School of Science and Engineering: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2008-2009 Academic Year
602
Chemical Engineering Program
Chemical engineering is the world of plastics and high-strength ceramics, of
gasoline, natural gas, and fuel cells, of semiconductors and light emitting diodes,
of clean air and water, of pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, and scaffolds for
artificial organs. It is a world where engineers tinker with molecules through the
foundations of chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics to develop new
products and chemical processes that enhance our quality of life. This remarkable
connection from the molecular scale to the macroscopic scale where one can
touch and see the effects of molecular tinkering on products and processes, is
truly the hallmark of chemical engineering. The world of chemical engineering
fully embraces forefront areas of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and
environmental science. Chemical engineers work in virtually all industrial sectors
- in the petroleum and chemical industries, in the consumer products industry, in
the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, in semiconductor manufacturing
and microfabrication, in advanced materials and the polymer industries, in the
food and natural products industries, and in environmental technology
development. Students with chemical engineering backgrounds also go on to
successful careers in medicine, law, business and consulting.
The curriculum is based on the foundations of the chemical and biomolecular
sciences. Through fundamental courses in thermodynamics, transport processes,
reaction engineering and design, students learn how to work with molecules as
simple as methane and as complex as proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, and learn
how new products and processes are developed. Biomolecular engineering is an
increasingly important component of our curriculum, and our faculty are involved
in such wonderful new areas as gene delivery systems, cell and tissue engineering,
biomimetic materials, and nanobiotechnology.
The Chemical Engineering Program at Tulane University has a firm basis in
classroom fundamentals, coupled with direct practical experience. The following
are distinctive aspects of the program.
(1) We have a small student-to-faculty ratio that allows each student to
receive individualized attention. The high level of research activity in the
department leads to an environment where individualized learning is
coupled with the opportunity to participate in research. Every student has
the opportunity to obtain a research experience. Many of our faculty
conduct collaborative research with faculty at the other science and
engineering departments, and at the medical school. This allows the
student to participate in forefront research and to understand the relevance
of an education in chemical and biomolecular engineering. We strongly
encourage undergraduates to participate in research projects, present their
research at scientific conferences and to publish their work in journals.