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Contact Information

Office:
Goddard Hall, 125
Phone: +1-508-831-5372
Fax: +1-508-831-5853
dibiasio@wpi.edu

David DiBiasio

Associate Professor & Department Head, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated with:
- Environmental Engineering
- Liberal Arts & Engineering
Director, Washington DC Project Center

My research involves educational scholarship: investigating how students learn chemical engineering and how the curriculum can be modified to optimize learning. That includes understanding learning in hands-on labs compared to virtual or remotely operated labs; learning in international contexts; and how safety, ethics, and social responsibility can be effectively integrated into the chemical engineering curriculum. WPI is a great place to conduct this type of work because of our project-based program, our extensive global perspective program, and our philosophy of student-centered learning.

Research Interests

Understanding learning in hands-on, virtual, and remote laboratory contexts.

Education

BS, Purdue University, 1972
MS, Purdue, Purdue University, 1977
PhD, Purdue University, 1980

Featured Publications

DiBiasio D., Henry, J., Clark, M., and Miletic, M. “Student Learning in Hands-On, Remote, and Virtual Laboratory Experiences: What Works (or Doesn't),” AIChE Meeting, Salt Lake City, November 2010.
DiBiasio, D. “Education Reform: ‘Just Do It’,” Invited Editorial, Chemical Engineering Progress, February 2009.
DiBiasio, D. “A Project-Based, Spiral Curriculum for ChE: A Multiyear Retrospective,” Invited Presentation at U. South Florida Workshop on Curriculum Reform, April 2009.
Jiusto, S. and DiBiasio, D. “Nontraditional Learning Environments: Do They Prepare Our Students for Life-Long Learning?” J. Engr. Education, 95, no. 3 195-205 (2006).
DiBiasio, D. and Mello, N. “Assessing a Nontraditional Study Abroad Program in the Engineering Discipline,” 10, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 237-252 (2004).