The Department will provide an educational program and research environment that will permit our graduates to compete in the evolving workplace, to permit students and faculty to advance knowledge at the highest levels of the profession, and to address the technological and personnel needs of industry, governments, and society.
The profession of chemical engineering involves the analysis, design, operation and control of processes that convert matter and energy to more useful forms, encompassing processes at all scales from the molecular to the megascale. Traditionally, chemical engineers are responsible for the production of basic chemicals, plastics, and fibers. However, today’s chemical engineers are also involved in food and fertilizer production, synthesis of electronic materials, waste recycling, and power generation. Chemical engineers also develop new materials (ceramic composites and electronic chips, for example) as well as biochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The breadth of training in engineering and the sciences gives chemical engineers a particularly wide spectrum of career opportunities. Chemical engineers work in the chemical and materials related industries, in government, and are readily accepted by graduate schools in engineering, chemistry, medicine, or law (mainly for patent law).