Education
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1970
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1975
Research Interests
- Manufacture of Specialty Organic Chemicals
- Process Scale-up
- Process Safety
- Engineering Education
Educational Philosophy
Dr. Schreiber envisions the Unit Operations Laboratory as the ultimate active-learning tool for chemical engineering students. Indeed, the laboratory can be a powerful integrator of fundamental principles with practical applications, while providing a superb environment for assessing and strengthening student performance before entering the work force. Since his appointment in September 2000, Dr. Schreiber has been working to bring this vision into reality.
As a first step, Dr. Schreiber has adopted the criteria and guidelines of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) as framework for broadening, deepening, and reformatting our overall laboratory sequence. Particular emphasis has been placed upon promoting an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility. In this regard, Dr. Schreiber has introduced course innovations such as "Don't Fool Yourself!", the "SuperTeam", "Gross Errors", "Fluid Flow - Facts to Know", evaluation worksheets, student safety presentations, accident investigations, and vendor presentations. At the same time, student involvement is helping to foster an atmosphere of encouragement and creativity.
Mr. Richard Crisler, our Senior Laboratory Engineer, has been managing and modernizing our laboratory with discipline and consistency. Examples include maintaining top-notch housekeeping, eliminating safety hazards, providing protective equipment, writing standard operating procedures, organizing equipment records, identifying cost-effective suppliers, and inventorying equipment and chemicals. This approach boosts laboratory efficiency and also presents a tangible model of professionalism for our students as they transition to new careers.
Dr. Schreiber has been reshaping the learning objectives of our experiments to be sure they are firmly rooted in chemical engineering principles, reinforcing and building upon concepts from prior coursework. Further, Dr. Schreiber has also been working with other faculty members to integrate our laboratory instruction with courses across our chemical engineering curriculum.
Profesional Experience
Each faculty member brings her or his own special skills, experiences, and viewpoints that diversify and enrich our technical curriculum and cultural environment. Dr. Schreiber's career spans twenty-five years in industry, where he applied chemical engineering principles to the production of specialized value-added chemicals. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President and Director of Fragrance Chemical Development at International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Dr. Schreiber is endeavoring to bring his extensive industrial experience as an engineer and manager into the classroom and into the laboratory, offering practical perspectives of chemical engineering to our students and faculty.
