Hydrogen Education Curriculum at Michigan Technological University

The chemical engineering aspects of energy conservation and sustainability can have important societal benefits. One emerging area that requires additional study to determine if it is fully feasible is hydrogen and fuel cells. As such, it is imperative to educate students so that they can be informed of the advantages and disadvantages as well as the challenges and opportunities of hydrogen technology.

This presentation will describe a Department of Energy funded project on curriculum development in hydrogen and fuel cells at Michigan Technological University. There are four major emphases of this project.

1. Project work in the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise, in which students from any discipline and class standing can enroll in as electives or towards the Enterprise Minor.

2. Development of courses specifically related to hydrogen technology for undergraduate and graduate students

- Fundamentals of Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier

- Hydrogen Measurements Laboratory

- Fuel Cell Fundamentals

3. Development of hydrogen technology related course material for core courses in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering.

4. Development of hydrogen technology related supplementary material for the text Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (authors R. M. Felder and R. W. Rousseau) and for the text Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles (author C. J. Geankoplis).

These topics and projects are designed in a module format so that they can be easily incorporated as stand-alone modules in individual courses in the engineering curriculum.