
S1342 European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering---6. Part B

The above express simply the basic requirements for teaching about computers. A proper course design must
consider how the computer is brought in. Educationalists have responded to the introduction of the computer in
education with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Most writers are alive to the dangers of an over-simplifying,
reductionist approach. Powerful as it is, the computer is far from being a model of the whole of our intellectual
processes. The computer can at most only model those parts that involve discretisation of information together
with a limited set of logical operations with that information. Excessive reliance on the computer in teaching
can over-emphasise the rational, deterministic aspects of subjects, and inhibit some thinking and learning
processes (Beynon 1993). Papert (1993) by contrast sets forth a vast range of possibilities for computer-based
education, and his enthusiasm is supported by reference to educational philosophers, in particular Piaget.
Papert's view of the open-ended possibilities of computers in education is hard to reconcile with the strict
requirements of a professionally accredited syllabus, and indeed seems out of keeping with the modern
demands for a school curriculum governed by nationally agreed standards.

Learning is a process involving the student, the material to be learnt, and the student's teachers. The
interactions that the student makes with material and teachers are many and varied, and education can only
succeed by careful attention to these many interactions and their outcomes. When a computer is used as a tool
in education, in what way does the student interact with it? The answers to this question can guide us towards
using the computer where it is genuinely useful, and discarding it where it is not,

Some examples of the computer as a learning tool are considered in the particular sections of this paper
discussing modelling and programming. These are admittedly special cases, where some function of the
computer is the object of the learning, so the computer has (perhaps!) more "right" to be part of the learning
process.

PURPOSES OF HIGHER EDUCATION

To define the place of the computer in a degree or other higher education programme, it is worth revisiting the
general idea of university teaching, its purposes and key features. The classification of university teaching's
purposes by Atkins (1993) under the following four main headings is undoubtedly helpful.
1. General educational experience.
2. Preparation for creation, dissemination or application of knowledge.
3. Vocational preparation.
4. General preparation for the world of work,

Importantly, this allows the vocational requirements to be balanced against the broader need for undergraduates
to learn what knowledge is, how to acquire it and how to use it. Even those who are able to take up their
intended vocation after graduation will benefit if they have a broad understanding of people and ideas, as they
are likely to be flexible as to the work they do, and have better prospects for advancement into senior roles.

A brief discussion of how students study in universities is also necessary. Faced with increasing numbers of
students, alternative strategies involving either control or independence need to be recognised (Gibbs 1992).
While the computer may initially be seen as a means of control in teaching large numbers, for example through
multiple choice and other objective testing, it may also feature in independence strategies. Provided that the
software is appropriate, and a genuine interaction between student and program exists and is educationally
valid, the computer is useful in supporting self-directed learning.

The ability to undertake study on one's own is a crucial feature of adapting to university education by young
people (Wankowski 1991). Strategies for promoting self-directed study are important in ensuring student
success. The place of the computer must be considered carefully: it should support and reinforce the student's
independence. But it should not blind the student to the importance, when necessary, of reading, listening,
observing, discussing with peers and seeking help from teachers.

MATHEMATICS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Mathematics is a logical tool for gaining an insight into engineering problems. Years of research into process
simulation have provided us with experiences of mathematics as an essential tool in chemical engineering. A
typical mathematics route for solving engineering and industrial problems is illustrated in Figure 1.

Mathematics as an applied science is important in any Chemical engineering curriculum. Any learning
outcome of engineering mathematics should include recognition and understanding of the relevant nmthematics
concepts, development of manipulative skills for solving these, and recognition and selection of strategies for
2
 European Symposiumon ComputerAided ProcessEngineering--6. Part B S1343

mathematical modelling of engineering problems, as figure 1 illustrates. Mathematics is a also useful tool in
the understanding of computer applications.

Engineering
CtTei ~ prM°btihL [ S°lie ~ s°M:~'h°Sn
Problem

"2:,~:"
problem
/~,o ,review ]
I maths I No/ "s~;~"

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F i g u r e 1: A mathematics route to solving engineering problems

MA THEMA TICS BACKGROUND OF FRESHER STUDENTS

Over the past ten years there have been substantial changes in the pre-university mathematics background of
fresh engineering students (Engineering Council, March 1995). Increasing numbers of students enter
engineering courses with relatively weaker background and lower qualification in mathematics in comparison
with ten years ago.

Many new students perceive mathematics to be difficult and the prerogative of clever people (Hubbard, 1991).
Research into mathematics teaching and learning has shown that such fear of mathematics is often built up by
non-understanding at school which has resulted in a hostile attitude towards the subject (Dean, P.G., 1982).
This alienation needs to be resolved before any learning can occur. From the onset, the challenge is to devise a
means of bridging this gap between pre-university and university engineering mathematics. The varying and
poor mathematics background of new students makes for a special case in remedial mathematics teaching for
new undergraduates. Remedial teaching alone is expensive. Moreover, a student group with widely variant
ability increases the burden of routine teaching of basic mathematics. Computer-interactive mathematics
tuition serves the dual purpose of motivating and increasing students'confidence in mathematics on the one
hand, and also increasing the potential contact time between tutor and student.

SIMULATIONAND MODELLING
Where an industrial process or activity can be modelled, the computer may well be a useful tool in assisting the
computation and storage of the model's data. Much of engineering, and some of management science, is
concerned with development and usage of models, and always has been. What the computer has brought to
modelling therefore is an engine, providing faster computation or more of it, and a high-capacity and flexible
memory. Some mathematical models, previously impractical because of the extensive calculation required,
have now become very useful (Borcherds 1987).

Industry-standard software is readily available for teaching. The last few years have seen the introduction of
desktop PC-based computing and user-friendly interfaces, so the introduction of students to high quality
industry-standard software can begin as early as the first year. We have successfully put students in all years on
a process flowsheeting and modelling package called HYSIMTM The more mathematically complex
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) packages are introduced to final year students once they have had an
opportunity to appreciate the complexity of fluid flow.

Experience with HYSIMTM and CFD may look good on a graduate's CV, but what has he or she really learned?
Here there is a difficulty. On the one hand it is now possible to become quite proficient at the use of a computer
3
SI344 European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering---6. Part B

modelling package while understanding very little of what goes on inside; this indeed is a reflection of good
software design. On the other hand, to make graduates fully conversant with all that goes on in the software
would demand far more time than is available. Undergraduate engineering teaching must strike a balance,
taking students deeper into the software than is needed to be a proficient user, but being selective. The
selection must be towards teaching generic aspects of applied science and mathematics that are likely to
underlie the programming both of the package in question and its competitors and successors. Thus for
example our chemical engineering syllabus has recently changed to include increased coverage of chemical
thermodynamics, as this underlies the whole structure of the HYSIM TM modelling package.

Assessment of students' learning on software packages is best done through coursework, with certain
precautions to ensure that the students are actually doing the work themselves. Practical steps we use include
attendance registers at computer practicals, and a viva examination as a component of project assessment.
Meanwhile the underlying science and mathematics can well be assessed by written examinations.

PROGRAMMING
By programming is meant the writing of computer software in high-level language, for example TurboPascal.
There is disagreement on the usefulness of teaching programming, and indeed Edwards has advocated
excluding it from the chemical engineering curriculum (Edwards 1991).

Consider first the difficulties of teaching programming It is slow, tedious work, and the smallest mistake in
the program code such as a missing comma can cause major yet undetectable problems. Success for the student
will produce a very simple algorithm, long since provided in user-friendly form in hundreds of different
software packages. At the end it is hard to devise assessment that will really measure student learning.

And are there any benefits? First ofalt, good programmers can program so that faults are rapidly screened out.
Good teaching and good texts emphasise the importance of a structured approach to programming and testing,
which speeds debugging (Foley 1991). This discipline is of value in training engineers because it can inculcate
a logical, painstaking approach. It prepares the student for working in design teams, because what is good
structure for one person will be understandable to another. The important learning outcome is not familiarity
with programming in TurboPascal or any other language. It is this disciplined, logical approach.

In conclusion, programming is worthy of its place in the curriculum because of the discipline it can develop in
the student. When supported by good teaching material, a limited study of programming is time well spent.

INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL USING COMPUTERS

The provision of control for industrial processes is primarily the concern of a specialist engineer, the control
systems engineer. An engineer designing for example a chemical process should specify the control
requirements to the control systems engineer, who will then see to the detailed implementation. A simple
prescription...

Industrial experience, spent working at the interface between process and control, has provided us with first
hand experience of cases where costs over-ran - in one case by millions of pounds - because the complexity and
cost of the desired computer-based control system were not appreciated early on. Might the education of those
who specify controls, such as chemical engineers, be improved to prevent this state of affairs?

The problem remains a very serious one. Until computer technology matures it will remain a rogue element in
any design package, and control system costs will continue to overrun as they have done for thirty years or
more. However there is only a limited amount that can be done at undergraduate level. The main problem is
one of attitude among working engineers. Engineers are expected by temperament to be conservative, and to
prefer the tried and tested solution to the new and unproven. With computers this caution often vanishes, the
engineer overwhelmed by excitement with the potential.

It is not hard to convey to undergraduates the excitement that computers bring to our work. The power and
sophistication of a package likeHYSIMTM does that for us. Instilling a cautious, reflective approach is however
more difficult. We try, especially in final year project work, to show students just how difficult and time-
consuming it is to develop a design from basic data. Programming also has a place here, as it can show the
student how much care must be taken to program a computer to do a task, if someone else has not already
written the software.
 European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering-----6.Part B S 1345

COMPUTER-INTERACTIVE MATHEMATICS TUITION

The computer is a useful tool in assisting self-tuition of mathematics at student's own pace. Complemented
with remedial mathematics teaching, it provides motivation and confidence in manipulative skills for the
different mathematics concept especially for fresher students.

Software for learning entry-level mathematics is becoming increasingly available. The materials in such
software are self-paced and are generally designed for independent study. These are particularly useful in
tackling the resourcing problems currently faced by many universities in the teaching of basic mathematics.

Hubbard (1991) has proposed presenting the subjects in a variety of modes to broaden students' experience.
Many of these self-tuition packages are divided into modules, each module covers a specific mathematics topic.
The presentation allows for testing of each topic with different data. Their flexibility allows students to move
freely within a module.

Experience with teaching fresher students has provided us with the mathematics teaching model illustrated in
figure 2 with the Computer-Interactive Mathematics Learning (CIML) integrated as a non time-tabled activity
for individual learning. The CIML could be supported by locally produced documents such as reading guides,
self-assessment questions with solutions, and questionnaire for student's evaluation of the module.

I Selectmodule [
~troduce tepic~
in class J
Computer-interactive ~ S u p p o r t i n g notes-~
tuition with ~ with examples J
./1">-
)
worked exam~., J / "

Hands-on practice tutorial

(with optional on-line worked
solution)
I CIML

I Further exercises
and tuition
I non 6me-tabled

Inter a c t i v (
with
feedback
I From problem ]
sheet
(b) A mathematics teachin2 model

--.... /
Student's evaluation
of module

(a) An overview of the CIML

Figure 2: An integrated CIML in a teaching model

Any assessment of the CIML could only be a formative learning process which is used to establish students
understanding of the mathematics concept. The computer is a learning aid in this respect. The assessment is
also informative to the tutor as to the learning achieved by the student, and is used as a means of feedback
which will inform and assist students of their learning progress.

CONCLUSION
University teaching should encourage all students to grasp something of the nature of knowledge and learning.
By doing this, the computer can be better seen in context, as a machine which processes information quickly
and stores large amounts in a flexible manner. The student should thus see that knowledge and learning, for
SI346 European Symposiumon Computer Aided Process Engineering---6. Part B

whatever vocation, encompass much more than discretisation, processing and storage of information. He or she
will recognise models as representations of real life situations, and be alive to their underlying assumptions and
limitations. The curriculum must stress observation, reading, critical analysis and discussion as balances
against developing too rationalistic an approach.

The particular requirements of a chemical engineering degree mean that the computer will feature in several
parts of the course, especially modelling, programming and systems control. Modelling can be successfully
taught by sitting students down in front of industry-standard packages. To support this and deepen their
understanding, certain modules in applied science and mathematics must cover key elements of the theory on
which the model is based.
While the value of teaching programming in an engineering degree may fairly be questioned, we conclude that
it does have a place. If taught in the right way it helps to inculcate a logical, disciplined approach to design in
general. In teaching students about computer-based control systems, we must somehow instil a little caution
into them, so perhaps they will not repeat all the mistakes of the present generation of engineers. The relatively
weak mathematics background of fresher students is discussed. Finally, computer-interactive mathematics
tuition has been identified as a possible solution to the particular problem of bridging the gap between pre-
university and university engineering mathematics.

REFERENCES

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Borcherds PH, (1987), 'Computational Physics for Undergraduates', in Trends" in Computer Assisted
Education, Blackweli Scientific Publications.

Dean, P. G. (1982). Teaching and Learning Mathematics, Woburn Press, London.

Edwards DW, (1991), 'Computers - Tools for Engineers', Conference of IChemE Education Subject Group.

Foley RW, (1991), 'Introduction to Programming Principles using TurboPascar, Chapman & Hall.

Gibbs G, (1992), 'Teaching More Students, 1, Problems and Course Design Strategies', PCFC.

Hubbard, R. (1991), 53 Interesting Ways to Teach Mathematics, Technical and Educational Services ltd, U.K.

Institution of Chemical Engineers, (1989), 'First Degree (7ourses'.

Papert S, (1993), 'The Children's Machine', Harvester Wheatsheaf.

The Engineering Council, (1990), 'Standards and Routes to Registration', 2nd Edition.

The Engineering Council (March 1995), The (;hanging Mathematical Background o f Undergraduate Students
- A review o f the issues

Wankowski J, (1991), 'Success and Failure at University', in Raaheim K, Wankowski J, and Radford J, Helping
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