(513e) Training Chemical Engineers for a Career in Process Development

Training undergraduate chemical engineers for careers in process development represents a unique challenge.  Traditional chemical engineering unit operations remain the basis for much of the chemical industry both in the United States and globally.  The expansion of chemical engineering into non-traditional areas such as biochemical processes, materials and interdisciplinary areas such as nanotechnology has placed additional driving forces on chemical engineering departments to provide basic training in these areas.  This can potentially come at the cost of reducing the depth of training in areas such as process control, process design and unit operations.  This comes at a time when the need for young chemical engineers to develop competitive, sustainable processes in energy production and delivery, globally competitive commodity chemicals, and unique high value specialty chemicals continues to rise.

Careers in process development require the conflicting requirements of both depth and breadth in the field of chemical engineering for optimal performance.  While much of the training occurs on the job, the education at the university represents the solid base upon which breadth and depth is built.  Some opportunities for increasing the level and effectiveness of the interaction between industry and academia are proposed:

Invited lectures by industry chemical engineers in relevant class topics

Heavier participation of industry in classes such as senior design courses

Alternatives for in-depth training in specific chemical engineering topics

Increased funding and opportunities for student research and internships in industry