The graduate program in chemical and biochemical engineering has four major elements: engineering science, applied chemistry, biochemical engineering, and pharmaceutical engineering. Engineering science includes equilibrium and transport processes, with an emphasis on mass transfer, thermodynamics, and applied mathematics. Applied chemistry encompasses surface chemistry, applied chemical kinetics, catalysis, synthesis, and properties of polymers, semipermeable membranes, and electrochemistry. Biochemical engineering deals with microbial and enzyme technology, fermentations, applied biochemical kinetics and catalysis, biological separations, and applied molecular biology. Pharmaceutical engineering deals with drug delivery and manufacturing in a Food Drug Administration regulatory framework.
The program combines academic instruction with practical application by stressing student projects. It encourages students to be creative and to show originality in applying basic and advanced chemical and biochemical engineering principles to solve research and design problems. Program participants develop practical applications for industrial processing and for improving environmental quality. At the same time, they gain a better understanding of chemical and biochemical reactions. Research efforts focus on advancing basic scientific theories and developing useful applications.
The program offers the following degrees: 1. master of science (M.S.) with thesis or nonthesis option, 2. master of engineering (M.E.), and 3. doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.).
1. M.S. degree candidates may elect a thesis or nonthesis option. The thesis option consists of a minimum of 30 credits: 24 course credits and 6 credits for a thesis on a research or design problem. In the nonthesis option, a candidate must complete 30 course credits and submit a critical essay. The nonthesis option is suited to the student who has extensive research experience or full-time professional responsibilities in industry.
2. The M.E. is a terminal master program in pharmaceutical engineering and science, in which a candidate completes 30 credits of courses. The 30 credits are broken down into 5 specifically developed core courses in pharmaceutical engineering and 5 pharmaceutical electives. The program was designed to teach students the requisite skills to work in the rapidly evolving regulatory framework that determines pharmaceutical product design and manufacturing processes. The majority of courses are offered in the evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to allow working students to earn a degree while continuing daytime employment.
3. The program for the Ph.D. normally consists of a minimum of 30 credits of coursework and 24 to 42 credits of research beyond the bachelor of science degree. The total number of credits required is 72. The coursework for the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees includes the following core courses: chemical engineering analysis; advanced transport phenomena I and II; advanced chemical engineering thermodynamics; and kinetics, catalysis, and reactor design. The master of science or master of engineering degree is available to doctoral candidates. All doctoral students are required to defend their thesis proposal by the end of their second year in the program.
Before they complete the program, all students must give an oral presentation on their research or area of interest. There are no language or residency requirements.
Faculty and students in the program are involved in a broad range of research areas. Chemical engineering research involves the use of basic engineering principles such as mass, momentum, and energy balances; chemical thermodynamics and molecular simulations, and chemical reactor theory; and system design to solve problems in core areas such as nanoscience and nanotechnology, transport phenomena, reaction engineering, interfacial phenomena, separations, and process systems engineering. Research in biochemical engineering includes such topics as enzyme and microbial engineering, biomembrane transport theory, plant and insect cell culture, imaging and biosensing, mammalian cell culture, and biomedical engineering. Pharmaceutical engineering research focuses on such topics as solids mixing, granular materials and particulate suspensions, powder processing, crystallization, and nanopharmaceutics for drug delivery. Alternate fuels research includes enhanced alcohol fermentation and electrochemical engineering, with an emphasis on battery failure analysis. Liquid-liquid extraction, supercritical extraction processes, and flow simulation in mixing processes are examples of mass transfer applications. The program hosts two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded IGERT training fellowship programs in biointerfaces and nanopharmaceutical engineering, an National Institutes of Health-sponsored doctoral training program in biotechnology, and an NSF/industry-sponsored National Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems.
Graduate assistantships and fellowships are available for both first-year and advanced graduate students. Students participating in the research program on a sponsored basis receive a stipend for either a 10-month or a 12-month period and have their tuition remitted. Support usually is associated with sponsoring grants or contracts, and specific information on available projects is provided by the graduate director. It is common for an exchange of information on assistantships or fellowships to occur during consideration of admission when program officials try to identify students' interests.
