2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Designing AI-enabled MEB Learning Activities

Presented at Leveraging AI for Enhanced Learning

Material and Energy Balances (MEB) is often one of the first technical courses that undergraduates take in the chemical engineering major. Along with providing an introduction to the profession, the course serves an important role in orienting students to how chemical engineers think and solve problems. While MEB content has been roughly similar since at least 1990, some changes, such as greater inclusion of computer usage in calculations and analysis, have been seen in a survey of MEB courses conducted by the AIChE Education Division Survey Committee in Fall 2021.

With the release of ChatGPT in Fall 2022, and as the use of generative AI tools have become more pervasive amongst students, greater consideration is needed by engineering instructors in how to use and integrate these approaches into their own courses. Targeting MEB for the creation of AI-enabled teaching offers an opportunity to integrate AI early into the chemical engineering curriculum. Helping students build critical thinking skills and AI competencies (e.g., the limitations of AI)—or, generally, how to think about AI—at the beginning of their chemical engineering course requirements could help students better understand how they may leverage AI tools throughout their studies, and how AI is being used in the profession. Early disciplinary exposure to AI use may also help shape student perspective on AI and engineering, especially if a student’s previous use of chatbots for studying were not productive. Additionally, the previous MEB survey was conducted before the release of ChatGPT, and would not have been able to capture how instructors for that course may have been leveraging generative AI.

To help address this gap, and as an example of how to intentionally integrate AI into a particular core course in chemical engineering, we are creating MEB activities that leverage commercially available chatbots, which could be used across course contexts, and reflecting on how AI has affected MEB. These learning activities—and other pedagogical materials—are designed to target a range of MEB concepts, learning objectives, and use cases (e.g., in-class or outside of class, one-off or continued use). This work-in-progress paper describes the types of AI-enabled activities we have created, and our reflections on implementing these activities in our classrooms. Our analysis will present strategies for designing homework problems, in-class activities, syllabus language, and other pedagogical materials that may be helpful to instructors who are considering using AI tools for teaching. By sharing a case of multiple instructors designing AI-embedded learning activities for a particular course, along with our observations as to how AI has impacted student learning and our own teaching, we hope our example can inspire other instructors to consider how they may try similar approaches to enhance learning in their own courses by integrating AI intentionally.

Authors

Dr. Christopher V.H.-H. Chen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1477-6024 Columbia University [biography]

Christopher V.H.-H. Chen, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in the Discipline of and Director of Masters Studies in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University. He completed his PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University; MBA at Columbia Business School; and BS and MS in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. His teaching and research interests include the application of case- and problem-based approaches to STEM teaching; improving critical thinking with educational technology (e.g., AI); integrating sustainability and other human considerations into the engineering training; and preparing graduate students as future leaders.
Dr. Sakul Ratanalert http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-807X Columbia University in the City of New York [biography]

Sakul Ratanalert is a Senior Lecturer in Discipline in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University. He received his BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University, and his MS in Chemical Engineering Practice and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT. His current research interests include developing engaging learning activities and building students' intuition and conceptual understanding.
Dr. Taryn Melkus Bayles University of Pittsburgh [biography]

Taryn Bayles, Ph.D., is a NTS Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department at the University of Pittsburgh, where she incorporates her industrial experience by bringing practical examples and interactive learning
Dr. Janie Brennan Washington University in St. Louis [biography]

Janie Brennan is a Senior Lecturer of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on implementation of process safety interventions and other evidence-based pedagogy in chemical engineering coursework.
Dr. Milo Koretsky Tufts University [biography]

Milo Koretsky is the McDonnell Family Bridge Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and in the Department of Education at Tufts University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley,
Prof. Matthew W Liberatore http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5495-7145 Trine University [biography]

Matthew W. Liberatore is a Professor and Department Chair in the McKetta Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. He previously served on the faculty at the University of Toledo and at the Colorado School of Mines. Professor Liberatore earned his B.S. degree from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, all in chemical engineering. His expertise lies in the unique rheology measurements of complex fluids as well as engineering education research related to novel uses of technology and big data. He has authored several interactive textbooks with zyBooks and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles.
https://www.trine.edu/academics/colleges-schools/faculty/engineering/liberatore-matthew.aspx
Prof. Adam T Melvin Clemson University [biography]

Adam Melvin obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering and a BA in Chemistry from the University of Arizona, a MS in Chemical Engineering (with a minor in Biotechnology) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University under the direct
Dr. Courtney Pfluger Northeastern University [biography]

Dr. Courtney Pfluger is a Full Teaching Professor in Chemical Engineering and Engineering Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University, where she led the redesign of First-year Engineering curriculum, developed an innovation and social impactful Chemical Engineering Capstone design course, and created and ran since 2013 a faculty-led program to Brazil on Sustainable Energy. She has interests in sustainability-focused engineering entrepreneurship, educational opportunities to gain global competencies and social responsibility, and researching how to develop inclusive teamwork environments.
Dr. David L. Silverstein P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3221-7565 University of Mississippi [biography]

Dr. David Silverstein is the Chair and Professor of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Mississippi. He holds a PhD and MS in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a BSChE from the University of Alabama. Silverstein is a licensed Professional Engineer in Kentucky (PE #22899). Prior to his current position, he spent 25 years at the University of Kentucky, where he served as a professor and Extended Campus Director. Silverstein is a Fellow of ASEE and of AIChE.
Dr. Donald P. Visco Jr. The University of Akron [biography]

Donald P. Visco, Jr. is the former Dean of the College of Engineering at The University of Akron and currently a Professor of Chemical, Biomolecular, and Corrosion Engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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