LETTERS FROM THE TRENCHES

1. (2009) "I think Capstone was really effective in several different ways. It taught how to break down a huge, difficult project into more “bite-sized” pieces that were manageable. If you tried to look at or take on the entire project at once, there was no chance of getting anywhere, but sort of breaking it up and laying it all out made even an impossible-seeming task something that could be taken care of."



2. (2009) "Overall, I liked the structure of the class.  I liked the project-based class and thought that the environment fit more closely to the kind of environment I will see starting in June.  I expect industry to be structured similarly to this class."



3. (2009) "It was hard, but I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishment I felt at the end of the semester. I think that with everything else going on in the semester (other classes and activities), it was hard to devote enough time to the project at certain points in the semester."



4. (2008) " It has taught me how to deal with difficult situations and it has made me a stronger person. It also helped me to realize that I can do anything that I put my mind to. This class made me think about problems and solve them myself. I think I have become an engineer with a hard backbone."



5. (2006) "I am working on modeling the pre heating phase of different sites – which leads me to the “real” reason as to why I am writing:

   THANK YOU!!!

   I am not quite sure that you know how much of an impact your class has had on my performance (already!) and the way that I ‘handle’ myself. So, just to give you a few examples…

   Modeling is what the xxxxx project was all about – that is exactly what I am doing now. I am just incredibly happy that I had already ‘done it’ and that with that came confidence. Confidence in my abilities and the quality of my work. No stress. Sure, it is completely different, but I know what it takes to do a simulation. There is a coworker who is completely blown away by my confidence in the project and what I have accomplished in ONE month. She has been working close to a year with the company and she told me that she was STILL trying to understand what modeling meant. Also, I impressed the team leader when he thought that we would be ‘stuck’ for a week because no new data would be available until then. I suggested that we do an approximation (a ‘fudged’ mass balance) just so that we could continue to work and not wait for the new info. I am pretty sure that he doubted me until I came back with your famous ‘back of the napkin’ calculation. We continued to work, and a week later we were all surprised at how close I really was to the true value. I hate to read back on this and see that it seems as if I am just bragging, actually, my whole point is that it was your teachings that lead to this! I don’t think it would have ever occurred to me to make ‘such and such assumptions’ and have the guts to suggest that we go on MY approximation. This is what your class did for me. My skills were further proven when in a presentation, I kept complete control of my audience. Again, not something that I would have thought in a million years of doing, if it wouldn’t have been for your reassurance. I was even complimented on the fact that my presentation had the relevance and significance (or ‘your’ depth and scope!) and that I knew how to handle a group that big.

   Again, I want to thank you for everything. I could go on and on as to how much you AND  the Capstone class has truly helped me, but I am sure you get the message. I will forever be grateful!

6. (2005) "After having taken your class, I am unique among my peers in that I am not stimied by any amount of work or level of challenge that is put in front of me. I've talked with a few other B.S. Chem E.'s from other schools and none of them can account for anything near the likes of your class.  While others might see that as an undue hardship, I'm hope and am sure you'll take it as a compliment. A degree in Chem E places you on a tier above most any other B.S. degree, but thanks to you, those from OU are in an elite subset of that group.
   
   Anyhow, on a personal note, I wanted to say thanks for the push. I got a B in your class when I honestly believed I deserved an A. It was only recently that I saw some logic to it. I may be wrong, but I now feel that you didn't grade us on how well we did compared to each other, or compared to the rest of Chem E students in the world. I think you had a high level of faith in what each individual was capable of, and graded as a percentage of reaching it. That's a hard yardstick of measure to live up to, but you were correct in at least my case, and that I take as a compliment."



7. (2004) "You once told me that there were things much worse than capstone design and that my first year of graduate school would be one of them.  At the time I didn't believe you because, after all, how could anything be more laborious and stressful than the ChE capstone.  Well, now I have found out what first-year grad school is all about, and I wanted to tell you that you were right.  I never imagined anything being more intense (I'll tactfully refrain from using the word "worse") than ChE 4273.  Never ever ever EVER could anything be more stressful than ChE 4273. 

   I think was half right about this:  I don't think any of the four courses I am in are more intense than ChE 4273.  However all of the core courses (three) that I am in are as intense as ChE 4273.  The problems here are so seemingly simple and yet so incredibly complex to solve.