Collaborative Research: Research Initiation: Exploring Learning Pathways in the Formation of Socially Responsible Chemical Engineers

Chemical engineers play a central role in addressing pressing societal challenges, from clean energy and safe drinking water to sustainable manufacturing and public health. Yet national surveys show that many chemical engineering programs fall short in preparing graduates to consider the ethical, social, and environmental consequences of their technical decisions, even as industry increasingly seeks engineers who can do exactly that. This project will investigate how different types of hands-on learning experiences during college, such as co-op placements, study abroad programs, and community or service-learning projects, help chemical engineering students develop a stronger sense of professional social responsibility. We define professional social responsibility as an individual’s awareness of how their work affects communities and the world, and a felt obligation to use their skills to help others. By recruiting students at two very different institutions, a private university in the Northeast and a public institution in the South, this project will generate findings that are broadly relevant to chemical engineering students across American higher education, rather than reflecting a single type of student or program. Because many students cannot afford to study abroad, this project will also examine domestic, lower-cost pathways, helping ensure that our recommendations support equitable access to social responsibility development for all chemical engineering students. This project aligns with the National Science Foundation's Research Initiation in Engineering Formation program by building new engineering education research capacity, supporting a teaching-focused faculty member in developing rigorous mixed-methods research skills under the mentorship of an experienced engineering education researcher. Ultimately, our findings will help universities design curricula that produce engineers who are technically skilled and prepared to consider the human and societal consequences of their work, strengthening the nation's engineering workforce and its capacity to responsibly address national and global challenges. This project will use a mixed-methods design grounded in the Professional Social Responsibility Development Model (PSRDM) to investigate how curricular and co-curricular experiential learning pathways, including co-op/internship placements, study abroad, community and service-learning, and undergraduate research, shape professional social responsibility and identity formation among chemical engineering undergraduates. The project addresses two research questions: (RQ1) What curricular and co- curricular learning experiences predict professional social responsibility development among chemical engineering undergraduates? and (RQ2) What learning experiences do students describe as shaping (a) their understanding of professional social responsibility and (b) their engineering career aspirations? In Phase 1, we will use the Engineering Professional Responsibility Assessment (EPRA) to identify quantitative predictors of social responsibility among chemical engineering undergraduates at Northeastern University and the University of Houston, institutions with contrasting demographic profiles and co-op participation rates. In Phase 2, we will conduct semi-structured interviews with 24 students using the Critical Incident Technique to understand student experiences related to professional social responsibility. We will analyze the interview data through critical incident analysis, PSRDM-based structural coding, and matrix analysis, to explore how students interpret and internalize these experiences. Our project results will contribute new insights into how varied experiential contexts, both domestic and global, shape students' ethical awareness, civic engagement, and professional formation. Expected outcomes of this mentored project include extending PSRDM to new disciplinary and experiential contexts, advancing methodological approaches in mixed-methods formation research, and generating evidence-based guidance for curriculum design that expands chemical engineering students’ participation in experiential education. This project directly aligns with the NSF Research Initiation in Engineering Formation program's mission to build engineering education research capacity and advance the science of engineering formation, and it responds to national priorities for strengthening a technically excellent, ethically grounded engineering workforce capable of addressing pressing national and global challenges. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.