THE CHANGING FACE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Abstract

FOR THE PAST 100 YEARS, THE FUNdamental definition of chemical engineering has remained the same: engineers take chemistry out of the laboratory and into the factory and the world around us, according to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the primary professional society for chemical engineers. But over the course of a century, things are bound to change. During the past few decades, an increasing amount of the basic research in chemical engineering, like chemistry, has been done with an eye toward developing useful end products, especially in materials science and in biomedical areas. An affirmation of this shift was a daylong symposium in late April at Tufts University titled and Biological Engineering: The Paradigm Evolves. The symposium was held to celebrate the centennial of the university's program in chemical engineering and to mark the department's change in name to the department of chemical and biological engineering. The latter served as a ...