Industrial Chemistry to Chemical Engineering

Abstract

When World War I began, the U.S. possessed a chemical industry well on its way to becoming the largest in the world. The war assured the premier position to the U.S. It is thus not surprising that the U.S. also was the first country to see chemical engineering— a subject by its nature closely allied to the chemical industry— emerge as a disciplined, organized activity. In the nineteenth century, the British chemical industry, especially the heavy industry producing sulfuric acid, caustic soda, and allied substances, had been predominant. And it was in the heartland of that heavy industry, in Manchester, that George E. Davies produced the first Handbook of Chemical Engineering in 1901. The handbook gave currency to the term chemical engineering. However, the British were slow to follow up on Davies' initiative. In the new world it was easier to innovate, especially in educational matters. Already in the 1850s, the University of Pennsylvania was ...