ANTHONY EDWARD BUTTERFIELD portrait
  • Associate Chair, Chemical Engineering
  • Professor (Lecturer), Chemical Engineering

Current Courses

Fall 2024

  • CH EN 1703-001
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 1703-002
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 1703-003
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 1703-004
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 1703-005
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 1703-006
    Intro in Chemical Eng
  • CH EN 4706-001
    Capstone Project I
  • CH EN 4706-002
    Capstone Project I
  • CH EN 4975-002
    Chem Engr Clinic

Spring 2024

Entrepreneurial Experience

  • Clovis Point Innovations LLC. 01/2010 - present. Employees: 0.
    Comments: We created this company in order to commercialize university technology.

Professional Organizations

  • Youth Mental Health First Aid Training, National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. 09/2019 - present. Position : Certified Trainee.
  • National Organization of gay and lesbian Scientists and Professionals. 09/2016 - present. Position : Member.
  • American Society for Engineering Education. 09/2014 - present. Position : Member.
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 01/2009 - present. Position : Member.

Teaching Philosophy

 

Broadly, I believe in teaching in a way in which I would want to be taught.  This pedagogical Golden Rule should constantly inform my actions as a professor. 

Such a touchstone should not mean, however, that I wish to use a singular and static set of teaching tools, those that have worked best for me, personally.  Instead, I wish to take each student’s unique balance of skill, creativity and personality into account when deciding on the best way to convey the concepts they are meant to learn.  Such concern for the individual student is a characteristic I have found in the best teachers I have had in my past, and one I hope to mimic.  As such, I try to incorporate a variety of proven teaching tools into my interactions with students, and try to constantly evolve my methods.  Some students will learn adequately through traditional lectures, others benefit far more through hands-on examples, and others still through discussion.  I feel it is my job to keep up on the latest research on teaching methods that are effective for the variety of individuals we have in our student body, and attempt to apply such findings in our classrooms and teaching laboratories.

In my classroom, I will often employ simulations in order to convey with animation and interaction complex concepts, and I make these simulations available to students online.  I also find students benefit by hands-on concrete examples and aim to incorporate a variety on such demonstrations in my teaching.  Lastly, I use periods of discussion in classroom time, in order to split up my lectures and capitalize on the student’s ability to better remember what they do and say, over what they are merely told.

The goal in grading should always be to give no more and no less than what is deserved, and to do so as objectively as possible.  The students should be given a clear understanding of what is expected, and thereby have, by their effort, control over their ultimate grade.  I create my rubrics with the aim that anyone could grade even the subjective quality of student writing and come to similar conclusions.  If my students feel I have not been fair in anyway, I strongly encourage them to approach me with their concerns and hope to be told when I have made an error.  As part of my aim for accurate grading, I hope to hold students to a high and firm standard of academic ethics, to keep any one student from cheating his or her peers out of the grades they deserve.

On an interpersonal level, I strive to be challenging, but never by the use of condescension or intellectual intimidation.  I strive to be approachable and available while keeping enough distance to let students learn though mistakes and discoveries.  Lastly, I strive to always keep in mind that our students are here to better themselves and better their careers; very often they have family counting on them to do so.  It is my job to help our students reach those goals, and I am honored to have whatever small hand I do in transforming our students into our peers, each with upright and productive engineering careers.

Courses I Teach

  • CH EN 4905 - Projects Lab II
    Provides the opportunity to analyze and optimize processes and products by several means: experimentation, simulation, instrumentation, and control. Hands-on experience with real systems is emphasized as are communication skills and teamwork. http://www.che.utah.edu/projectslab/
  • Ch EN 4903 - Projects Lab I
    Provides the opportunity to analyze and optimize processes and products by several means: experimentation, simulation, instrumentation, and control. Hands-on experience with real systems is emphasized as are communication skills and teamwork. http://www.che.utah.edu/projectslab/

Online Teaching Material