Chris Barr

Instructional Lab Supervisor

Location

Herbert H. Dow Building 3114
2300 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136

Phone

(734) 763-1336

Role

Chris is responsible for the overall management of undergraduate laboratories.

Graduate students and faculty should contact Chris for safety-related questions and guidance, or if they are interested in teaching and educational research.

Education

University of Toledo
PhD Chemical Engineering 2013

NSF GK-12 Fellow 2010-2012

Tri-State University
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering; Minor in Chemistry 2006

Experience

  • American Society of Engineering Education Chemical Engineering Division
    Communications Co-Chair, Website 2022 – Present
    Program Chair, 2024-2025
    Program Co-Chair, 2023-2024
    Director, 2022 – 2024
    Membership Committee Chair, 2021 – 2022
    Membership Committee Member, 2019 – 2022
  • University of Michigan
    Chemical Engineering Instructional Laboratory Supervisor, 2015-Present
    Janus Safety Demonstration Laboratory Manager, 2017-Present
    Process Safety Across the Chemical Engineering Curriculum Initiative Lead, 2021-Present
    Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering Equipment Project Director, 2022-Present
  • University of Toledo, September 2013-December 2013
    Lecturer, Chemical Engineering Laboratory I and II
  • Tri-State/Trine University, 2006-2007
    Laboratory Technician

Research Interests

  • Process and Laboratory Safety Education (for undergraduate and graduate students)
  • Hands-on Experiential Learning (lab operations, curricular development, and student mentoring)

Affiliated Initiatives

Awards

  • 2021 Outstanding Departmental Staff Award: As part of the CHE laboratory instructional staff team during the 2020 pandemic. Presented by the University of Chemical Engineering Department.
  • 2020 Joseph J. Martin Award: For “Using Incident Reporting to Integrate Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment into the Unit Operations Lab” with Samira M. Azarin, Janie Brennan, Tracy L. Carter, Amy J. Karlsson and Sarah A. Wilson.  Presented by American Society of Chemical Engineering Division.

Publications

List of Publications on Google Scholar

  • Laura Ford, Hema Ramsurn, Christopher Barr, Frank Bowman, and Gary Aurand. “Teaching Survey Results and Best Practices: ChE Electives and Process Safety (Invited Talks)”. In 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineering Annual Meeting. 2023. Panel Discussion.
  • Sarah A. Wilson, Samira Azarin, Chris Barr, Joanne Kay Beckwith, Janie Brennan, Tracy L. Carter, and Amy J. Karlsson. “Prioritizing learning objectives for chemical engineering laboratory courses.” In 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2023. Oral Presentation.
  • Laura Hirshfield, Chris Barr, and H. Scott Fogler. “Assessing Embedded Process Safety Curriculum Within Core Chemical Engineering Courses.” In 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2022. Oral Presentation.
  • Sarah A. Wilson, Samira M. Azarin, Christopher J. Barr, Janie Brennan, Tracy L. Carter, and Amy J. Karlsson. “Using Incident Reporting to Integrate Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment into the Unit Operations Lab.” In 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access. 2020.  Oral Presentation. 
  • Christopher J. Barr. “Board 36: Work in Progress: Assessment of Google Docs and Drive for Enhanced Communication and Data Dissemination in a Unit Operations Laboratory.” In 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2018. Poster Presentation.
  • Christopher J. Barr, Ann HajIbrahim, Constance A. Schall, Carol Stepien. “(15e) Engaging High School Students In Advanced Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Careers”. 2011 Annual AICHE Meeting. October 2011. Poster Presentation.
  • Majid Salim, Christopher J. Barr, A. Allen Hersel. “Incorporating Food into The Chemical Engineering Curriculum”. 2007 Annual AICHE Meeting. Nov 2007. Poster Presentation.