T. Michael Duncan


Courses Taught

EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering
EngrD 2190 - Chemical Process Design & Analysis
ChemE 2200 - Physical Chemistry II for Engineers
ChemE 3010 - Career Perspectives
ChemE 3320 - Analysis of Separation Processes
ChemE 3900 - Chemical Kinetics & Reactor Design
Chem(ChemE) 391 - Physical Chemistry II
ChemE 4220 - Chemical Engineering Processes Laboratory
ChemE 4620 - Chemical Process Design
ChemE 491 - Undergraduate Teaching in Chemical Engineering
ChemE 492 - Practices & Principles of Research
ChemE 4990 - Senior Seminar
ChemE 520.1 - An Overview of Chemical Processing
ChemE 7920 - Practices & Principles of Graduate Research
Math 1920 - Calculus II for Engineers
EngrG 1050 - Engineering Seminar
Instructional Seminar Series on Research

EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering (3 credits)

Design and analysis of processes involving chemical change. Students learn strategies for design, such as creative thinking, conceptual blockbusting, and (re)definition of the design goal, in the context of contemporary chemical and biomolecular engineering. Includes methods for analyzing designs, such as mathematical modeling, empirical analysis by graphics, and dynamic scaling through dimensional analysis, to assess product quality, economics, safety, and environmental issues.

Current Course Information

semester    enrollment teaching assistants
Fall 1991 48 Kim McLoughlin (nee Miller)
Fall 1992 26 Martha Jones
Fall 1993 64 Sue Walan, RoseAnn Ehrhard, Deborah Follman (nee Kaufman), and Beth Lim
Fall 1994 51 Shana Chacko, Kaushik Datta, Keri MacDonald, Tom Sequist, Vivian Tso
Fall 1995 75 Peter Adams, Suparna Bhol, Jodi Boffard, Queenie Ho, Kaan Onur
Fall 1996 69 Susan Colvert, Mary Carmen Gasco, Mindy Magyar, Michael Murdoch, Kristin Goppel (nee Powers), and Joe Salama
Fall 1997 69 Brian Helm, Aaron Lucas, Michelle Dinsmoor (nee McManus), Brian Murphy, Amitha Reddy, Michelle Walters
Fall 1998 64 Kim Felmet, Sean Holleran, Laura Kelley, Gordon Klancnik, John Murphy, and Julia Zheng
Fall 1999 66 Ryan Buck, Albert Hwa, Brian Pfleger, Merle Elliot (nee Smith), Eugene Tavares, and Carissa Howard (nee Tener)
Fall 2000 56 Dan Bakken, Maria Laughlin, Evan McCaskey, Debora Wang, and Brooke Zimpfer
Fall 2001 39 Elizabeth Brown, Tara Gooen, Angel Hill, Chris Johnson, and Brock Tuczynski
Fall 2002 61 Tracy Ellspermann, Elizabeth Hastings, Michael Senra, Joe Sobota, Ed Smith, and Fernanda Tavares
Fall 2003 72 Indira Gopal Sriram, Ann Hansgate, Brian Majors, Eric Margelefsky, Brendon Ricart, and Dan Westerberg
Fall 2004 73 Meredith Kratzer Sellers, Kaitlin Mallouk, Andrew Ritzmann, Emily Warren, and Pete Wiechecki
Fall 2005 82 Moataz (Moe) Gadalla, Kelley Garvin, Stephanie Glass, Daniel Johnson, Andrea Mazuski, and Esther Park
Fall 2006 88 Debbie Audus, Steve Hohwald, Sarah Miller (nee Mangan), Liz Marcil, Spencer Morgan, and Kimberly Wong
Fall 2007 86 Emily Reasor, Rachael Barton, Jenna Rea, Nimil Sood, Derrick Tang, and Nick Hoh
Fall 2008 85 Rebecca Bennett, Kori Dunn, Michael Myers, Stavros (nee Steven) Timothy, Brian Weitzner, and Adam Wufsus
Fall 2009 116 Dan Brown, Audrey Cohen, Parry Grewal, Kelly Mabry (nee Pollock), Barbara Wang, and Becci Weber
Fall 2010 97 Colin Buss, Christine Catudal, Rachel Gilmore (nee Hoffman), Alvin Kumarga, Norman Su, and Liz Tutunjian
Fall 2011 82 Jon Kienzle, Yuan Li, Chris Long, Katie Reilly, Eddie Reynolds, and Maja Stojiljkovic
Fall 2012 78 Chida Balaji, Andrew Broenen, Allison Pinterpe, Andrew Robbins, Zach Sherman, and Samantha Tierney
Fall 2013 73 McKenzie Huston, Gina Johnson, Jack Li, David Sroczynski, Alana Szkodny, and Lauren Taylor

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EngrD 2190 - Chemical Process Design & Analysis (4 credits)

Engineering problems involving material and energy balances. Batch and continuous reactive systems in the steady and unsteady states. Introduction to phase equilibria for multicomponent systems. Examples drawn from a variety of chemical and biomolecular processes.

Current Course Information

semester    enrollment teaching assistants
Fall 2014 48 Tim Abbott, Katrina Curtiss, Kathy Fein, Bari Grossman, Carl Schultz, and Ian Slauch.
Fall 2015 110 Maxine Chan, Matt Ferguson, Jesse Garcia, McKenzie Hubert, Alex Settle, and Jiamin Zhang.
Fall 2016 82 Jenny Bushnell, Aron Coraor, Natalie Goh, Robert Lee, Amy Penick, and Alexandra Vito.
Fall 2017 82 Ameer Basrai, Doris Chen, Joe Hassler, Andy Luke, Angela Tang, and Akash Vaidya.
Fall 2018 73 Sydney Brannan, Jordan Fuller, Francis Ledesma, Gabriel Marrero, Rose Yin, and Olivia Young.
Fall 2019 52 Sabrina Chen, Spencer Hong, Kasim Khan, Ian Morrison, Ellen Park, and Michelle Quien.
Fall 2020 47 Apoorva Agarwal, Gavin Batsimm, Tommy Bradford, Drew Lazarow, Ann Metzloff, Andrew Simon, and Emily Spiek.
Fall 2021 45 Lucy Cadanau, Sarah Huang, Kelsey Levine, and Max Serota.
Fall 2022 56 Ailen Lao, Leon Lee, Ariel Struzyk, and Sanna Vedrine
Fall 2023 51 Burke Combs, Austin Kwan, Maggie MacNeel, and Austin Vollweiler.

Course Content, Format, and Objectives

Textbook: Chemical Engineering Design and Analysis - An Introduction

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ChemE 2200 - Physical Chemistry II for Engineers (4 credits)

Applications of quantum chemistry to (1) the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter for spectroscopy and strategic bond breaking and (2) the behavior of electrons in solids; insulators, conductors, and semiconductors. Quantum and statistical mechanics for classical thermodynamics; 1st and 2nd laws, phase equilibrium, chemical equilibrium, and heat pumps. Devising rate equations for chemical reactor design from experiment and theory; kinetic theory of gases and transition state theory.

Current Course Information

semester    enrollment teaching assistants
Spring 2023 51 Leon Lee, Brianna Morris, Kaleigh Soucy, Ariel Struzyk, Jonathan Su, and Sanna Vedrine.
Spring 2024 50 Donovan Cho, Lauren de Silva, Ashlyn Dumaw, and Dennis Wu.

Textbook: Physical Chemistry - A Molecular Approach, D. A. McQuarrie & J. D. Simon

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ChemE 3010 - Career Perspectives (1 credit)

Weekly presentations by visiting chemical and biomolecular engineers to describe career paths and current professions. Job overviews and day-to-day details. Lessons learned from experiences. Restricted to juniors affiliated with chemical & biomolecular engineering.

Current Course Information

Spring 2010 - 75 students
Spring 2011 - 75 students
Spring 2012 - 100 students
Spring 2013 - 90 students
Spring 2014 - 85 students
Spring 2015 - 99 students
Spring 2017 - 97 students
Spring 2018 - 75 students
Spring 2019 - 63 students

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ChemE 3320 - Analysis of Separation Processes (3 credits)

Analysis and design of chemical separation processes involving phase equilibria and mass transfer. Topics include continuous and batch processing, counter-current and co-current flow patterns, tray columns and packed columns for distillation, gas absorption/stripping, and liquid-liquid extraction, batch separation by selective adsorption on solids, continuous separation by selective permeation through membranes, and choosing among separation options.

Spring 2002 - 60 students - Co-taught with Yong Joo. TAs: Devashish Choudhary, Brock Tuczynski, and Tara Gooen

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ChemE 3900 - Chemical Kinetics & Reactor Design (3 credits)

Study of chemical reaction kinetics and principles of reactor design for chemical processes. Outcomes: (1) Develop a sound fundamental (molecular level) understanding of chemical reaction kinetics, (2) Develop practical approaches to modeling complex reactions to obtain a rate equation: identify dominant effects and estimate the consequences of neglecting secondary effects, test assumptions and assess predictions, and analyze numerically, (3) Develop the ability to construct from first principles mathematical models to predict system behavior, and (4) Develop approaches to optimize reactor design with regard to multiple performance criteria.

Current Course Information

Spring 2007 - 76 students - TAs: Kevin Hughes, Liz Marcil, and Erica Schlesinger

Spring 2008 - 86 students - TAs: Tom Mansell, Nick Hoh, Emily Reasor, and Ariel Waitz

Spring 2009 - 87 students - TAs: Sean O'Brien, Rachel Brenc, Jason Reck, and Brian Weitzner.

Spring 2010 - 77 students - TAs: Elyse Burzynski, Nicholas Chisholm, Audrey Cohen, and Becci Weber

Spring 2011 - 82 students - TAs: Colin Buss, Sakul Ratanalert, and Julie Smith

Spring 2012 - 109 students - TAs: Doug Greer, Chris Long, Lena Mitkey, and Eddie Reynolds

Spring 2013 - 95 students - TAs: Chida Balaji, Jimmy Liu, Patricia Grippo, and Justin Rosch

Spring 2014 - 101 students - TAs: Allan Brooks, Matt Clardy, Franklin Lee, Alana Szkodny, and Lauren Taylor

Spring 2015 - 104 students - TAs: Heather Barton, Kathy Fein, Carl Schultz, Ian Slauch, and Bill Wheatle.

Spring 2016 - 95 students - TAs: Will Gregg, Eric McShane, Ge (Caroline) Qu, Michael Statt, and Parth Trivedi.

Spring 2017 - 98 students - TAs: Alex Marzilli, Emily Mendelsohn, Alyssa Restauro, and Charles Wan.

Spring 2018 - 70 students - TAs: Adam Berry, Kathryn Haldeman, Michaela Jones, and Vinnie Rigoglioso.

Spring 2019 - 64 students - TAs: Praveen Bagavandoss, Jordan Fuller, Francis Ledesma,and Connie Li.

Spring 2021 - 48 students - TAs: Apoorva Agarwal, Max Graham, Drew Lazarow, and Sarah Paquin

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Chem (ChemE) 391 - Physical Chemistry II (4 credits)

(1) Classical thermodynamics - empirical laws that convert measurable quantities pressure, temperature, volume and composition into abstract quantities enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs energy to describe chemical systems; and (2) Chemical kinetics - reaction rate laws from experimental data and reaction mechanisms; approximation methods and applications to photolithography, polymerization and catalysis.

semester    enrollment teaching assistants
Spring 1991 56 Joanne Button
Spring 1992 64 Pat McLoughlin
Spring 1993 91 Bill Newman
Spring 1994 76 Steve Stone and Bill Newman
Spring 1995 92 Tim Carroll and Darin Ulness
Spring 1999 71 Jeff Willits
Spring 2000 74 Yan Lou
Spring 2001 67 Orson Sydora
Spring 2002 56 Dan Baird
Spring 2003 45 Seppe Kuehn
Spring 2004 63 Marc Faggin

Course Content, Format, and Objectives

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ChemE 4220 - Chemical Engineering Processes Laboratory (4 credits)

Experiments conducted at the ChemEng Discovery Space Summer School, Imperial College London emphasizing heat exchangers, flow lines, pipe flow, fluid mechanics, heat engines, and chemical engineering process equipment design & construction. Students learn to operate a pilot plant to capture and sequester carbon dioxide and compete to design a process to independently control flow rate to a vessel and fluid level in the vessel.

semester    enrollment
Summer 2017 20
Summer 2018 12
Summer 2019 21

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ChemE 4620 - Chemical Process Design (5 credits)

Students prepare a full-scale feasibility study of a chemical process including product supply and demand forecasts, development of mass and energy balances and a process flow sheet sufficient for estimating the capital and operating costs of the process facilities. Students also define all off plot support facilities and estimate the capital and operating costs of those facilities as well. This information is used to develop an economic analysis of the facilities and to provide an ultimate recommendation as to the viability of the project.

Spring 1994 - Co-supervised (with R. Von Berg) five teams charged with designing processes to produce acrylonitrile.

  • Team 1: Debbie Kauffman, Beth Lim, Allegra Rich, and Todd Riccobene
  • Team 2: Ben Kolpa, Robin Sacco, John Schutter, and James Sorhagen
  • Team 3: Brian Hotchkiss, Brad Arlett, and Mark Milgrom
  • Team 4: Carlton Brooks, Peter Cottrell, Jim Compton, and Brian Ryder
  • Team 5: Mike Budreski, Holly Matusovich, Bill Rieke, and Jeff Soucia

Spring 1995 - Course organizer and coordinator.

Spring 1996 - Co-supervised (with R. Von Berg) three teams charged with designing processes to produce ethylene oxide.

  • Team 1: Arne Bomblies, Kelley Burridge, Jeff Larson, and Nelson Quim
  • Team 2: Owen Evans, Alexander Hopkins, Ruben Koch, and David West
  • Team 3: Andrew Davis, Bryan Olthof, Martin Palma, and Mark Saindon

Spring 1998 - Co-supervised (with T. Obot) four teams charged with designing processes to produce ethylene oxide.

  • Team 1: Jason Burbank, Aaron Lucas, Adit Seth, and Tammy Wiser
  • Team 2: Sophie Arsenlis, David Lynch, Gretchen Shaw, and Megan Winchell
  • Team 3: Jeremy Goldman, Garkay Leung, Sandeep Sathyamoorthy, and Xiao-Qi Zhang
  • Team 4: John Adams, Eric Felz, Ryan Tamayo, and Eric Tu

Spring 2003 - Supervised four teams charged with designing processes to produce ethylene oxide.

  • Team 1: David Arnold, Michael Cody, Steve Harasim, and Scott Strandberg
  • Team 2: Natalie Eppling, Jon Haines, Satch Sil, and Ed Smith
  • Team 3: Kevin Ostrowski, James Park, Joe Sobota, and Drew Vogel
  • Team 4: Tracy Ellspermann, Elizabeth Hastings, Dan Kung, and Emily Miles

Spring 2004 - Assisted with supervision of four teams charged with designing processes to produce ethanol from corn and four teams charged with designing processes to produce styrene from ethylbenzene.

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ChemE 491 - Undergraduate Teaching in Chemical Engineering (1 credit)

A study group to discuss methods of teaching and concepts in learning, such as learning styles, problem-based learning, cooperative learning, grading, classroom presentations, and academic integrity.

  • Fall 1997 - 9 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)
  • Fall 1998 - 12 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)
  • Fall 1999 - 10 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)
  • Fall 2000 - 13 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)
  • Fall 2001 - 11 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)
  • Fall 2002 - 10 students (co-taught with M. Ackley)

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ChemE 492 - Principles & Practices of Research (1 credit)

A seminar series to introduce research practices and principles. Topics include documenting and reporting research (writing and speaking), experimental design, data analysis by regression and correlation, serendipity (how to capitalize on accidents), inadvertent self-deception (how to recognize and avoid), and the visual display of quantitative information. Also includes social aspects of research, such as professional ethics, applying to (and selecting) a graduate school, and graduate student life.

Concurrent participation in an undergraduate research project is advantageous, but not required.

Spring 1998 syllabus

Spring 1998 - 9 students

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ChemE 4990 - Senior Seminar (1 credit)

Students attend colloquia and seminars of their choice and write one-page summaries/critiques. Seminars may be chosen from weekly series offered by, for example, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, History & Ethics of Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Sustainable Engineering.

Fall 2005 - 2 students
Spring 2006 - 6 students
Fall 2006 - 5 students
Spring 2007 - 6 students
Fall 2007 - 3 students
Spring 2008 - 6 students
Fall 2008 - 6 students
Spring 2009 - 1 student
Fall 2009 - 4 students
Fall 2010 - 5 students
Spring 2011 - 5 students
Fall 2011 - 3 students
Spring 2012 - 4 students
Fall 2012 - 3 students
Spring 2013 - 7 students
Fall 2013 - 2 students
Spring 2014 - 8 students
Fall 2014 - 4 students
Spring 2015 - 2 students
Fall 2015 - 1 student
Spring 2016 - 3 students
Fall 2016 - 3 students
Spring 2017 - 1 student
Fall 2017 - 1 student
Spring 2018 - 4 students
Fall 2018 - 3 students
Spring 2019 - 2 students
Fall 2019 - 3 students

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ChemE 520.1 - An Overview of Chemical Processing (1 credit)

ChemE 520 comprises six one-credit modules. I taught the module on chemical processes, intended for non-chemical engineering students such as chemistry majors, materials science majors, and mechanical engineers. I covered fundamentals of design and analysis of continuous, steady-state chemical processes, including process flowsheets, mass and energy balances, economic analysis, reactor fundamentals, separation by adsorption/stripping and distillation.

Textbook: Chemical Engineering Design and Analysis - An Introduction

Spring 1998 - 9 students
Spring 1999 - 10 students
Spring 2000 - 6 students

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ChemE 7920 - Principles & Practices of Graduate Research (1 credits)

A colloquium / discussion group series for first-year graduate students to assist the transition to graduate study and beyond. Discussions of the culture and responsibilities of graduate research, the School of Chemical Engineerng, and the professional community. The mechanics of conducting research (experimental design, data analysis by regression and correlation, serendipity in research, how to recognize and avoid self-deception), documenting research (lab notebooks, computer files), and reporting research (writing a scientific manuscript, oral presentations, and the visual display of quantitative information).

Course organizer in 98-99; discussions led by chemical engineering faculty.

semester    enrollment faculty presenters
Fall 1998 25 Duncan, Escobedo, Olbricht, Shuler, and Steen
Spring 1999 25 Anton, Duncan, Lee, Saltzman, and Shuler
Fall 1999 12 Duncan, Olbricht, Shuler, and Steen
Spring 2000 12 Duncan, Clancy, Saltzman
Fall 2000 8 Duncan, Olbricht, Shuler, and Steen
Fall 2001 18 Duncan, Olbricht, Archer, and Shuler

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Math 1920 - Calculus II for Engineers (4 credits)

Introduction to multivariable calculus. Topics include partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, line and surface integrals, vector fields, Green�s theorem, Stokes� theorem, and the divergence theorem.

The second-semester calculus course for engineering students. The chief topics are vector calculus, multivariable calculus - differentiation and integration, and integration in vector fields.

Textbook: Thomas' Calculus, 11th edition

Fall 1998 - 29 students
Fall 1999 - 27 students
Fall 2000 - 62 students
Fall 2001 - 60 students
Fall 2002 - 29 students
Fall 2003 - 56 students
Fall 2004 - 30 students
Fall 2005 - 27 students
Fall 2006 - 63 students
Fall 2007 - 30 students
Fall 2008 - 49 students
Fall 2009 - 33 students

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EngrG 1050 - Engineering Seminar (1 credit)

First-year engineering students meet in groups of 18 to 29 students weekly with their faculty advisors. Discussions may include the engineering curriculum and student programs, what engineers do, the character of engineering careers, active research areas in the college and in engineering in general, and study and examination skills useful for engineering students.

Provides freshmen with an introduction and orientation to engineering activities and the College of Engineering.

semester    enrollment peer advisors
Fall 2003 18 Carol Juhlin
Fall 2005 19 Penny Burke and Stephanie Glass
Fall 2009 21 Christine Catudal, Elizabeth Tutunjian, and Natalie Wu
Fall 2013 18 Kathy Fein and Rosako Wagner
Fall 2017 19 Francis Ledesma and Olivia Young
Fall 2021 17 Ailen Lao and Kaleigh Soucy

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Instructional Seminar Series on Research

Seminar Series Description

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