Chemical Engineering

NOTE: Courses listed in previous catalogs with “CM” as the prefix and the same course number as below are considered to be the SAME COURSE.

Faculty

S. C. Roberts, Professor and Department Head; Ph.D., Cornell University. Cellular engineering, plant cell culture, biotechnology, metabolic pathway engineering
C. M. Bailey-Hytholt, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Brown University. Biomaterials, drug and gene delivery, lipid-based systems, diagnostics, biointerfaces, prenatal and women’s health
T. A. Camesano, Professor and Dean of Graduate Studies; Ph.D., Penn­syl­vania State University. Bacterial adhesion and interaction forces, biopolymers, bacterial/natural organic matter interactions
N. A. Deskins, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue University. Energy production, nanomaterials research and development, pollution control and abatement, catalysis and chemical kinetics, and computational chemistry
D. DiBiasio, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue University. Engineering education, teaching and learning, assessment
A. G. Dixon, Professor; Ph.D., University of Edinburgh. Transport in chemical reactors, applications of CFD to catalyst and reactor design, membrane separation and reactors
N. K. Kazantzis, Professor; Ph.D., University of Michigan. Techno-economic performance analysis, sustainable design and control of chemical processes, energy production and environmental systems, valuation methods for clean energy technology options in the presence of uncertainty, process safety and chemical risk analysis
S. J. Kmiotek, Professor of Practice, Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Chemical process safety, air pollution control, pollution prevention
A. R. Maag, Assistant Research Professor; Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Liquid phase catalysis, waste-to-energy, spectroscopy, reaction engineering
A. Panahi, Assistant Research Professor, Ph.D., Northeastern University. Renewable energy, Waste to Energy, Combustion, Gasification, Hydrothermal Processes, and Metal fuels
E. J. Stewart, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Michigan.  Biological soft matter, bacterial biofilms, biophysics of host-pathogen interactions, complex fluids, microfluidics.  
A. R. Teixeira, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst. Reaction engineering, heterogeneous catalysis, microfluidic crystallization
X. Teng, Professor; Ph.D., University of Rochester. Electrochemical engineering, aqueous batteries, alcohol fuel cells, electrocatalysis, X-ray/neutron scattering
M. T. Timko, Professor, Ph.D., MIT. Renewable energy, liquid and biomass fuels, reaction engineering, fuel refining and desulfurization  
G.A. Tompsett, Research Professor; PhD, Waikato University, New Zealand. Waste-to-energy, spectroscopic characterization, heterogeneous catalysis
E. M. Young, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin. Synthetic biology, metabolic pathway engineering, yeast gene expression, transport protein engineering
H. S. Zhou, Professor; Ph.D., University of California-Irvine. Bioanotechnology, bioseparations, micro- and nano-bioelectronics, bioMEMS, micro­fluidics, polymer thin films, surface ­modification, microelectronic and photonic packaging
W. P. Zurawsky, Associate Teaching Professor; Ph.D., University of Illinois. Membrane permeation and separations, plasma processing.

Emeritus

W. M. Clark, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Rice University
R. Datta, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Y. H. Ma, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
R. W. Thompson, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Iowa State University

Research Interests

The Chemical Engineering Department’s research efforts are concentrated in the following major areas: bioengineering and biomanufacturing, materials and soft matter, energy and the environment and computational science and engineering.

Programs of Study

Students have the opportunity to do creative work on state-of-the-art research projects as a part of their graduate study in chemical engineering. The program offers excellent preparation for rewarding careers in research, industry or education. Selection of graduate courses and thesis project is made with the aid of a faculty advisor with whom the student works closely. All graduate students participate in a seminar during each term of residence.
The master’s degree program in chemical engineering is concerned with the advanced topics of the field. There are three choices for students wishing to obtain advanced knowledge in chemical engineering and related fields: professional engineering option with concentration, thesis option and non-thesis option. All students must complete three of the four core courses offered in mathematics, thermodynamics, reaction engineering, and transport phenomena. In addition, they choose courses from a wide range of electives and available projects.

In the doctoral program, a broad knowledge of chemical engineering topics is required for success in the qualifying examination. Beyond this point, more intensive specialization is achieved in the student’s field of research through coursework and thesis research.

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate degree in chemical engineering is preferred for master’s and doctoral degree applicants. Those with related backgrounds (e.g., chemistry, biomedical engineering, physics) are also encouraged to apply. We work closely with each student on individual plans to assure they are appropriately prepared for the master’s and doctoral curricula, including participation in a “boot camp” course.

Chemical Engineering Research Centers and Laboratories

Research is housed in both Goddard Hall and Gateway Park (Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center; LSBC). The LSBC is a four-story, 125,000-square-foot interdisciplinary research building that houses life sciences faculty in the departments of Biology and Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Physics. Both Goddard Hall and LSBC are equipped with state of the art instrumentation and core facilities to support catalysis and reaction engineering work and bioengineering work, respectively. In addition, the Chemical Engineering Department participates in and/or leads a number of research center efforts on campus including the Energy Research Center, Center for Advanced Research in Drying, Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center, Fuel Cell Center, and Metal Processing Institute.