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How did Chemical Engineering
come about?

The discipline of chemical engineering developed over the last century to meet the needs to analyze and design processes for the large-scale chemical and biochemical manufacturing. Chemical engineering is a distinct discipline that involves the integration of physical and chemical phenomena. Examples of attributes associated with chemical engineers are:

  • the ability to understand and describe molecular transformations;
  • the ability to understand and describe integrated phenomena that span a wide range of length scales from molecular to macroscopic;
  • the ability to quantitatively describe and predict complex phenomena

Where is Chemical Engineering going?

Chemical engineering is now utilized in a wide variety of industries that extend well beyond its beginnings in the large-scale chemical processing industries. These areas include: environmental engineering, biotechnology & bioengineering, pharmaceutical and food industries, electronic materials, and even consulting, government and financial sectors.

Breakdown of Industrial Employment of PhDs
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Chemical Engineering – the option
at Caltech:

The chemical engineering option is designed to prepare its students for either graduate study, or research and development work in industry. It accomplishes this by providing a broad and rigorous training in the fundamentals of chemical engineering while maintaining a balance between classroom lectures and laboratory experience. The program also strives to develop in each student self-reliance, creativity, professional ethics, an appreciation of the societal impact of chemical engineering, and the importance of continuing intellectual growth.

What can chemical engineers do?

  • Petrochemical Engineering
  • Electronic Materials Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biochemical Engineering
  • Research & Development
  • Consulting
  • Law
  • Medicine
  • Government

More on the ChE Option at Caltech...

 

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