Professor Swaney is a grizzled vet of the chemical industry. Listen in and you will tap into the knowledge of decades of real experience. His lectures can get a little long winded and may lack examples, but this is made up for by his underlying passion. Get ready for a tough old fashioned chemical engineering course if he's teaching it.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Ross Swaney
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
450 Swaney is very different from other classes; he's vert helpful in guiding the projects during office hours and has a lot of knowledge to share. However, old habits prevail: unorganized class, consistently behind schedule, doesn't know when his own exams are, and project info is scattered throughout 5-6 different PDFs. Overall, not bad.Rate My Professors ↗
Lectures are useless, no regard for other people's time, never provides direct answers.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Swaney can be very helpful. Study the homework and discussion problems for the exams.Rate My Professors ↗
No confidence that swaney can solve his own problems without the answerkey. Rambles on in lecture. Is not helpful in office hours. Homework's are inconsiderately longRate My Professors ↗
Prof. Swaney is an example of an intelligent/experienced engineer failing to teach well. Lectures weren't organized, consistently showed up 5-10 minutes late, long-winded, and only covered homework-relevant content on the class period before it was due. However, generous curve. I recommend heavily utilizing the textbook and TA office hours.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Ross Swaney
Analysis of chemical engineering operations involving fluid flow and heat transfer, covering flow through ducts/porous media, particulate motion, and conductive/convective/radiative heat exchange with/without phase change.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Ross Swaney
Ross Swaney’s lectures were often described as unorganized, late, or lacking in worked examples, with students finding it difficult to complete homework using class material alone. Exams were heavily lecture-based and fair, though some students found grading harsh on incorrect answers despite correct processes. Swaney was generally available for questions, but many recommended relying on the textbook and TA office hours for better problem-solving strategies.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Process Dynamics and Control
3 creditsSystematic introduction to dynamic behavior and automatic control of industrial processes. Labs use conventional hardware and real-time digital computers for instrumentation and control.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Ross Swaney
Ross Swaney taught CBE 470 with a heavy emphasis on theory and few examples. Students found his instruction difficult to follow, with one noting it was easier to sleep than understand the material, while another mentioned he was helpful if students sought him out for assistance.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Special Problems
1–4 creditsSpecial Problems in Chemical Engineering involves research or independent study where students conduct and report on independent chemical engineering research.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleMaster's Research or Thesis
1–9 creditsMaster's research or thesis course involving directed study projects arranged with the instructor.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Pre-dissertator's Research
1–9 creditsPRE-DISSERTATOR'S RESEARCH involves directed study projects arranged with the instructor.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Thesis-research
1–12 creditsOffering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | CBE 326 | Momentum and Heat Transfer Operations |
| Spring 2027 | CBE 470 | Process Dynamics and Control |
| Spring 2027 | CBE 599 | Special Problems |
| Spring 2027 | CBE 790 | Master's Research or Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | CBE 890 | Pre-dissertator's Research |
| Spring 2027 | CBE 990 | Thesis-research |
| Fall 2026 | CBE 489 | Honors in Research |
| Fall 2026 | CBE 599 | Special Problems |
| Fall 2026 | CBE 790 | Master's Research or Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | CBE 890 | Pre-dissertator's Research |
| Fall 2026 | CBE 990 | Thesis-research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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