Getting Students to Account for Variation in their Analysis of Real ChE Processes

As educators are well aware, the customary educational setting in which students develop problem solving skills is one where the numerical values presented are specific and absolute. The deterministic nature of the end-of-chapter type problems is imbedded in their minds well before students even matriculate. However, as practicing engineers, they will confront the variation associated with measured data in the real world. A course in introductory statistics can force students to attend to the concept of variation. Statistics can be defined as the science of how to collect, analyze, interpret and present data with the purpose of understanding variation in a system. A key objective of introductory engineering statistics is to have students recognize variation is inevitable, and teach them skills to quantify the variation and make engineering decisions which account for it. The importance of statistics is well recognized in the chemical engineering community. For example, several recent articles in Chemical Engineering Progress have focused on applied statistics. Indeed, many chemical engineering programs have incorporated statistics into their curriculum. This paper describes efforts to infuse statistics into the curriculum at Oregon State University (OSU). The approach is primarily at two levels. A sophomore/junior level introductory statistics course, Chemical Process Statistics, has been developed. Concepts are introduced through case studies using industrial data, whenever possible. Statistical analysis of the data is discussed in terms of the physical process. In this way, the statistics and the science are coupled. However, these concepts are best synthesized when integrated with hands-on application of these concepts. To this end, statistical concepts are reinforced in senior lab. The content and structure of the introductory statistics course and efforts to integrate these concepts into senior lab will be discussed. 1