History of AIChE and Chemical Engineering

The past quarter century can be noted for the Institute's many new programs, changes to its volunteer organization, increased participation of women and minorities, expanded international activities, and strategic planning for the 21st century. It launched many more technical societies to keep abreast with the developments of fast-growing chemical engineering technologies--Society for Biological Engineering, Center for Chemical Process Safety, Institute for Sustainability, Nanoscale Science & Engineering Forum, Energy Initiative, and Safety & Chemical Engineering Education. Biotechnology Progress, which had been started up as a quarterly publication, became bimonthly. Three Operating Councils (Career & Education, Chemical Engineering Technology, and Societal Impact) were created to offer better products and services to its members and to enhance public understanding of the discipline. During this period, there also has been a significant growth in membership and leadership of women and minorities.
Published in 2008.

75 YEARS OF PROGRESS - a history of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
1908 - 1983
Through the late 1950s and the 1960s, AIChE experienced rapid growth in programs. The Institute launched its Continuing Education Program in 1966. And, during this period AIChE’s national and annual meetings became influential - and well attended - events, drawing visitors from around the globe. In 1970, AIChE undertook is first Salary Survey of chemical engineers and later in that decade, working cooperatively with consortia of companies in an effort unique to AIChE among the major engineering societies.  We established institutes to carry out industrially relevant research—the Design Institute for Physical Properties, the Design Institute for Multiphase Flow, and the Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems. In the early 1980s, the Board of Directors and the Publication Committee started a series of special quarterly periodicals, including Environmental Progress and Process Safety Progress (formerly Plant/Operations Progress).
Published in 1983.  

HIGH LIGHTS...the first fifty years...of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
1908 - 1958
Membership increased dramatically from a little more than 1,000 members in 1933 to almost 17,000 in 1958. The postwar period saw a boom in the chemical industry, and AIChE grew dramatically as well. The Institute launched Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) in 1946 to report on new technologies and industrial developments, as well as Institute and local sections news. The Board of Directors chartered AIChE’s first technical division, the Nuclear Engineering Division, in 1954. And, in 1955, the AIChE Journal began publication, destined to become the most prestigious broad-based research journal in the field.
Published in 1958.

The Silver Anniversary of CHEMICAL ENGINEERING IN AMERICA
1908 - 1932
Founded in 1908, when the term “chemical engineering” was vague and often misunderstood, AIChE in many ways defined the new profession. The concept of “unit operations” introduced in 1915 distinguished chemical engineering from industrial and applied chemists, and established chemical engineering as a separate discipline. During its first 25 years, AIChE established a very successful curricular accreditation program that became a model for other disciplines, and began its program of meetings and publications. By 1930, AIChE had become as important to chemical engineers as the four older Founder Societies were to civil, mechanical, electrical and mining engineers.
Published in 1932.