Purpose and Format

The first part of the exam will test the student's ability to comprehend and critique modern chemical engineering research literature. This examination should be taken immediately after the student has completed the six core courses. This exam usually will be given immediately after the Final week of Spring quarter for students started in Autumn quarter. The second part of the exam will test the student's ability to initiate original research and formulate a plan to conduct the research. This examination should be taken within two quarters after the student has passed the first part of the exam or before the start of the second Winter quarter (sixth quarter for students started in Autumn). The first part of the examination may be waived for students with an average core course GPA of 3.45 or higher; these students may proceed directly to the second part of the exam. Students with an average core course GPA below 3.2 but higher than 3.0 may petition to the Graduate Studies Committee for taking the Qualifying Examination. Details about each part of the examination are given below.

This exam will be based upon the student's ability to critically evaluate a recently published research article in chemical engineering journals. Specifically, the student will be asked to:

• Identify the problems addressed in the paper
• Formulate a critical appraisal of the author's contributions to the problems and the significance of the work
• Critically evaluate the technical soundness of the approach used and results obtained in the work
• Propose in concrete terms research work that might be done to extend and (if necessary) improve upon the study discussed in the article.

The student taking the exam will be given three research articles to consider. The student will have one week to choose one of those three articles to evaluate, and another week to submit a written report addressing the four points listed above. Within six working days after the submission of the report, the student will give an oral presentation to a three-member faculty panel. The oral presentation will be approximately one hour in length; the student will first give a 20-minute presentation, followed by a 40-minute question and answer session. The panel members for this examination will be selected by the Graduate Studies Committee. The student's advisor will not be a member of the panel. A majority vote from the faculty panel is required for the student to pass this exam. If the student fails the exam, he/she must take the exam again after one quarter before he/she can take the Research Proposition Exam.

The student should consult with his/her advisor on the research topic and prepare a proposal outlining a research plan that may be conducted as a part of his/her dissertation research. The proposal should be prepared following the format and guidelines provided by the student's advisor. Usually the proposal should contain statements about the research problems and approaches to be used, literature review, project goal and specific objectives, experimental methods, and expected results and significance of the work. It is highly advisable to follow the NSF proposal guidelines in preparing the proposal. The proposal should be submitted to a three-member committee with the student's advisor as the chair of the committee. The student should then orally defend the proposal within two weeks of proposal submission. The oral defense should include a 30-minute presentation followed with questions and answering for a total of ~1.5 hours. A majority vote from the committee is required for the student to pass this examination. If the student fails the exam the first time, he/she may take the exam again after one quarter. If he/she should fail the exam twice, he/she will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.