The importance of biodiversity to the health of our planet is increasingly being discussed, not only by scientists, but by the public at large. Therefore, an understanding of how human activities are affecting biodiversity is vital for informed participation in society, and thus it is an important topic for liberal arts education. Here, I present…

A new laboratory course has been developed at the University of Virginia for senior- level chemical engineering students. The new course is based on three 4-week long experiments in bioprocess engineering, energy conversion and catalysis, and polymer synthesis and characterization. The emphasis is on the integration of process steps and the…