(54be) Professional Master of Engineering Degree in Particle Technology

Particles are ubiquitous in the process industries yet nearly absent in the undergraduate education of chemical engineers. This poster descibes a professional Master of Engineering degree program at University of Delaware (the MEPT) that closes that gap by exclusively focusing on particulate matter, its processing, and its incorporation into products. The program can be completed in a single year although we welcome already-employed students who wish to take it part time. Now in our fourth year, we will describe our program and our experiences including guiding distance learners successfully through the program.

In its 1-year realization, a core curriculum of 18 credits is augmented by 6 credits of electives which the student may use to tailor the program to their specific interests. The program is capped by a 10-week, 6-credit summer internship. The 12 core credits taken in the fall teach the fundamentals of particle transport, particle properties & characterization, particle formation and transformation kinetics and the mathematics of particulate systems. The 6 core credits taken in the spring teach the student to apply the fundamentals to both (a) equipment design (in a unit operations course) and (b) product and process design (in a product engineering course).

The presenters of this poster are the program directors, both with long industrial careers preceding this venture into education. In addition, we have developed a strong network of industrial partners who share a wealth of additional experience and expertise with our students both as adjunct professors and as internship mentors. We have successfully placed international students in internships at US companies via the curriculum practical training program (CPT) who have gone on to practice in industry after graduation under the optional practical training program (OPT).