Chemical Engineering
Master of Science in Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy
For More Information
Campus address: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building (CPE) 3.408, phone (512) 471-6991, fax (512) 475-7824; campus mail code: C0400
Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program, Department of Chemical Engineering, 1 University Station C0400, Austin TX 78712
E-mail: T@che.utexas.edu
URL: http://www.che.utexas.edu/
Objectives
The graduate program in chemical engineering is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop advanced competence in transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and reaction engineering for the application of chemistry to the advancement of society. Through formal coursework and mentoring, each student is expected to acquire the tools to develop and transmit new knowledge and processes in a focused area of chemical engineering. The focused research areas include advanced materials, polymers and nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy, environmental engineering, modeling and simulation, and process engineering.
Program Educational Objectives
Upon graduation, those who earn advanced chemical engineering degrees are expected
- To apply knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, physics, computing, safety, and engineering to solve problems of analysis, design, optimization, and control of components, systems, and processes important in chemical engineering practice.
- To demonstrate the skills required to lead and/or participate effectively on interdisciplinary teams.
- To recognize the importance of lifelong education in meeting professional and personal goals.
- To demonstrate proficiency in writing and oral presentation skills, and recognition of the importance of effective communication and its many different forms.
- To articulate and practice professional, ethical, and societal responsibilities.
Facilities for Graduate Work
The Department of Chemical Engineering contains laboratories, offices, and all facilities necessary for research and instruction. Some research in the separations area is conducted at the J. J. Pickle Research Campus. Excellent library facilities include the Mallet Chemistry Library, the McKinney Engineering Library, and the Kuehne Physics Mathematics Astronomy Library.
The extensive computer facilities available for graduate student research include more than one hundred microcomputers and workstations in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building as well as super computing facilites in the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Computer graphics capabilities are available. State-of-the-art analytical instrumentation, located within the department and in other departments, is available for use by chemical engineering graduate students.
The department enjoys close relations with the chemical, petroleum, and materials processing industries. A number of cooperative research projects are carried out with the support of private companies. A substantial portion of the graduate student research is supported through federal grants and contracts.
Areas of Study
Biochemical and biomedical engineering. Protein engineering, fermentations, genetic engineering technology, mammalian tissue culture, biomaterials, biosensors, cell and tissue engineering, virus removal from blood, hemodialysis.
Chemical engineering fundamentals. Kinetics and catalysts, thermodynamics, transport phenomena.
Energy resources. Secondary and tertiary oil recovery, flow processes in porous media, acid gas treating.
Environmental engineering. Air pollution modeling and control, atmospheric chemistry.
Materials and processes for microelectronics. Plasma processing, etching, chemical vapor deposition, selective laser sintering, supermolecular self-assembly and organization, colloidal systems, mesoscopic materials.
Meso- and molecular-scale modeling and simulation. Statistical and micromechanical modeling and Monte Carlo, Brownian, and molecular dynamics simulations of reactions, complex fluids, polymers, and biological molecules.
Polymer engineering. Synthesis; processing; reaction injection molding; properties, with specific emphasis on blends, transport, and thermodynamic behavior; membranes; microelectronics; thin film; composition.
Process engineering. Chemical reaction engineering and catalyst development; optimization; process simulation, dynamics, and control; fault detection, rheology and simulation of suspensions.
Separations. Membrane separations, distillation, absorption, supercritical extraction.
Other areas. Aerosol physics and chemistry, surface phenomena, crystal chemistry and physical properties, electrochemistry, electronic and optical materials, electrical impedance tomography.
Graduate Studies Committee
The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2013.
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David T Allen Hal S Alper Michael Baldea Roger T Bonnecaze James R Chelikowsky Lydia Maria Contreras Thomas F Edgar John G Ekerdt Christopher J Ellison Benny D Freeman Venkat Ganesan George Georgiou Adam Heller Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz Gyeong S Hwang Keith P Johnston |
Brian A Korgel Douglas R Lloyd Arumugam Manthiram Jennifer A Maynard Charles B Mullins Donald R Paul Nicholas A Peppas Danny D Reible Gary T Rochelle Peter J Rossky Isaac C Sanchez Christine E Schmidt Mukul M Sharma Thomas M Truskett Carlton G Willson |
Admission Requirements
Students with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering degree from a school accredited by the AIChE-ECPD usually fulfill the requirements for consideration for admission. Other students, including those with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, physics, engineering, engineering science, or geology (geochemistry), must have a background that the Graduate Studies Committee considers satisfactory for the study of advanced chemical engineering. Some nonelective undergraduate chemical engineering courses may be required as part of the course program in this case.