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Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineers are concerned primarily with process engineering, the conversion of raw materials into valuable products. The products can include pharmaceuticals, specialized plastics, petrochemicals, materials for biomedical applications, and energy. The processes, which usually start out at a small laboratory scale, must be developed for production at a large chemical plant scale. The large change in scale requires careful engineering to minimize environmental contamination and to insure public safety.

The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering is responsible for equipping our graduates with the broad technical knowledge and teamwork skills required for them to make substantial contributions to society.

Program Objectives:
The Chemical Engineering major has four goals for its students:

• Provide students with a strong foundation of scientific principles, teamwork methods, and communication skills for the identification and solution of chemical engineering problems.
• Instill in our students the capacity for self and group-study and experience self-assessment so that they possess the attributes necessary to continue life-long learning.
• Apply elements of public health and safety, concern for the environment, and ethics in the course of studies.
• Familiarize our students with research methodologies.

To help students reach these goals, the curriculum is structured so that they progress through sequences in the fundamental physical sciences, humanities, engineering sciences, and design.

Since chemical engineers have the responsibility for translating the results of chemical research into products for the marketplace, and for preventing the wastes generated by industry from contaminating the environment, the physical sciences sequence includes a strong emphasis on chemistry, with courses in analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. All the courses emphasize modern theories of chemistry and are designed to help students gain a clearer understanding of their eventual assignments in engineering science and design.

As students progress to courses in engineering science and design, problems of a textbook nature give way to real-world examples. By senior year, students are involved in comprehensive design projects.

Senior Design Projects
A special feature of the major is senior design. A student — or group
of students — works with a faculty advisor to develop a significant design project. Some recent examples include:

• Design of a process to make petrochemical intermediates
• Plastics recycling design
• Process design for antibiotic products