Addressing the grand challenges of the 21st century requires engineers who are critical thinkers, problem solvers, and able to understand the societal contexts in which they are working. Educating students in these areas requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses motivation and identity as a means to ensure a diverse workforce. The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) at the University of New Mexico plans to revolutionize undergraduate education by launching FACETS: Formation of Accomplished Chemical Engineers for Transforming Society. FACETS will revolutionize CBE by (1) introducing "CIRE" design challenges in the core curriculum that are Community-, Industry-, Research-, and/or Entrepreneurship-based; (2) conducting professional development institutes that will train and mentor faculty and graduate students; workshops will be led by experts from industry and national laboratories, from the learning sciences, from engineering education and multicultural studies, for example the directors of UNM Native American Studies and Chicano/a Studies, and (3) create a digital badging system will help students take ownership of their competencies and develop engineering identities and enable faculty to monitor and assess student outcomes and to engage in research on their teaching. The CIRE design challenges, digital badging system and implementation plan will be transferrable to many intermediate to large institutions through the use of a modular approach. Local industry and community partners will participate in presenting the design challenges and encourage entrepreneurial thinking. The use of community engagement through design challenges will engage students in developing their sociotechnical awareness and attract diverse, native and rural populations into engineering.

The field of chemical engineering has evolved over the past century - originating in the petrochemical industries - but now includes electronic materials processing, pharmaceutical production and product design, such as nanoparticles, tissue engineering, nano-medicine, etc. However, the chemical engineering undergraduate core curriculum has not fully reflected this transformation. In order to reposition chemical engineering to educate students prepared for future challenges, the project team will create and study design challenges and digital badges. The project is underlain by a theory of change based on research on engineering education, guided by a broad research question: How can a digital badging system paired with design challenges support students to develop professional identity and an understanding of engineering as an innovative field? The project will result in new understanding of how to engage faculty to support diverse students to be successful in engineering. It will lead to sustained change in the department, including: the ability to prepare diverse engineers ready to solve the challenges of tomorrow; partnerships with industry, national labs and communities; and a model for how to revolutionize undergraduate education.